My husband and I are going to be in France and Italy in early October. We are considering travelling from Paris to Chamonix to ride the Aiguille di Mindi telepherique. Ideally we would bring our backpacks with us and continue over the mountain to Italy descending from Helbronner Point. Does anyone know if this is open in early October? If not we would just ride the Aiguille di Mindi telepherique and eventually work our way down to Rome. I am having a hard time figuring out where the next best location to visit is by train is. We would love to be able to spend a couple of nights in Cinque Terre or Florence before getting to Rome. These seem like kind of long stretches to make on the train. Any suggestions how anyone else has built this into their trip?
Posted by
white plains, ny, usa
4161 posts
Evidently there are a lot of possibilities here , so I'll suggest one . First , it appears that the Hellbronner cable car finishes on September 1 ,2013 . The Aiguille du Midi telepherique does run . The train trips are ,as you say , longish . You could go by rail from Chamonix via Martigny , Switzerland ( a beautiful trip , which we are taking in the opposite direction in October ) to Stresa , Italy via Domodossola ( Simplon Pass crossing into Italy ) . The trip is about four hours . By leaving around 9 AM you could be in Stresa on Lago Maggiore by about 1 PM. Try to allow a few days for Stresa , it's pure magic . The lakefront promenade , the vistas , and the Borromeo Islands are sights to behold . From there , Florence is about three hours on Italian rail . If you are an art lover you MUST NOT miss at least several days there . Again there are numerous other choices , but this would be a good one !! Lastly , Florence to Rome ,an easy one and a half hours .
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
We were there two years ago in early October hoping to do the same thing. The link to Helbronner closed on September 18.