Visiting Mont Blanc is the ultimate bucket-list experience.
There are some things better left unsaid. And before reading ahead – know that this might be one of those things you wish you didn’t know before visiting somewhere new.
But I’m cracking along because even if some things are scary or take you out of your comfort zone – they’re still worth doing.
And visiting Mont Blanc is one of those experiences.
About Mont Blanc
Here’s what you need to know if you didn’t already. Mont Blanc is the HIGHEST mountain in Europe standing tall at 4,810 metres (15,777 feet)!!
You can visit by either taking cable cars up from Chamonix, France or alternatively the Italian side. I’m going to talk about the Chamonix experience, as we didn’t venture over to Italy this time.
From Chamonix, in order to visit Mont Blanc, you will go up the Aiguille du Midi, which is a mountain peak standing at 3842 metres (or 12,605 feet) in the Mont Blanc massif.
Unless you’re heading out hiking or skiing, this is as close as you can get to the top of Mont Blanc.
What to know before your visit to Mont Blanc:
It’s going to be cold if you’re visiting in the winter!
And I’m not talking about an annoying slight chill. As we were visiting in the middle of January – it was freezing. At the top of the Aiguille du Midi, the temperature warns that it was around -19 degrees Celsius on the day of our visit.
Dress warmly and bundle up!
This isn’t a joke. Make sure you have thermals under your clothes, a giant puffy coat or parka, a toasty pair of gloves and the warmest hat you can find. Double or triple up on socks (I should have worn a third sock layer).
And it goes without saying, you’re going to want boots. I wore a pair of Timberlands, which truly weren’t warm enough. I should have opted for snow boots or even maybe a pair of UGGs.
You can easily buy your tickets before your trip up
The ticket centre is right on the edge of town (it’s also the location where you’ll board the cable car) and you can purchase tickets pretty quickly, although the price is about as steep as the mountain itself – €65 per ticket for the Mont Blanc unlimited pass.
This will get you up to the very top. Alternatively, you can purchase one that takes you mid-way up, but unless you’re skiing down, where’s the fun in that?
What to expect on your way up Mont Blanc in the cable cars:
Joe and I visited Chamonix years ago and the lifts were closed – it was November time. So I’d been waiting for this moment. I wasn’t going to let my immense fear of heights ruin this for me.
The cable cars are massive, which given the little research I’d done before had surprised me.
I thought these were going to be small cable cars.
Nope! We packed in with about 25 other people, predominately skiers and snow hikers who were ready to tackle a much more arduous journey.
As someone who is unfamiliar with ski lifts or cable cars, it can be a scary experience. The cable car rocks back and forth as it goes over each peak and yes, I felt that my impending fall and crash into the mountain was imminent.
Spoiler alert: it wasn’t! You’ll be totally fine.
At 2,500 metres the first cable car reaches its final point.
From here you switch to another cable car that will take you up to the very top. It’s all done seamlessly, but make sure you have your ticket ready, they check them along each part of the journey.
I learned my lesson from the first cable car and packed myself in the middle on our second journey. Distracting myself with my emails and Instagram so that I didn’t look down.
If you’re not scared of heights, the views really are so beautiful, so take a good look out. If you’re like me? Find a distraction very quickly.
Finally, you get to the TOP. It takes around 25 minutes in total, but the anticipation makes it feel exciting.
You made it to the top! Here’s what’s about to happen:
Something you might not be expecting…
When you arrive a 3842 meter well, you don’t feel that great.
The average person who is not used to big altitude changes (hi, it’s me) will feel completely off. But I tried to keep it together because Joe was struggling with the altitude too.
It’s great if someone in your group can keep their cool. Much like when you are drunk but someone is much drunker than you – you can spring into action to help them out.
So after having a very quick look around, we beelined for the café where I purchased a few cans of coke and Kinder Bueno chocolates to perk everyone back up.
Hey, if chocolate works in Harry Potter, it’s going to work up a mountain for someone feeling faint, right?
It did the trick. As does sitting down for a little bit.
Please remember, your breathing feels heavy, your body limbs like lead, heart racing and yeah, it’s uncomfortable. I suffer from health anxiety and I had to keep reminding myself this was a very normal reaction.
And it really is, because we weren’t the only ones. Others around us had to stop to sit down in places you probably wouldn’t need to sit down. And I helped a woman who was bent over to try to catch her breath.
It’s one of the weirdest experiences. The best way I can think to describe it is like gravity is weighing you down an extraordinary amount.
Book in for lunch at the top at Le 3842
If you’re just going up for fun and not going on a grand skiing or hiking adventure, I suggest booking in for lunch at the top.
Make sure you book in advance as spaces fill quickly and those who had wandered in on a whim, they didn’t have the space for.
At promptly 12pm, we dashed inside the restaurant ready to eat and feel our bodies return to “normal” again.
The restaurant has two sittings, 12pm and 2pm.
You can choose from a set menu, two courses or three courses. So there’s no à la carte situation available.
It’s a little expensive, but no more than what you’d pay for back down at a reasonable altitude.
And the service is lovely, the man who was running the restaurant is full of good nature, laughing at our ridiculous photo taking and general disorientation – I suspect he’s quite used to it!
A pro-tip: Even though I love a good glass of wine, up at 3842 metres, I had to decline. I felt a bit out of sorts and decided not to indulge.
If you’re feeling up to it – go for it. By that point, Joe and his dad had ordered a pint each. But I think I felt better for not on this occasion.
So you’ve acclimated, here’s what you can do
Visit the Glass Box
This is the holy grail for photos up at the top of the mountain and something I couldn’t WAIT to do.
Unfortunately, it was so cold that it was unsafe to go into the glass box for photos. So if you’re visiting in the winter, do know that there’s the possibility that it might be closed. Fair enough, I’d rather not risk safety for a photo!
Check out the viewing decks
There are several viewing decks located up at the top of the Aiguille du Midi.
Be sure to have a wander outside and explore them all. Each gives a unique perspective towards the mountains and down below.
Walk through the ice alcove to incredible sights
Make sure to walk into the mountain cove and turn left!
Down a tunnel is well, an ice exit way for hikers and skiers. We had a little nosy watching everyone going down the mountain – it looks pretty terrifying to be honest!
But also a very cool thing to witness.
Don’t forget the elevator to the HIGHEST point
Yes, somehow they’ve built an elevator into the mountain.
It takes you up to the highest viewing deck (and also the glass box). It’s at this point that I’d realized we’d been up there for about three hours and I needed to get back into lower altitudes.
I’m not sure that you could stay up there for too much longer than that.
Getting back to Chamonix
The cable car lifts run every half hour back down into the town of Chamonix.
We were lucky that when we decided we HAD to get down, there was one leaving in 5 minutes. Thank goodness!
You’ll start to feel almost immediately better as you descend back towards Chamonix.
When we stopped off at the halfway point again, we actually got out to take pictures while we waited for the next cable car to be ready to go.
I felt SO much better at 2,317 metres.
Eventually, before you know it, you’re back at a semi-normal altitude and can feel all of your limbs again. What a joy to feel again!
Overall impressions of visiting Mont Blanc
Honestly, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity if you’re in Chamonix.
I suggest absolutely throwing caution to the wind and going up the mountain! I definitely felt out of my comfort zone and uneasy during some of it. My hands were freezing and my heart was racing. It was a struggle to walk up and down the stairs at times.
But that said, it’s not something I’m doing every single day. It was a chance to see something incredible and for that, it was worth it.
Of course, please do note that if you have any prior medical conditions to consult with your doctors before embarking on the journey.
Have you been to Mont Blanc before? Did I leave anything out that you should do on your visit?
Kelly xox