Thinking of visiting Chamonix, France, for 1 day and wondering how to best plan your time so that you can see all the best sights of Chamonix in one day? In this guide, you can find our recommended Chamonix 1-day itinerary that covers the ‘musts’ in the most efficient way.
No matter in which season you are visiting, this itinerary will help you make the most of your day trip to Chamonix. Find out!
World-renowned as home to the iconic Mont Blanc mountain, Chamonix is one of the most popular mountain destinations in the Alps. Since it’s located on the border between three countries – France, Switzerland, and Italy, Chamonix is also a very popular day trip destination from many nearby destinations.
But how to see the very best that Chamonix has to offer if you only have one day?
In this article, we show you how you can plan your time so that you experience the very best of Chamonix in one day. To make it easier to understand where everything is located and how it all connects, we created a map indicating all the places we recommend visiting. You can find it at the end of the article, together with a detailed 1-day Chamonix itinerary with approximate time indications.
TIP: If you don’t have the time to read the entire article and plan everything yourself, or if you didn’t think about reserving cable car tickets in advance, booking a guided tour like this is the best way to experience the most stunning mountain scenery around Chamonix in a day!
How to use this guide: First, you will find a detailed program with the best places to see when visiting Chamonix in one day. Further down, you can find practical information about tickets and tours, a map, and a short overview of this itinerary with time indications that will give you a good idea of what your day could look like.
At the end of this guide, we also share an alternative itinerary suggestion that brings you to all the same places, doesn’t require cable car reservations, and includes the most beautiful hike in the area. Keep in mind that hiking can only be done in the summer season and do not underestimate this hike!
Good to know: If you just want to do some easy hiking, it’s also possible and we included the best recommendation below. But overall, by simply following the itinerary as described in detail below, you do not have to do any hiking to see the best scenery.
Here’s how we recommend spending one day in Chamonix:
Aiguille du Midi
Aiguille du Midi is the highest cable car station in France. It’s pretty much as close as you can get to the Mont Blanc without climbing it. At 3,842 meters (12,605 ft), the views from here are absolutely spectacular.
This place is absolutely not to be missed in Chamonix!
There are several viewing platforms here (and lots of stairs!), interesting structures, and exhibits about the building of this unique place. You can also stand in a glass box “Step into the Void®” for unparalleled views of the glacier and the mountains around you.
For an additional fee, you can also take a gondola ride on “Panoramic Mont-Blanc” to get yet another perspective of the surrounding scenery (you can buy tickets on the spot).
Practical information: Aiguille du Midi can be reached from Chamonix via a journey that involves two large cable cars. The first cable car takes you to the middle station, Plan de l’Aiguille, and the second one to the very top. In the busy season, the first gondola – from Chamonix to Plan de l’Aiguille – has to be reserved online at least a few days in advance.
How much time do you need: With all the cable cars and time to explore the top station, you should plan at least 3 hours for a visit to Aiguille du Midi. On busy days, they work with time slots for the downhill journey as well. When we visited recently, they gave us a specific time slot to go down (you get it upon arrival at the top station) and we had to stay at the top for 2 hours – not more, not less.
TIP: If you are planning your own day trip to Chamonix, try to reserve the cable car early in the morning to make sure that you have enough time for everything. If that’s not possible, book a time slot in the early afternoon (+-2 pm) and switch this itinerary around.
The reason we recommend starting with the cable car rather than the train is that trains only start running a few hours later, whereas cable cars go very early (at least in the summer season).
Plan de l’Aiguille
Plan de l’Aiguille is the middle cable car station between Chamonix and Aiguille du Midi. You will pass it on your way up, but it’s best to go to the top first and explore here on the way down.
There are many hiking opportunities here but even if you don’t walk far, the views are fantastic. Some of the mountains in this area reminded us of the rocky peaks in the Italian Dolomites. Stunning!
Here are several suggested ways how you could plan your time in this area:
- Walk around, enjoy the views, and then go down to Chamonix by cable car.
- Take a short hike to a small mountain lake, Lac Bleu, 15-20 minutes each way. Afterward, descend to Chamonix by cable car.
- Hike to Mer de Glace (2.5-3 hours) via the Grand Balcon Nord route, visit everything there (more info below), then take the Montenvers Train back to Chamonix town.
Since most people don’t hike (and it’s not possible in all seasons), for this itinerary, we assume that you take the cable car down to town. See our tips further below on how to plan the rest of your day in Chamonix.
And if you are up for a longer hike, we have another suggestion on how to plan this day (and see the best scenery) at the end of this article.
4D Cinema & Lunch
Back at the Aiguille du Midi cable car station in Chamonix, check out the 4D immersive cinema experience. The film takes just 12 minutes and is well worth it.
The story follows a bird and takes you on an aerial journey through the most spectacular mountain landscapes around Mont Blanc. To cite our kids “it’s cool and so much better than we expected”. So if the wait is not too long, don’t miss it!
Good to know: The 4D cinema is included with the Mont-Blanc MultiPass, but not with regular tickets (in that case, you get a discount). More info here.
Lunch: There are many nice restaurants/cafes at all mountain stations and there are plenty of eateries in Chamonix town. So depending on the timing of your visit, you can decide where to eat on the day itself. That said, if you want to make the most of your time, we recommend either packing a picnic for lunch or buying something a sandwich at one of the restaurants at the peak cable car stations. If you sit down for lunch, you will likely need at least 1 hour.
Montenvers Train to Mer de Glace
Next, walk to the Montenvers Train Chamonix Station. It’s less than a kilometer away and takes about 15 minutes on foot. You can also take a public bus for a part of this short trip, but unless it arrives at the exact moment you need it, it won’t save you much time.
Montenvers Train is an iconic red cogwheel train that brings you from Chamonix town at 1,035 meters to Montenvers-Mer De Glace at an altitude of 1,913 meters in about half an hour.
Mer de Glace is no longer the sea of ice as its name suggests and as it was when the train station and the hotel here were built in the 19th century. But you can still see a part of the remaining glacier and the scenery here is very impressive. So it’s still very much worth the journey.
If you want to learn more about glaciers, you will find some info panels and you can also visit the small exhibition at Glaciorium (free of charge).
Weather conditions permitting, you can also visit an ice cave inside the glacier (also free of charge). For that, you will have to take gondolas that bring you closer to the glacier (included with train tickets), followed by quite some stairs.
How much time do you need: Count at least 2 hours for a trip to Mer de Glace from Chamonix and back.
Good to know: At the moment, the Montenvers Train cannot be reserved (luckily!), but it also means that it can get busy at times. Be sure to plan some extra time in case you have to wait for the next train. See here for more practical information, train schedule, etc.
After your visit here, take a train back to Chamonix.
If you are doing this itinerary in reverse order and are staring at Mer de Glace, you could hike from here to Plan de l’Aiguille instead of taking the train down to town and the gondola up from there. If you are considering this option, be sure to read all the information under our alternative itinerary suggestion at the end of this article.
Alpine Coaster
A short walk from the Montenvers Train Station in Chamonix, you will find the Chamonix Amusement Park. It’s mostly a place for families with young kids, with lots to do for the youngest members of your family, and a kids’ ski area in the winter.
But they also have an Alpine Coaster which is quite fun for all ages and it’s open year-round (however, not every day – depends on the season).
So if you still have some energy left after all the sightseeing in the mountains, you may want to make a short detour and check it out. We were too tired and just got some drinks at the restaurant but our teens went several times and said that it was great.
Good to know: You don’t have to decide on this in advance and can simply buy tickets on the spot. In the summer, they are open daily and quite late, so it’s easy to add Alpine Coaster to your itinerary, but in the other seasons, it might be a bit less straightforward. See their website for up-to-date practical information and opening times which differ a lot depending on when you visit.
Chamonix Town & Dinner
End your day with some sightseeing in Chamonix town itself. The town center is rather compact so you don’t need much time.
Don’t miss the main square and the Statue of Balmat and de Saussure. Jacques Balmat was the first person to reach the summit of Mont Blanc in 1786 and collected the reward offered by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure to the first person who climbed Mont Blanc. A year later, Balmat guided de Saussure to the top as well.
If you follow the river north from here, you will soon reach a covered wooden bridge. It’s just a short walk and nice to see. For the rest, just walk around the town, where you will find some shops and many restaurants.
There are also several museums in Chamonix. If you have some time left, you may want to check out the Museum of Crystals. However, its opening times are rather limited (usually, 2-6 pm) so it may be a bit difficult to do if you only have a day in Chamonix.
If you are staying for dinner, you will find lots of good restaurants in Chamonix town. However, you may want to reserve a table in advance, especially if traveling in the summer and the peak ski season.
Tickets & Day Tours
Tickets: If you are traveling on your own and are following the Chamonix day trip itinerary as described here, it’s best to buy a Mont Blanc MultiPass for a day (or multiple days if you plan on staying longer). If, however, your time is limited, then just get round-trip tickets either for Aiguille du Midi cable car or the Montenvers Train.
Keep in mind that cable car tickets have to be reserved for a specific time slot!
In the busy season when the best time slots for the gondola have to be reserved days if not weeks in advance, booking a tour is often the best/only way to see the best of Chamonix in a day! (Or you have to be prepared to go on a long hike – we describe that option further below.)
Tours: Chamonix can easily be visited on a day trip from Geneva, Switzerland. If you are traveling that way, don’t even look further and book a day tour – it will make everything so much easier and you’ll be able to make the most of your time.
PRO TIP: When comparing prices, keep in mind that many tours initially only include a round-trip by bus and then let you upgrade with additional options, depending on what exactly you want to visit in Chamonix. Be sure that you opt for both – the cable car ride to Aiguille du Midi as well as the Montenvers cogwheel train to Mer de Glace. Otherwise, you’ll miss out on the best scenery!
At the moment of writing, this is the best-value tour that includes transportation between Geneva and Chamonix, the cable car, and the train at its advertised price.
Suggested Chamonix 1-Day Itinerary & Map
So, this is our recommended Chamonix itinerary for one day. Here’s a short recap once again, with hours indicated just for your reference.
Please note that the hours are only meant to give you a better idea of what your day could look like, but a lot will depend on the cable car time slot you can get (also depends on the season), and how busy it is on the day of your visit.
Talking about seasons, normally, you can do this trip in any season – as long as gondolas and trains are running. Every year, they close for maintenance works for a few weeks in the lower season, but the closure period for the train and the gondola is usually not the same. So even if you happen to visit Chamonix in the shoulder season when one of the two is closed, you can still follow at least a part of this itinerary.
Here’s what your 1 day in Chamonix could look like:
- 8 am: Cable car from Chamonix to Aiguille du Midi.
- 9-11 am: Visit Aiguille du Midi.
- 11 am: Cable car to Plan de l’Aiguille and a short walk in the area.
- Noon: Cable car down to Chamonix, 4D Cinema, lunch.
- 2 pm: Montenvers Train.
- 2.30-3.30 pm: Visit Mer de Glace.
- 3.30-4 pm: Train back to Chamonix.
- Late afternoon/ evening: Alpine coaster, Chamonix town center & dinner.
Good to know: This trip can also be done in reverse order, starting with the Montenvers train and visiting Aiguille du Midi in the afternoon. Just keep an eye on train/gondola schedules to make sure that it all works out. In that case, it’s best to take the very first train in the morning!
Below, we share yet another suggestion on how you could plan your day if you want to see the best places and also do some hiking.
Alternative Day Trip Itinerary Including Grand Balcon Nord Hike
As already mentioned earlier, you can hike between Plan de l’Aiguille (the middle cable car station) to Mer de Glace (upper Montenvers train station). This hike is called Grand Balcon Nord and can be done in any direction.
There is less uphill walking if you start at Plan de l’Aiguille, but the views are better if you start at Mer de Glace. There is another advantage in starting with a train – you don’t need cable car reservations (this info is correct at the moment of the last update – be sure to double-check it)!
So if you have a day in Chamonix, want to see the best places, and don’t mind some hiking (summer season only!), then your itinerary could look like this (based exactly on what we did recently):
- 10 am: Train from Chamonix to Montenvers – Mer de Glace (this was the first train of the day when we visited and you must get it or you won’t have enough time for everything).
- 10.30 – 11.30 am: Explore Mer de Glace, visit an ice cave, etc.
- 11.30 am – 3 pm: Hike to Plan de l’Aiguille via a detour to Signal Forbes (including a relaxing stop for a picnic lunch).
- 3.15 – 3.30 pm: cable car from Plan de l’Aiguille to Aiguille du Midi (this part doesn’t require reservations and you also don’t need reservations to go down – but it can be busy so everything can take longer).
- 3.30 – 5.30 pm: Explore Aiguille du Midi.
- 5.30-6.25 pm: Cable car to Plan de l’Aiguille and from there to Chamonix (there was a very long wait here when we visited, normally it doesn’t take that long).
- 6.30 – 6.45 pm: 4D Cinema (we were just in time for the last show of the day).
- Evening: Chamonix and dinner.
Keep in mind that you won’t be able to do the Alpine Coaster if you choose to do the trip this way (it will be closed by the time you get back) and that the Grand Balcon Nord hike is not a walk in the park (even more so if you go via Signal Forbes, as we did). You need Alpine hiking experience and good hiking shoes.
LEARN MORE: Grand Balcon Nord Hike
Practical Information
We already discussed tickets, reservations, and tours. Here is some additional information you may find useful when planning a day trip to Chamonix:
- Getting there. Chamonix can easily be reached by car and there are also good public transport connections. Although, depending on where you are coming from, train journeys can take much longer than driving. Since Chamonix is located just 1-hour drive from Geneva, it’s a very popular day trip destination with many tours that can bring you to Chamonix for a day.
- Parking. If you are driving to Chamonix for a day, it’s best to leave your car at the big open-air car park right under the Aiguille du Midi gondola, just across the street from the cable car station. On Google Maps, this parking is called ‘Parking de Grépon’ – we indicated it in our map. It’s by far the biggest parking in the area. It’s also spacious enough for large cars and campers and there are several chargers for electric cars.
- Money. Chamonix is in France, so you will need euros (not Swiss Francs for those of you traveling from Geneva). That said, most places accept card payments, so if you have a credit card (ideally, cards with no foreign transaction fees), you don’t absolutely need cash. However, it’s always good to have some euros for small payments as many local businesses won’t take cards for amounts under 5-10 euros.
- Clothing. Be sure to dress in layers since you will be visiting so many different altitudes. Even on the warmest summer days, you will need a warm sweater at the top of Aiguille du Midi. In the shoulder season and in winter, bring winter clothing including warm jackets, gloves, scarves, etc.
- Footwear. If you are just visiting Aiguille du Midi and Montenvers – Mer de Glace, you will be fine with sneakers or similar (just don’t come in sandals, flip-flops, or high heels!). However, if you plan to do any hiking, good hiking shoes are a must!
- Where to stay. If you are only visiting Chamonix for a day, you don’t need a hotel in town. That said, if you can spend two nights/ one full day here, it would make your trip so much more relaxing. In that case, check out the Heliopic Hotel located just near the cable car station (among other things, this hotel has an indoor pool and an ice cave spa!).
So, this is our guide to visiting Chamonix for a day. I hope that this helps you plan your time and see the very best that this stunning mountain resort has to offer.
TIP: If your trip takes you to Geneva and other parts of Switzerland, check out our Switzerland travel page. It features tons of guides for some of the most popular cities and mountain destinations in Switzerland – from Lucerne or Bern to Jungfraujoch, Mount Titlis, and Zermatt, to mention just a few. Check it out!
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