Grand Balcon Nord (High North Balcony) is the most iconic hike in Chamonix, France. Following the northern side of the mountains surrounding the Chamonix-Mont-Blanc Valley, this hiking trail offers jaw-dropping scenery and fantastic views of Mont Blanc.
The best and most popular part of the Grand Balcon Nord hike is between Plan de l’Aiguille du Midi (middle cable car station between Chamonix and Aiguille du Midi) and Montenvers – Mer de Glace (upper cogwheel train station).
Aiguille du Midi and Mer de Glace are the two main mountain peak destinations that you really have to see in Chamonix, whether you are hiking or not. But if you want to see some of the most remarkable mountain scenery in the area that cannot be seen from the train or the cable station, we highly recommend considering the Grand Balcon Nord hike between these two areas.
In fact, if you want to do just one hike in Chamonix, don’t look any further – Grand Balcon Nord is the very best choice! This hike includes all the main highlights of Chamonix in a few short hours.
In this guide, you can find all the information about this iconic hike: where to start, in which direction to hike and why (spoiler alert – it’s not what most guides tell you!), and where to find the best scenery. We also include a map and experience-based tips to help you make the most of your visit. Find out!
Hike Overview & Map
The Grand Balcon Nord is a one-way hike following the middle of the mountain with a rather limited elevation change. Since you can reach both ends of this trail by cable car and cogwheel train, this hike can be easily done in any direction. Further below, we explain which direction we recommend and why.
Here is a short overview of the Grand Balcon Nord hike:
- Start/end: Plan de l’Aiguille du Midi 2,317 m (7,602 ft) cable car station to/from Montenvers cogwheel train station at Mer de Glace (1,913 m (6,276 ft).
- Recommended trail: via Signal Forbes (2,200 m (7,218 ft) – the purple line on our map below instead of the red trail. More info further below.
- Difficulty: Moderate.
- Duration: 2.5 hours or 3 hours via Signal Forbes.
- Distance: 5.7 km (3.5 miles) or 6.6 km (4.1 miles) via Signal Forbes.
- Elevation change depends on the direction and the route chosen:
- Plan de l’Aiguille to Montenvers/Mer de Glace: 89 m (292 ft) up and 455 m (1,492 ft) down.
- Plan de l’Aiguille to Montenvers/Mer de Glace via Signal Forbes: 183 m (600 ft) up and 560 m (1,837 ft) down.
- Montenvers/Mer de Glace to Plan de l’Aiguille: 455 m (1,492 ft) up and 89 m (292 ft) down.
- Montenvers/Mer de Glace to Plan de l’Aiguille via Signal Forbes: 560 m (1,837 ft) up and 183 m (600 ft) down.
- Season: Summer months (+-June to early October).
- Facilities: Bathrooms and restaurants at both ends of the trail.
- Gear: Good hiking shoes are a must! Hiking poles are useful.
- What to bring: sun protection, water, and a sweater/windbreaker.
The Most Scenic Route – Signal Forbes Detour
The Grand Balcon Nord hike is one of the most scenic hikes in Europe, so no matter which route you choose, you will have amazing views. That said, if you are looking for the VERY BEST views, be sure to follow the detour via Signal Forbes (the purple line on our map above).
This route is a bit longer, a lot steeper, and it will take you about 20-30 minutes extra compared to the shortest trail. However, the official signs that you will find en-route show it as a recommended itinerary (itinéraire conseillé). There are several reasons for this. First, the scenery. And second, safety.
The trail between Montenvers-Mer de Glace train station and Signal Forbes offers unparalleled views of the nearby glaciers and the surrounding mountains. The 360° views at the top of Signal Forbes are spectacular too!
Whereas if you take the ‘regular’ Grand Balcon Nord trail (indicated in red), you will miss the best glacier views and will be looking at the Chamonix Valley most of the time. Furthermore, this part of the trail has some challenging, delicate sections (indicated with red crosses on our map above) with steep drops and some rock scrambling. The official signs warn you of a delicate passage (passage délicat) if you opt for this route.
Good to know: All in all, both routes are absolutely fine if you have hiking experience and know what to expect on Alpine trails. However, please read further before you decide to do this hike!
Who Is This Hike For?
Grand Balcon Nord trail is a beautiful hike that can be done by most people in good physical shape AND with hiking experience. You can also do this hike with children from about 6-7 years IF they are used to hiking and can handle a 3-hour hike involving some steeper sections.
We did this hike with our teenagers and – as usual – had to ask them to wait for us all the time. We also saw several families on this trail with younger kids (from +-7-8 years) and they all seemed to be doing fine. Better than some of the adults.
However, keep in mind that no matter which route you follow or in which direction you hike, the Grand Balcon Nord Trail is a moderate mountain hike and not a walk in the park.
We got the impression that too many people do the Grand Balcon Nord hike unprepared. This is a really worrying trend at many mountain destinations nowadays – people getting inspired by social media posts overestimating their ability and/or underestimating the hike.
We met quite some people on this hike who looked like they never hiked before… At one point, we passed a small group of friends who were trying to convince a young woman in their group to hike further telling her that she had to finish the hike or sleep on the mountain. They started at Plan de l’Aiguille du Midi and at that point had hiked the easiest downhill section of less than a third of the trail, with the longest part and much more challenging sections still ahead of them…
So if you have never hiked in the mountains, or have any doubts about your ability, do yourself a favor and simply visit both ends of the trail by cable car and train. Also, don’t do this hike if the snow has not melted yet, if the weather isn’t great, or if you don’t have proper hiking shoes.
Further below, you can find a detailed hike description with some pictures that will give you a better idea of what to expect. But first, let’s take a look at the best direction in which to do the hike.
The Best Direction (Not the Easiest!)
Grand Balcon hike is a one-way hike between two mountain stations – Plan de l’Aiguille du Midi which can be reached by cable car and Montenvers-Mer de Glace which can be reached by train from Chamonix. So you can easily do this hike in any direction.
Since Plan de l’Aiguille du Midi (2,317 m – 7,602 ft) is located at a somewhat higher altitude than Mer de Glace (1,913 m – 6,276 ft), most travel guides will tell you to do the hike starting at Plan de l’Aiguille du Midi. However, a smaller elevation gain is the only reason to do the hike in this direction.
After chatting to people from a local tourism office in Chamonix, we chose to do the hike in the other direction, starting at Mer de Glace and ending at Plan de l’Aiguille du Midi, and I highly recommend considering doing it the same way.
If you are used to hiking, then you know that an elevation gain of 400-500 meters is not such a big deal (and it’s better for your knees to go up than down) and the reward in this case makes it more than worth it – see below.
Here are the main reasons to do the Grand Balcon Nord hike starting at Mer de Glace:
- The views. You will be hiking toward the best view (Mont Blanc), so the hike is much more scenic. below, you can see two pictures that give you a good idea of how the views compare depending on the direction you choose.
- The sun. If you start at Plan de l’Aiguille du Midi, you will have the sun in your face all the time, whereas starting at Mer de Glace the sun will be behind you.
- No reservations. L’Aiguille du Midi is the most popular mountain excursion in Chamonix and the cable car to go up the mountain has to be reserved (in the high season, at least several days in advance!). In the meantime, the Montenvers train requires no reservation, making it much easier to plan your visit (or adjust based on the weather).
- Fewer crowds. If you take the earliest train, you will be able to explore Mer de Glace (viewing platforms, ice cave, etc.) without big crowds. You will also meet fewer people doing the hike in the same direction as you, which makes it easier to hike at your own pace. And if you plan to visit the mountain peak of l’Aiguille du Midi after doing this hike, it will be much quieter there too since most day trippers will be gone by the time you get to the top. Just keep in mind that if you want to do all this on the same day, it’s best to take the very first train in the morning (normally, at 10 AM).
LEARN MORE: How to See the Best of Chamonix in 1 Day
Furthermore, if you start at Mer de Glace and make a detour to Signal Forbes, you will do the steepest part of the trail in the beginning, making the rest of the hike more relaxing. Otherwise, you start rather easy and have a tougher part of the hike toward the end.
But even if you opt for the shorter route without a detour, the Grand Balcon Nord trail closer to Mer de Glace has several more challenging sections. It’s easier to do those at the beginning of the hike rather than at the end, after you have been hiking for 1.5-2 hours.
Grand Balcon Nord Hike Description & Photos
Below is a short overview of the Grand Balcon Nord hike as we did it, starting at Mer de Glace, going via Signal Forbes, and ending at Plan de l’Aiguille du Midi.
If you do it in the other direction, it will be somewhat easier (less climbing), but make sure to turn back once in a while because the best views will be behind you most of the time.
Start at Montenvers Train Station
After taking the Montenvers train to Mer de Glace and exploring everything there, locate the starting point of the Grand Balcon Nord Trail. It’s not really indicated under this name, but don’t worry – it’s easy to find. What you are looking for are the signs to Plan de l’Aiguille du Midi or Signal Forbes (also indicated as ‘Le Signal’).
After leaving the station, walk in the direction of the Grand Hotel and Glaciorium. Once you pass the hotel terrace, start looking out for hiking signs.
The signs to Plan de l’Aiguille du Midi point left and right, because there are two ways to do this hike. One sign indicates the left route – via Le Signal – as ‘itinéraire conseillé’ (a recommended route). This is the route we followed and that is described below.
TIP: Don’t forget to use the bathrooms at Montenvers train station. Once you leave, there will be no facilities until you reach the Refuge du Plan de l’Aiguille, which is located just 15 minutes before Plan de l’Aiguille itself, so pretty much at the end of the trail.
Montenvers Station (Mer de Glace) to Signal Forbes
If you also choose to hike via Le Signal, you will follow the trail to the left and will be walking back toward the Mer de Glace Glacier. It starts going up pretty soon and you will be climbing pretty much all the time until you get to Le Signal.
On this first part of the trail, you will be looking toward Mer de Glace Glacier pretty much all the time. Once you get higher, you will also have a very good view of the glacier of Argentière, a few waterfalls in the distance, and stunning mountain scenery in all directions.
Good to know: The hiking distance from Montenvers station to Signal Forbes is about 1.6 km (1 mile) and the elevation gain is about 300 meters (984 ft). It takes about 45 minutes to reach the top. This is also what the signs indicate and also the time it took us. We walked rather slowly, with lots of photo stops along the way. Our teenagers could have easily done this in half an hour, but not everyone hikes like mountain goats… 😉
Signal Forbes & Lunch
Once you reach Signal Forbes, the steepest part of the trail and the longest climb is behind you. The scenery here is breathtaking, so don’t rush through and take your time to look around and enjoy the views!
We found that this was an excellent place for a break and had a picnic at the top.
We started our day with a 10 am train ride to Montenvers, visited Mer de Glace ice cave, etc. so it was around 12:30 when we got to Le Signal – a perfect time for lunch.
TIP: If you are not bringing a picnic with you, you may want to get something to eat at Mer de Glace, before you start this hike. Alternatively, buy something small to take with you.
Signal Forbes to Intersection with the Grand Balcon Nord Route
Once you leave Le Signal, you also leave the Mer de Glace Glacier and start walking toward the Mont Blanc. From here on, you will be looking at the Mont Blanc Massif pretty much all the time.
The trail follows a rather flat rocky path and is rather flat and easy – a welcome change after all the climbing.
At first, you go a bit downwards at a very relaxing pace, afterward it gets a bit steeper, and finally you zig-zag down on a rather steep trail until you reach the intersection with the original Grand Balcon Nord trail (the place where purple and red trails meet on our map above).
If for whatever reason you don’t want to do the entire Grand Balcon Nord trail, you could turn back toward Montevers station following the red trail from here. According to the signs, it takes about 45 minutes to get back to the train station from here. Just keep in mind that this part of the hike is more ‘delicate’ according to the official signs and maps.
Good to know: This part of the trail from Signal to the intersection takes about 30 minutes. It took us a few minutes longer because we stopped to pick some blueberries along the way. (We did this hike in late August which is the blueberry season and you will see people picking blueberries everywhere in the mountains around Chamonix).
Grand Balcon Nord Route to Refuge du Plan de l’Aiguille du Midi
The signs at the intersection show that it takes 1h15 to reach the Refuge du Plan de l’Aiguille and 1h40 to reach Plan de l’Aiguille du Midi cable car station, the end point of this trail. This means that if you hike via Le Signal as we did, you are about halfway through the hike here.
The trail from here on is rather simple, without too much elevation change, so you can relax and enjoy the views. Mont Blanc will be in front of you all the time so you have the most fantastic backdrop for all your pictures.
After a while, the trail starts going a bit uphill and you cross quite a few mountain streams. After a sharp corner, you will soon reach the mountain shelter Refuge du Plan de l’Aiguille. From here, it’s a 10-15 minute uphill walk to the cable car station at Plan de l’Aiguille du Midi.
Good to know: There are restaurants at both these places, so if you didn’t bring a picnic, you could have lunch here.
Plan de l’Aiguille du Midi
The Grand Balcon Nord hike ends at Plan de l’Aiguille du Midi, which is the middle cable car station between Chamonix and Aiguille du Midi mountain peak.
Here, you have several options. You could stay in this area a bit longer and hike to a small mountain lake, Lac Bleu (15-20 minutes hike one-way), go down to Chamonix by cable car (or hiking, but we do not recommend that), or take a cable car all the way to the top and visit Aiguille du Midi (recommended).
Good to know: If you plan to visit Aiguille du Midi after doing the Grand Balcon Hike, you can easily do this because the cable car only has to be reserved if you take it from Chamonix and not from the middle station. Just keep in mind that you will need at least 2 hours to visit Aiguille du Midi, likely even 3 hours including the cable car journey up and down.
Also, be sure to check the gondola schedule so that you have enough time for everything you want to do. We visited Mer de Glace, hiked the Grand Balcon Nord trail via Signal, and visited Aiguille du Midi on the same day and it all worked out great. But you really have to take one of the first trains from Chamonix to Montenvers in the morning to make this work, especially in the high season when it’s super busy everywhere.
Is Grand Balcon Nord Hike Worth It?
Since the Grand Balcon Nord hike starts and ends at places that can be easily reached without hiking, you may be wondering if it’s actually worth doing the entire hike. My answer is “YES! But…”.
When you travel as much as we do and have seen so many amazing destinations, it’s becoming more and more rare that we experience a real WOW moment. The views along the Grand Balcon Nord trail had this wow effect on us. It’s truly one of the most beautiful hikes we have ever done. So yes, it’s absolutely worth it!
If the weather is good, you enjoy hiking, and are in good shape to do a 2.5-3 hour hike, then yes, absolutely, go for it! The scenery is spectacular and you will see a lot more than at the cable car/train stations, especially if you hike via Le Signal.
That said, if the weather isn’t great, or if you don’t have the time to enjoy the hike at a relaxed pace, or if you are not a hiker and are worried that you may not be fit enough, then simply take more time to explore both ends of this trail without doing the entire hike. You will still see some phenomenal landscapes even if you don’t do the entire hike.
So, this is our guide to the Grand Balcon Nord trail. I hope that it gives you a good idea of what you can expect and helps you make the most out of your visit to Chamonix.
Have a great trip!
TIP: If you are also visiting Switzerland on this trip and are looking for some of the best hikes there as well, here are some of our absolute favorites:
- Best Hikes at Schynige Platte
- Oeschinensee Panorama Hike
- Stoos Ridge Hike
- Matterhorn Glacier Trail
- Bachalpsee Lake Hike
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