Tour du Mont Blanc

France → Italy → Switzerland → France

Trekking poles required.

Come hungry.

Where I stayed:

1. Best Food

I miss dinners at the huts. New day, new hut, new chef, new table full of strangers. One thing everyone can bond over is the food. 😍 Quality and plenty of it. Some huts even serve frothed milk in the morning. It’s the Italian uncle you wish you had, who makes the world’s best marinara. No seriously, the world’s best marinara.

#1 Rifugio Maison Vieille

Courmayeur, Italy

Back in France, you will find what I thought was the 2nd best dinner. Right below the chairlift. Beautiful salad, bay leaf infused vegetable ratatouille, and delicious brown butter chocolate cake. Helped myself to 4 helpings of the ratatouille. Best I’ve ever had. Glutony at it’s finest.

#2 Ecuries de Charamillon

Chamonix, France

2. Best Sleep

8 mountain huts. 2 hotels. 1 hostel.

No better sighting after a grueling 8 hour hike than a mountain hut. Specifically, the hut you booked. Warm showers, beer, and a place to rest. Between all the huts, hotels, and one hostel, my best sleep was in a tent. I slept like a baby. I woke up to the rhythm of Torrent des Glaciers and mountain birds. What a lovely spot on earth. All the perks of a hut, but the privacy of your own space. I ended up staying here 2 nights.

#1 Gite Le Pontet

Les Contamines, France

3. Best Stop

The place I loved the most was right on a glacial fed lake.

#1 Champex

Champex, Switzerland

Did I mention wild blueberries grow all around the lake? Free snacks.

#2 La Fouly

La Fouly, Switzerland

Soothing glacial flow and beautiful people.

4. Best Tourist Attraction

In Les Houches, paragliders ride the thermals of Mont Blanc (an almost 16,000 ft mountain) at 7AM. Can you imagine being that cool? I can’t. I chose more realistic options for my fatty lifestyle.

#1 QC Terme thermal spa

Chamonix, France and right outside Courmayeur, Italy

With locations in Chamonix and right outside Courmayeur, a lush spa visit is ESSENTIAL. Hydrojets, waterfalls, whirlpools, biosaunas, steam baths, Kneipp path, and a wellness buffet. Name your relaxation Rx and chances are they probably have it. Could not recommend this place enough. 50 euro.

Next up on the adventure hit list is a visit to Mer de Glace. Not a climatologist here but, this place is melting fast.

#2 Montenvers – the ice cave

Chamonix, France

Ride the red cogwheel train up to a piece of history. Ice compacted over thousands of years, now carved out for your admiration. Or your tears. Might as well melt along with it.