Aiguille du Midi
A must do when visiting Cham is the Aiguille du Midi. The Aiguille is a 3,842m (12,605ft) mountain where you’ll find Chamonix town centre sitting at the base. You can get a day pass and take the two cable cars to the top. Once you reach the peak you’ll find yourself sitting at the top of Europe surrounded by mountains in France, Italy and Switzerland with amazing views of the Mont Blanc. You’re able to free-roam around the top station with stunning views, a restaurant, cafe, museum and a gift shop. This is also the location for the step into the void which guarantees a great thrill experience.
Once you’ve taken both cable cars up you might think you've reached the top but not quite yet! There is one more elevator located inside of the station which takes you up to the Panoramic Terraces where you'll find the Void. The Step into the Void is spectacular in itself, if you've ever seen a photo from Chamonix it's more than likely someone stood in the Void. The Void is made up of glass walls, glass floor and glass ceiling and has a 1000m drop below you, it's not for the faint hearted!
For an extra charge (not included in the mont-blanc multipass) you can ride the Panoramic Mont Blanc cable car which departs from the top of the Aiguille. The cable car takes you across the glaciers from France, Aiguille du Midi to Italy, Punte Helbronner. The trip takes 50 minutes and gives you amazing birds-eye views of the glaciers. The cable car is not always open when the Aiguille is so check availability first.
Once the snow has started to melt down you're able to go on walks from the mid station and even walk back down to Chamonix. There are many routes back down to the town and you can traverse over to some of the glaciers and alpine lakes. The routes are well trekked out but I’ve found Fatmap has all the hiking routes and is a great help if you ever lose the route or fancy an adventure off the trail. You will also find paragliders taking off from here instead of the Brevent depending on the wind conditions. There is a small cafe which is great to sit out at.
The Aiguille is a must do when coming to Chamonix, it offers an experience like no other and one where you won't be able to put your camera down.
Check out my video here which has some shots from the Aiguille.
Check out my photos here - www.smonix.com/shop
Top tip - Due to covid they’ve now limited numbers on the lift, I would suggest you pre-book your tickets and reserver your slot online to avoid big queues and a long wait!
Link to book tickets - www.montblancnaturalresort.com/fr/aiguille-du-midi
*Always check lift openings as they are closed at certain times of the year.
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