If you want a different weekend adventure to spice up your travel to Europe this summer, try getting out of Paris or Geneva and heading to Chamonix, France. Chamonix is a popular ski town for most of the year, but in the warmer months one of the greatest thrills around is taking a gondola ride past Mont Blanc, from France to Italy. You can stop for a cappuccino in Italia and still make it back in time for dinner at the chalet in Chamonix!
The gondola ride is not for those with a fear of heights, but if you love a bird’s eye view, this is the most purely serene experience in Europe. The ride lasts forty minutes, and the tiny gondolas seat a maximum of four people. There are similar rides in Zermatt, Switzerland and other ski towns, but this ride is unique in the absolute calm and quiet. The only colors in view are the white and gray of the snow and mountains and the striking blue of the sky, and if you listen closely you can hear the drip as icicles melt in the summer sun.
While the cafe on the Helbronner side of the ride is not quite up to the glass chandeliered standards of regal favorites like Venice’s Caffe Florian, the coffee and hot chocolate seem heaven sent after the chilly, adrenaline-filled trip. There are lookout points, and you can get your photo taken at the border of France and Italy, and there is even a small museum to explore while you thaw out and prepare for the return trip.
The Chamonix side has more to offer in the way of a cafe with cheesey, gooey yummy lunches and a gift shop so that you can prove to your friends that you made it to the top of the Aguille du Midi. There are extensive exterior walks and opportunities for you to take the most impressive photos of your vacation, and an elevator takes you even higher for a stunning rooftop view to make you feel like you are quite literally on top of the world. “And above it all, Mont Blanc,” as Percy Bysshe Shelley noted in the 19th century — the mountain is no less impressive now than it was in the time of the Romantics, and we have the means to get much closer than Shelley and Byron. Switzerland’s Matterhorn has a certain butch aggression that anyone can appreciate, but the delicate slopes of Mont Blanc and its surrounding mountains are more suited as the source of poetic inspiration.
Chamonix is reachable by bus from Geneva or by a series of trains from most anywhere in France, Switzerland, or northern Italy. Though chain hotels near a train station are not generally particularly regal, the Mercure in Chamonix is perfectly lovely and many of its rooms contain balconies with views of Mont Blanc. Watching the sun set over the mountains in this idyllic town is undeniably luxe, and the buffet breakfast at the hotel is a full-stocked treat to start your day. The staff are also exceedingly friendly and helpful, which may come as a shock to the system after time in Paris!
While it’s not really a town for bargain travel, there are some travel websites offering package deals, especially if you opt not to go during the peak ski season.