Since my son Chris thought all the places we were going were pretty boring 😂, he sent me a friends recommendation to visit Chamonix and go on the Aguille du midi. So we thought… why not? There was nothing like that planned in our itinerary and it was not too far away. Always looking for a new adventure and experiences. e booked a bus for the following morning and we were off.

Trying to capture the stunning beauty as the bus sped along was difficult and frustrating.

Sheer rockfaces , waterfalls, snow capped mountains with low lying cloud, cute little Swiss-looking villages and lush green green green meadows with clear blue skies. Considering the weather was looking iffy and had poured last night, once again we were blessed.

We arrived in Chamonix… a stunning mountain resort town nestled in a steep valley between mountains in the Alps of France. The scenery around this little alpine town is phenomenal with views of majestic snow capped peaks including Mont Blanc, Europe’s highest peak… awe-inspiring glaciers (The Mer de Glace (Sea of Ice) is the largest glacier in France, 7km long and 200m deep) and alpine meadows.

There’s no doubt that the biggest attraction in Chamonix is the mind-blowing nature around it but the town itself is also really gorgeous.

We enjoyed a little walk around Chamonix’s historic center… brimming with cute sidewalk cafes, restaurants, bakeries, artisanal food shops and stylish alpine hotels. Walk along the bustling pedestrian streets…

…visited a little church in an idyllic setting…

… and found the flower laden main square lined with quaint historical buildings with the Arve River running through its centre.

The river is fed by the glaciers of the Mont Blanc massif and you can hear it gushing as you wander the streets and even feel how cold it is when standing close by! So picturesque!

We then headed off to the Aiguille du Midi that had been recommended… the highest cable car in France! As we rose steeply into the mountain I was awestruck by the grandeur of the Alps.

The Aiguille du Midi leaves from the center of Chamonix. You start rising sharply up the mountain and feel like you’re suspended in air, about to skim the side of the mountain. The clouds drifted across a blue sky and cast shadows on the sparkling white snow. The granite Mont Blanc towered over the bustling village below, and as we reached the summit, it was as if we were viewing a dollhouse town, complete with a train set, from high above.

This cable car holds the world record for the highest vertical ascent! At the half-way point you’ll arrive at Plan de l’Aiguille, where we took a second lift to the top.

We travelled up to a staggering altitude of 3842m. It feels wildly unearthly for your body up there and bought back memories of treking in Peru at up to 5000m. It’s hard to breathe even with a little exertion.

Literally. Mont Blanc is the highest point in Europe at a staggering 4,807 meters (15,778 feet) tall. And this is the closest you can get to it without having to climb it! Aiguille du Midi means “needle of the Mid-day” and looks a bit like a needle pointing up to the sky.

The views are simply breathtaking. The illusive snow-capped peaks and jagged mountains are some of the most stunning places I’ve ever seen. Next minute… whiteout! Next minute… blue sky! The weather up here is extremely unpredictable.

Had we arrived a little earlier there’s the amazing opportunity to take the panoramic gondola that crosses from Aguille du Midi in France to the Pointe Helbronner in Italy. What an adventure that would have been… a gondola between countries… but sadly not to be (but probably good for my anxiety that can get a little out of control on these occasions). There was not enough time to get across and then back on the last of the day which leaves Italy at 2.30 🤷🏼‍♀️.

We did “Step Into the Void” a five-sided glass box at an altitude of 3,842 meters overlooking the mountain chasms. It felt a little like we were suspended in thin air over the Alps! Maybe not one for the faint-hearted (me), but I couldn’t miss the opportunity and the guaranteed awe-inspiring views.

We returned back to the beautiful square and found a restaurant… it was definitely wine time. We sat and had a few glasses, ate some delicious French onion soup and whiled away the time until our bus would leave just after 8pm to take us back home for our last night in Annecy. Big travel day again tomorrow with a huge change of scenery as we hear to the Côte d’Azur.