Hiking around Chamonix
After leaving La Grave, we drove toward Chamonix to spend a few days there. The weather was beautiful, and the summer crowds had mostly gone home.
Day one
We enjoyed a few picnic walks, and one of our favourites was the route from Les Bois up to Montenvers, with a picnic stop along the way. The path is steep, but the stunning views make it worth the effort. There’s a buvette on the way, and, of course, several lovely spots for a picnic with a view of the Dru.
We made our way up through the wooded path and eventually reached Montenvers. From there, we walked back down to Planard, winding through the forest and occasionally crossing the railway tracks, before returning to Chamonix town.
The round trip was 15.79Km, with 885 elevation gain.
Day two
The next day, we drove to Vallorcine and parked at the Le Buet train station car park. After packing our picnic, we set off along the path toward Refuge de la Pierre Berard. We followed the river for a while before coming out into the open, winding our way up the zig-zagging trail to the refuge. When we arrived, the staff were busy preparing vegetables for supper. We stopped for a quick drink, then made our way down to find a spot for our picnic.
After our sandwiches, we continued the on down, reaching the valley just in time to catch the sunset.
The Hotel Du Buet was bustling with a large group just having checked in for the night with their ponies. We stopped for a drink and chatted with some of the hikers we had passed on the trail earlier in the day. It's a lovely place, we'd love to go back to stay over sometime in the future.
The total walk was 12.93Kms with 600m elevation gain.
Day three
Our final day in Chamonix was a bit of a rush. We had an appointment at the vet for Basil’s worming before heading back to the UK, so time was tight. To make the most of it, we took the Montenvers Train up the mountain. Once there, we strolled along the trail to find a perfect picnic spot. After lunch, we caught the train back down, then hurried to the vet and got everything ready for our journey home.
