Take a ride on a cable car to the top of Aiguille du Midi for spectacular views of Mont Blanc! Here's how to get ready for your adventure.
Are you planning a visit to Chamonix, France? One of the most popular (and spectacular!) things to do is visit Aguille du Midi for phenomenal views of Mont Blanc.
What is Aguille du Midi?
"Mont Blanc" can refer to both a single mountain as well as the entire portion of mountain range around it (also called a massif). This means that when you're visiting the area, you'll hear the names of other peaks used almost interchangeably with Mont Blanc.
Aguille du Midi is one of the mountain peaks on the Mont Blanc massif. It towers over the nearby town of Chamonix, France at an elevation of more than 12,000 feet.
There's a tower built on top of this peak, and you can ride a cable car to get dramatic views of the massif from up close.
The tower also provides access for mountaineers, skiers and other mountain adventurers. (But you can also stay safely on the metal platforms!)
Which Ticket Should You Buy?
Purchasing tickets is a little confusing because there are so many options. There's a whole system of cable cars.
One option allows you to ride up from Chamonix to the mid-point (below the tower). This ticket is marked as a cable car to Plan de l'Aiguille, the Aiguille du Midi Mid-Station. (It also costs less than the next option.)
The ticket that will take you all the way up to the tower is marked as the Aiguille du Midi Return Ticket. It's generally been the first option (top left) on the ticket page when I've looked.
This option will take you to the Plan de l'Aiguille mid-station, and then you change cable cars to go on up to the summit.
If possible, I’d recommend the full ride up to the Aiguille du Midi tower for the most dramatic views. You can get tickets here.
If you want even more gorgeous views, you can purchase an additional gondola ticket (in person) at the top Aiguille du Midi station for the Panoramic cable car, which takes you across from Mont Blanc (in France) to Pointe Helbronner (in Italy).
Access from Courmayeur, Italy
Aiguille du Midi can also be accessed from the Monte Bianca cable car system in Courmayeur, Italy, which transports you to the peak Pointe Helbronner.
Then you’d need to purchase the Panoramic cable car ticket, mentioned above, to travel on from Pointe Helbronner to Aiguille du Midi.
Getting Tickets
Some discounted tickets are available if you buy early. Don't worry if you're not able to do this far in advance: we saw more tickets released about a day and a half ahead of time. (For us that was around 11-11:30 a.m. Eastern Time.)
Supposedly a small amount of tickets are also sold the day-of, but it was unclear how many.
We had waited to see if the weather would be sunny, and when we checked three days out, our target day had zero tickets available (even though the week before there had been plenty).
Happily, we snagged tickets when they released more (I was refreshing the page regularly as we traveled to the airport).
The cable cars can hold about 65 people per trip.
How to Dress When Visiting Aiguille du Midi
When you first arrive, signs will list the summit temperature. Expect it to feel like winter even in summer.
The day we visited, it was in the high 70s (Fahrenheit) in Chamonix, but at the top of Aiguille du Midi, the temperature was around 34°F. Bring a jacket and hat, even if you don’t need them at the bottom. Sunglasses are a good idea too.
Visiting Aiguille du Midi
We arrived at the visitor center in Chamonix and quickly boarded the first cable car. When the cable car docked at the midpoint, we then got in line to board the second cable car.
The entire ride may have taken about 20 minutes.
Once at the tower, there were two levels of viewing platforms.
The first was immediately accessible once exiting the second cable car. The next required entering an elevator to go up the tower.
Once at the top, you can wander through tunnels and platforms.
From the safety of the platforms, we watched mountaineers moving across the snowy ridges.
Next, we got in line for their glass box experience to “Step into the Void.” It was just as disconcerting as I anticipated, but also kind of fun.
We also wandered the tunnels, where we saw the mountain access point for those wanting a more adventurous day.
Eventually we started looking for food! Aiguille du Midi has a restaurant called Le 3842 with limited hours that requires reservations, but it also has 3842 Summit, a cafeteria that’s easier to access.
The cafeteria is open whenever the cable cars are running and offers baguette sandwiches, croque-monsieurs, quiche, waffles, ice cream, and plenty of sweet baked goods.
We stopped in for a pastry and a drink.
On the way down, we stopped at the cable car midpoint to admire the views from that spot too.
If you’ll be in Chamonix (or Courmayeur!) on a day with clear skies, this is a must-do!
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