The Curé passage
Departure from Beaufort (Savoie) (Savoie)
Lake Gittaz and the Curé passage.
Lacs Jovet out and return
Departure from Les Contamines-Montjoie (Haute-Savoie)
From Les Contamines-Montjoie; an out and return walk to the Lacs Jovet, joining and following the Tour du Mont Blanc trail for most of the way. There are more challenging alternatives to this walk to make it longer, more circular or technically harder; these are described in the useful information section.
Walks near Refuge de la Balme
Col de la Fenetre
Departure from Les Contamines-Montjoie (Haute-Savoie)
This walk starts from the top of the gondola at Le Signal. It is an interesting walk, up to and through the Col de la Fenetre. The descent takes you back down through alpine pastures and into the valley leading back to Les Contamines-Montjoie.
⚠️ Please note that you need to park at (A) and not (D) for this walk ⚠️
Les Contamines to Les Chapieux - Tour Mont Blanc
Departure from Les Contamines-Montjoie (Haute-Savoie)
This 2nd stage of the Tour Mont Blanc (TMB) follows the river Le Bonnant upstream to climb over the Col du Bonhomme at 2,329m. Let's do it!
The TMB is a classic long-distance footpath that goes around Mont Blanc, passing from France into Italy and through Switzerland before returning to France.
Les Chapieux to Lex Blanche - Tour Mont Blanc
Departure from Bourg-Saint-Maurice (Savoie)
This 3rd stage of the Tour Mont Blanc (TMB) follows the Torrent des Glaciers up 900m to the Col de la Seigne. Climbing gently, at first, for just over 10km before dropping down 300m to Lex Blanche. Let's do it!
The TMB is a classic long-distance footpath that goes around Mont Blanc, passing from France into Italy and through Switzerland before returning to France.
Lex Blanche to Courmayeur - Tour Mont Blanc
Departure from Courmayeur (Aosta Valley)
This 4th stage of the Tour Mont Blanc (TMB) begins with a descent to Val Veny before climbing up Arp Vieille and to the Fauvre Edge. The route hugs the mountain to reach the ski slopes and drops down 800m to Courmayeur. Let's do it!
The TMB is a classic long-distance footpath that goes around Mont Blanc, passing from France into Italy and through Switzerland before returning to France__.
Traverse of Mont Joly and Aiguille Croche
Departure from Saint-Gervais-les-Bains (Haute-Savoie)
A good ridge walk starting from the Bettex telecabin station at Mont d'Arbois and finishing at Le Signal telecabin station above Les-Contamines-Montjoie.
Lac Tournant
Departure from Beaufort (Savoie) (Savoie)
This is a circular walk based on trail 5 as promoted by the Arêches tourist board. It is well marked with yellow signs and paint flashes or markers for trail 5. There are good views over to Mont Blanc, the Beaufortain Mountains and the lake, although small, is a nice place to eat your sandwiches.
Tour Mont Blanc in 11 stages
Departure from Les Houches (Haute-Savoie)
The Tour Mont Blanc (TMB) is a classic long-distance footpath that goes around Mont Blanc, passing from France into Italy and through Switzerland before returning to France. These 11 stages are one way of doing it but you can make your own version of the TMB. The classic route begins and ends in Les Houches and takes an anticlockwise direction around Mont Blanc and the adjacent peaks. There is a total of 164 km (102 miles) walking these 11 routes and a positive height gain of over 10,000m. Certainly a challenging adventure but well worth the effort. Let's do it!
Les Houches to Les Contamines - Tour Mont Blanc
Departure from Les Houches (Haute-Savoie)
This 1st stage of the Tour Mont Blanc (TMB) is possibly the toughest but the adrenaline is pumping and short-cuts are not on the agenda. Let's do it!
The TMB is a classic long-distance footpath that goes around Mont Blanc, passing from France into Italy and through Switzerland before returning to France.