The Tour du Mont Blanc is 170 km (106 mi) long, with about 10,000 m (32,800 ft) of ascent and some 60 hours of walking. It loops through France, Italy and Switzerland and comes back to where it started. The walking takes care of itself once you're on it. The beds don't: the most popular huts are often full months ahead.
First decide: 7, 9 or 10 days
The hut association's booking platform puts the trek at 7 to 12 days. Experienced hikers do the classic route in 7. For regular hikers it suggests 9 or 10. Settle this first, because every hut booking follows from it.
The route page splits the classic loop into seven sections, starting in Les Houches. These aren't day stages. On a 9- or 10-day plan you split the longer sections at the villages the route passes, such as Les Chapieux, La Fouly, Champex or Trient. Our Tour du Mont Blanc guide has all seven on the map.
Then the direction
Anticlockwise is the classic direction and the best marked. Clockwise works too. If your dates can't move, the platform suggests trying clockwise, because it can turn up beds that the anticlockwise plan can't.
Book the huts in one go
Booking is strongly recommended, and in high season the platform calls it essential. Book through Mon Tour du Mont-Blanc, which lists all its member huts and gîtes. It opens bookings for the next summer in the autumn; check the date on the platform.
Each booking takes a deposit. Cancel more than 30 days ahead and you get 80% of it back. Within 30 days you get nothing, unless you took the cancellation insurance and your reason is covered, which refunds 95%. Online changes are possible up to 30 days before arrival.
What the nights cost
Booked directly with the huts, a night with half board in a dormitory costs €65 to €95 (as of October 2026). For 7 to 10 days, the platform puts the total at about €500 to €900. The Swiss section is in Swiss francs.
Where it gets hard
There's a pass to climb and descend almost every day, with a full pack. No mountaineering gear is needed. On the anticlockwise route's last section, between Tré-le-Champ and the Tête aux Vents, the main line climbs about ten vertical ladders, 10 to 15 m (33 to 49 ft) high, with rungs and handrails. The Refuge du Lac Blanc advises against them if you suffer from vertigo, and in rain, snow or storms. When it's busy you'll wait at the ladders. The path from the Col des Montets avoids them. Walking clockwise, you meet the ladders on the first section.
The season runs from mid-June to mid-September, when the passes are clear and the huts open. In June and early July you'll still cross snowfields, and in early June some signs can be buried or missing. There's no mobile signal between Les Contamines, Les Chapieux and Courmayeur, so confirm the next night before you leave Les Contamines.
The platform's kit list: a 30–50 liter pack, broken-in boots, three layers, poles, a water bottle, a headlamp, a first-aid kit and the IGN map. Dogs are banned in the nature reserves on the route, and most cable cars won't take them.
The rest day: Annecy, after the loop
Annecy isn't on the route, so don't break the trek for it. Take the day at the end. From Les Houches, the Mont-Blanc Express runs up the valley to Chamonix, and it's free from Servoz to Vallorcine with the guest card (carte d'hôte) your host in the valley gives you on arrival. From Chamonix, direct FlixBus coaches reach Annecy in about 1 hour 10, at least three a day (as of October 2026). The rest of the valley is in our Chamonix post.
In Annecy, walk the city's Cercle du lac from the Hôtel de Ville on the Quai Napoléon III. It follows the shore for 1.6 km (1 mi), about an hour, to the Albigny peninsula. The Plage d'Albigny there is a free grass beach with showers, and lifeguards in summer. Back in the old town, the Palais de l'Isle sits on a rock island in the Thiou: a prison from 1325, now a museum. It's closed on Tuesdays and open 10:30 to 18:00 (6 pm) from June to September. The Château d'Annecy above the town was the counts of Geneva's residence; admission is €7 in July and August (as of October 2026).
The Semnoz above the lake is a different day. The Balcon du Semnoz loop is 12 km (7.5 mi) with 1,035 m (3,396 ft) of ascent, about 6 hours 15, and rated difficult. Leave it for another trip. Our Annecy guide has both walks.
Getting there
Start in Les Houches, on the train line from Saint-Gervais-les-Bains–Le Fayet to Chamonix and Martigny. Geneva airport is about an hour from Chamonix by road. Plan your nights before you buy the flight: book the huts first, then the travel around them.
Last checked: October 2026