Tour du Mont Blanc

🇫🇷 Chamonix / Courmayeur / Champex, France–Italy–Switzerland

170 kmDistance

+10,000 mElevation gain

60 hDuration

10days

About this guide

The Tour du Mont Blanc circles the Mont Blanc massif through France, Italy and Switzerland: 170 km, about 10,000 m of ascent and some 60 hours of walking. It can be walked in either direction and started in many places, from Les Houches, Chamonix, Les Contamines, Courmayeur, Champex or Trient; lifts and buses can shorten stretches. Anticlockwise is the classic direction and the best marked.

Difficulty: A long trek with a pass to climb and descend almost every day, carrying a pack; no mountaineering equipment needed. Between Tré-le-Champ and the Tête aux Vents the main line climbs about ten vertical ladders 10–15 m high, with rungs and handrails: avoid it if you suffer from vertigo and in rain, snow or storms, and expect waiting at the ladders when it is busy. The path from the Col des Montets avoids them. Below the Col du Brévent the main line has another short ladder section.
Season: Mid-June to mid-September, when the passes are clear of snow and the huts are open. Snow patches are possible in June and early July; early in June signs can still be under snow.
Getting there: Start in Les Houches (Chamonix valley); lifts and buses serve many points of the loop. No mobile signal between Les Contamines, Les Chapieux and Courmayeur.
Food & drink: Book huts ahead: in high season many are full months in advance. Current dates: see Mon Tour du Mont-Blanc. Booking takes a deposit; cancelled more than 30 days ahead, 80 % of it is refunded, later nothing. As of October 2026, a night with half board in a dormitory costs 65–95 €. Dogs are not allowed in the Contamines-Montjoie and Chamonix-valley nature reserves.