So far we’ve been booking our travel and accommodations about a week or two ahead. So while in the beginning portion of France, we began checking into plans for 2 weeks in Switzerland per our itinerary. As everyone has said, Switz is definitely expensive! I had read a number of opinions talking about the French Alps being an interesting and more affordable alternative.
Chamonix immediately showed up as a highlight with Mont Blanc being the highest peak in the Alps at around 15,800 feet. A quick search on Airbnb confirmed that some availability existed with most of the crowds leaving at the end of August with school’s in Europe starting the first week of September. So we booked an apartment and figured out the train schedules to get us into Chamonix for a week.
We were really lucky and had great weather for the week with only 1 rainy day, compared to the week before when they had rain and cold most of the time. Our Airbnb host was gracious in allowing us to borrow a backpack that allowed us to carry Charlie, which expanded our hiking possibilities.
While we didn’t spend much time in town, we walked around a bit and found it to be a lively area with plenty of bars, restaurants, shops and the occasional park. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Chamonix and glad we spent a week here before continuing east.
Spectacular view from the back porch of our first-floor apartment
Day 1 of 6 on our Mont Blanc multi-pass. Altitude warnings for kids under 5 gave us a bit of pause for the Aiguille du Midi cable car, so went up halfway to start.
Charlie had no issues half-way and asked that the cable car go faster, so let’s charge to the top! This was an incredibly clear day as we learned the rest of the week. While we’ve been to peaks as high in Colorado, the elevation change here from 3,000 in the valley to 12,000 at the top is unbelievable. Places like Breckenridge is just as high at the top, but the base is at 9,000.
No fear in this 3-year old!
Happy hour back at the apartment after a successful trip to 12,000 feet
Day 2 we headed on the railway Montenvers to the Mer de Glace. The number of stairs to decline keeps growing as the glacier recedes. Interesting markers along the descent back to the mid-80s showing the glacier ice levels.
Inside an ice cave inside the glacier, brrr!
The ice bar wasn’t open at noon
A bit slippery trying to jump off the ice fireplace
Beautiful sunny afternoon on the trip back down to the valley
Rack railway which goes up to the glacier
Awesome amusement park we saw on the way back on the train. (More clips to come in the next video montage)
One of the original steam locomotives on this rack railway
That dog is huge! St Bernard’s are a big thing in this area.
A daily happy hour menu at the apartment
Day 3 on a cable car up to Le Brevent on the opposite side of the valley, hoping for some views of Mont Blanc
Riding cable cars all day would be an option
Some friendly folks must have noticed we were under-dressed for the chilly and cloudy conditions. They gave us some delicious snacks and arabic coffee.
The cables on the next gondola disappear into the clouds and it didn’t clear up at the top either, so we came back down.
First day trying out the backpack, let’s hike!
Some great scenery along the 2-hour hike to the Flegere lift
Quite a sight to see someone run off the ledge of a mountain.
A break from the backpack carrier!
A happy hiking family with a nice workout carrying 35 extra pounds on our backs.
Did we mention this guy likes to jump off Everything?
Walking around the valley at the end of the day and came upon this nice golf course.
Trying out some slacklining at Le Paradis Des Praz, a fun playground in the woods near a stream.
Day 4, taking the hiking difficulty up to the next level with a steep climb from Flegere cable car to Lac Blanc.
We split up carrying Charlie, so Cindy got tons of looks and compliments for carrying a kid that size. Don’t think we saw any other ladies carrying their kids.
Daily nap in the backpack from the soothing motion of mom’s hiking style.
Beautiful view after an afternoon hike to Lac Blanc
Day 5 is a rain-out, so let’s grab lunch and check out the library. This is a picture of a lamb sausage with blue cheese, fried onions, apples and greens from Cool Cats, delicious!
Day 6 – back to hiking after a day of rest. Rode the bus further east in the valley to Argentière to check out the Les Grands Montets cable car. Another spectacular view!
Hiked back down from the mid-station, which was a real thigh burner but offered some nice views of the valley.
A number of waterfalls along the trail and Charlie’s daily hiking nap.
Found a park on the walk back to the train station, but no kids to be found. Dad doesn’t quite fit in this canoe.
Charlie’s morning routine with his binky and iPad on the back porch.
Hasta luego Chamonix, onto Switzerland with a full-day of riding trains ahead. Let’s hope for the best with 5 connections to make.
Picnic on the train, but Cindy considered the jar of “Rillettes de Canard” to be low-grade cat food.
Riding the Mont Blanc Express on the first leg which crosses over the border from France to Switzerland.
Chris, Cindy, Charlie and Cecily’s Adventure Blog 
Amazing pics.. I’m envious..!