Save euros on your "Aiguille" tramway trip
by Martinewezel
Only for hikers in good shape:
As I wrote in my "things to do", the areal tramway to l'Aiguille du Midi isn't cheap (40 euros/person in 2009).
The ultimate place to hike to, is "Le Plan de l'Aiguille" (2233m). As Chamonix is 1036m, you can decide for yourself if you are ready for this adventure. Our sons made it in a bit more than 3 hours, but normal people need certainly 4 hours. The way down is easyer: 2 and a half hour.
Make sure you have good hiking boots. If it has been raining in town, it has been snowing here.
From "Le Plan de l'Aiguille", you can take the gondola to l'Aiguille". Buy you ticket here. In town you'll need to queue for it.
start of the hike: left from the place of departure of the "Aiguille" gondola in town.
I found many people very...
by marcj1
I found many people very appreciative of my horrific attempt at speaking French--even willing to help with pronounciation, words, grammar, etc.
One particular woman at a bookstore wasn't very kind to me, when in a rush, I didn't ask in French if she spoke English. She warmed up considerably when I showed up at the counter with an English/French Francais/Anglais dictionary and phrase book.
Paragliding
by Martinewezel
If you like extreme thrills and airtime, you gotta try this: a paragliding duo jump.
Most of the parachutes take off at Planpraz (see my Brévent -tip). The lightweights (mostly kids) early in the morning and so on, ending with the the heavyweights (I guess there must be a max weight) around noon.
The landing is on the Savoy field, a beginners ski slope at 5 minutes walking distance from the centre of the town.
The price is about 90 euros/jump.
Going to Chamonix, we flew...
by marcj1
Going to Chamonix, we flew From Philadelphia to Frankfurt, then to Geneva with prior arrangements for a coach to Chamonix. Two passport checkpoints, a narcotics checkpoint and 3 hours later we were in Chamonix. Going back we hired a car. It cost 130 Euro divided by the 4 of us and took a mere 45 minutes...Fillipe is AWESOME!!
A few things:
1) be sure to mention if you have ski/snowboard gear when you hire the car
2) there are several listings for car hire, and the same person answered the 3 we tried.
3) Geneva airport does not have an efficient means unloading skis and snowboards.
During ski season, there are very regular buses to the major ski towns around Chamonix. They are a bit crowded, but do the job. Driving IN Chamonix can be hectic, it is primarily a walking town. It's not very big, we walked everywhere.
L'AIGUILLE DU MIDI
by Helga67
The Aiguille du Midi is a solitary spire of rock several kilometres from the summit of Mont Blanc which stretches across glaciers and snow fields.
From the hotel you can have great views of this mountain.
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Cable car down to the glacier
Bridge with hotel in the background
Just in front of the summit
product placement for easycar
