How to get there
Where is Chamonix?
The town of
Chamonix and Chamonix Valley are located in south-eastern France in the French Alps. In the shadow of the ginormous Mont Blanc, Chamonis is very close to the Italian and Swiss borders.
Chamonix is located on the “Autoroute Blanche” (White Motorway) which is part of the European motorway network, approximately 16 km from Switzerland via the Montets Pass and 15kms from Italy via Mont-Blanc tunnel.
The two main gateway airports are Geneva (about 88km) and Paris (a 5.5 train ride away). Other options include Haute Savoie Mont-Blanc Airport (Annecy 90kms) or Lyon/Saint-Exupery International Airport (220kms).
Travel to Chamonix from Geneva
There are various options to get to Chamonix from Geneva or Geneva airport. There are daily bus services between Geneva and Chamonix run by the SAT (Société Alpes Transports) and a multitude of transport providers offer private or shared shuttle services from Geneva airport. The trip takes about 1 hour 15 minutes.
To reduce your ecological footprint travelling by train is recommended as there is a SCNF station in Chamonix. It is on the St.Gervais/Le Fayet-Vallorcine line and connects with the TGV at Annecy. Note that there are three train changes to make if you are coming from Geneva airport.
Car pooling is also encouraged (see
www.chamonixgoesgreen.org) There are signs everywhere, so it shouldn’t be a problem to find your way directly to Chamonix.
Travel to Chamonix from Paris
There are trains available from Paris to Chamonix. The journey is approximately five-and-a-half hours on the TGV. There are five departures per day, and on Friday evenings and weekends, you can also take the direct TGV Snow Special. The SNCF (the French railroad company) offers many discounts, so ask the cashier about them. Also, the further you book in advance the cheaper the rate you get.
From the train station there are various buses or taxis to take you to your accommodation.
By road you have to take the A40 or A41 motorways and from Paris it should take between eight and nine hours to reach Chamonix. Getting there by car is probably not the best solution though, because fuel is pretty expensive and the road tolls are too.
Chamonix Car Rental
There are car rentals available from Chamonix at the Mountain Station. Europcar offer Chamonix car rentals. Use our
car rental search engine to compare rates for different rental cars.