The Tour du Mont Blanc, ten days on foot around the roof of the Alps.

The Tour du Mont Blanc is probably the most famous hike in Europe. A circle of about 170 km around the highest massif in the Alps, passing through France, Italy and Switzerland, crossing a dozen passes and sleeping each night in a refuge or a mountain village. It requires no mountaineering technique, but it does require legs: it adds up to about 10,000 metres of climbing.

What is the Tour du Mont Blanc?

It is a long-distance trail that goes round the Mont Blanc massif without climbing it, through the valleys and passes that surround it. In France it covers the Chamonix valley and the Montjoie valley; in Italy, the Aosta valley with Courmayeur, the Val Veny and the Italian Val Ferret; in Switzerland, the Swiss Val Ferret, Champex and Trient. The official website sums it up as about 170 km, ten days and around 60 hours of walking.

The classic direction is anticlockwise, starting at Les Houches, at the foot of the Chamonix valley. The highest points of the normal route are around 2,500 metres: the Col de la Seigne, at 2,516, marks the border between France and Italy, and the Grand Col Ferret, at 2,537, that between Italy and Switzerland. The higher variants, such as the Col des Fours or the Fenêtre d'Arpette, reach 2,665 metres and are more exposed.

How do you get there and walk it?

The useful airport is Geneva, a little over an hour by road from Chamonix, and there are direct buses between the airport and the valley. From Spain you fly to Geneva from several cities. By car, from Barcelona you get there in one long day through France.

The route is done in stages of 15 to 20 km with between 800 and 1,200 metres of climbing a day, sleeping in staffed refuges, hostels, village hotels or campsites. The classic stages pass through Les Contamines, Les Chapieux or the Croix du Bonhomme refuge, the Elisabetta refuge, Courmayeur, the Elena refuge or La Fouly, Champex, Trient and the Chamonix valley. No mountaineering gear is needed in summer, but you do need walking boots, warm and rain clothing, and poles.

If you do not want to or cannot do it all, there are shortcuts: buses in the valleys, the bus that goes through the Mont Blanc tunnel between Chamonix and Courmayeur, and cable cars that save some descents, such as those at Les Houches or Courmayeur. Many do only half, for example from Courmayeur to Champex.

What do you see along the way?

The appeal is the constant view of the massif from every side. In France, the Chamonix valley, with the Aiguille du Midi and the Mer de Glace on one side and the balconies of Lac Blanc and La Flégère on the other. On passing the Col de la Seigne the Italian side opens up, the most abrupt, with the Miage glacier in the Val Veny and the walls of the Grandes Jorasses above the Val Ferret. Courmayeur is the only large village on the route and a good place for a rest day. In Switzerland the landscape softens: meadows, wooden villages, Lac de Champex and the Col de Balme, which returns you to the Chamonix valley with Mont Blanc straight ahead.

When to go?

The season runs from mid-June to mid-September, when the passes are free of snow and the refuges open; each refuge sets its own dates. July and August are the months with the most people and the fullest refuges. Late June may have snowfields on the high passes, and September brings fewer people, clear light and cold nights, with some refuges closing around mid-month. Outside those dates, the TMB is a winter high-mountain route and is not for hikers.

How many days do you need?

The official reference is ten days. Fast hikers do it in seven or eight, and at a relaxed pace or with rest days it goes to eleven or twelve. If you have less time, five days are enough for half the circuit, and from Chamonix there are day trips that touch the route, such as the one to Lac Blanc.

What is worth knowing before going?

Booking refuges is the most important thing. The refuge wardens' official platform opens bookings for summer 2027 on 15 October 2026, and the most popular refuges fill up months ahead. Not all accommodation is on it: those that do not appear are booked directly. Wild camping is restricted, and bivouacking is allowed only in specific areas and with limited hours.

Bring euros and Swiss francs, or a card, because the route passes through Switzerland. In the refuges it is wise to bring a sleeping-bag liner, and in summer afternoon storms are frequent: set out early and cross the passes before midday.