Aguille du Midi platforms

Getty Images

Aiguille du Midi

Top choice in Chamonix


The great rocky fang of the Aiguille du Midi (3842m), rising from the Mont Blanc massif, is one of Chamonix’ most distinctive features. The 360-degree views of the French, Swiss and Italian Alps from the summit are (quite literally) breathtaking. Year-round, you can float via cable car from Chamonix to the Aiguille du Midi on the vertiginous Téléphérique de l’Aiguille du Midi. Dress warmly: even in summer, temperatures at the top rarely rise above -10°C (in winter prepare for -25°C).

Up top, you can take in the view in literally every direction (including straight down, thanks to the glass-floored Step into the Void). Halfway up, Plan de l’Aiguille (2317m) is a terrific place to start hikes or to paraglide.

From the Aiguille du Midi, between late May and September, you can continue for a further 50 minutes of mind-blowing scenery – think glaciers and spurs, seracs and shimmering ice fields – in the smaller bubbles of the Télécabine Panoramique Mont Blanc to Pointe Helbronner (3466m) on the France–Italy border. The SkyWay Monte Bianco cable car can then take you a further 4km to the Val d'Aosta ski resort of Courmayeur, on the Italian side of Monte Bianco.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Chamonix attractions

1. Giardino Botanico Alpino Saussurea

3.05 MILES

Walk through this flower-filled Alpine garden in summer (it's blanketed by snow in winter) and enjoy numerous other trails, including the Sentiero…

2. Pavillon du Mt Fréty Nature Oasis

3.09 MILES

A protected zone of 1200 hectares tucked between glaciers, this nature oasis is accessible from the Pavillon du Mt Fréty. Enjoy numerous trails, including…

3. Musée Alpin

3.29 MILES

This diverting two-level museum allows you to wander through Chamonix history, from butter moulds and farming tools of yore to the dawn of the 18th…

4. Musée des Cristaux

3.38 MILES

Beautifully lit collections of crystals, many from around Mont Blanc, are exposed within this small museum. The adjoining Espace Tairraz focuses on the…

5. Mer de Glace

3.41 MILES

France’s largest glacier, the 200m-deep 'Sea of Ice', flows 7km down the northern side of Mont Blanc, scarred with crevasses formed by the immense…

6. Grotte de Glace

3.87 MILES

Step directly inside the glacier at this tunnel of ice, reshaped every year for the past half-century, which sparkles with perennially recreated ice…

7. Le Brévent

4.64 MILES

The highest peak on the western side of the Chamonix Valley, Le Brévent (2525m) has tremendous views of the Mont Blanc massif, myriad hiking trails…

8. Museo Alpino Duca degli Abruzzi

7.12 MILES

Courmayeur guiding association's dramatic history unfolds in this small but inspiring museum that tracks the heroic deeds of erstwhile alpinists.

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "france/the-french-alps/chamonix/attractions/aiguille-du-midi/a/poi-sig/445913/359302",
      "destination": "Chamonix",
      "continent": "Europe",
      "country": "France",
      "city": "Chamonix",
      "position": "superzone"
    }