NIGEL THOMPSON
mountain for the final 42m to the highest point of 3,842m.
If you’re brave you can Step Into The Void – a glass-walled, glass-floored room which juts out over, well, nothing, as it’s 1,000m to the rocks below.
Visitors cannot step foot on to the deep snow outside the complex unless equipped with serious mountaineering gear, but you can take a cable car across the range and over the border into Italy.
On the way back down into Chamonix, we decided to get off at the midway station, the Plan d’Aiguille (2,317m).
From here, you can traverse the mountain on clearly marked paths to the Montenvers train station.
It’s a beautiful walk, with stunning scenery, open pastures, woodland, burbling streams of ice-melt water,
Stunning peaks and valleys attract the likes of trail runners, right scurrying marmots and, if you’re lucky, a soaring eagle or bearded vulture.
At Montenvers, take a short cable car to the 7km long, 200m deep Mer de Glace glacier. Here you can enter a grotto cut into the ice and visit the Glaciorium to learn all about these rivers of ice. Climate change deniers should be made to visit this place to see how the walkways have to be constantly extended as the glacier recedes each year.
Jump on the train to head back into town for a meal at one of the many excellent restaurants, which mix French and Swiss cuisines.
The activities you choose for your visit depend on just how adventurous, or otherwise, you want
Fraser hits the trail
ACTIVE Paraglider takes to skies
IN DEEP Montenvers ice cave
PEAK Aiguille du Midi viewpoint
■ Inghams offers a week on half-board at the Hotel le Refuge des Aiglons in Chamonix, France, from £949 per person (saves £50 per person) for summer 2020. Includes free daily snacks, free afternoon tea, a free bottle of wine per room on arrival, Gatwick flights, transfers and a Chamonix Valley Card for free travel on local trains and buses. inghams.co.uk/lakesmountains-holidays 01483 494826.
■ Tourist info france.fr.
to be. Hiring an e-mountain bike is a good way to explore for the less than super-fit – you can take a guided ride if you prefer.
There are lots of strenuous hikes up and down the slopes, but also plenty of less taxing walks which still feature fantastic scenery.
Great for the kids is Les Planards Adventure Park, which features a 1.3km rollercoaster in the style of an Alpine luge – but on rails.
For a unique view of the mountains and valley, take the lift up to one of the paragliding schools. Here, after a short briefing, you’ll be strapped to an experienced pilot for an exhilarating tandem swoop down to
the landing site. And if you need pampering after a few days adventuring, visit the superb QC Terme spa.
Relax in the heated outdoor infinity pool or while having a water massage, looking across a lake towards the snow-capped peaks.
Indoors you can enjoy steam baths, sensory tubs, relaxation rooms, whirlpools, hydrojets and even a waterfall which pummels your body.
If you’re unlucky enough to have a rainy day, the Alpine Museum is well worth a visit to learn about the history of the region, including the intrepid men and women who first conquered the surrounding summits.
But, of course, the outdoors is really where it’s at in Chamonix, so pick your adventure and get out there and enjoy the nature, the incredible scenery and that fresh mountain air.
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