Bellevue to the Prarion by the Col de Voza
A 3.3km lift-to-lift balcony walk above Les Houches, from Bellevue at 1,794m by the Col de Voza to the Prarion, facing the Bionnassay and Goûter peaks.
- 3.3 km
- 210 m up
- 2 hr
- Moderate
Les Houches
Where the Tour du Mont Blanc begins, with two lifts from the village.
Elevation
1008 m
Nearest station
Les Houches
0.6 km by road
One of four stations in the commune, with Taconnaz, Viaduc-Sainte-Marie and Vaudagne, on the SNCF line from Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet to Vallorcine.
Walks from here
8
Places to stay
30
- First-time hill walkers
Why base here
Les Houches is the village at the lower end of the Chamonix valley, at about 1,008m, and the usual start of the Tour du Mont Blanc, the walk of roughly 165km round the massif through France, Italy and Switzerland, and a porch in the centre marks where it starts and finishes. Marc Chagall painted the front of its church in 1927, a monumental statue of Christ the King was inaugurated in 1934, and the physicist Cécile DeWitt-Morette founded the École de physique des Houches here in 1951. The case for sleeping here rather than in Chamonix is a village base with lifts of its own to the balcony paths, the Tour du Mont Blanc from the door, and the Saint-Gervais side within reach as well.
On foot versus by car
The village has two lifts of its own: the Bellevue cable car, which opened in 1936, and the Prarion gondola, which opened in 1971, run by the Société des Remontées Mécaniques Les Houches Saint-Gervais. Between their top stations runs the walk from Bellevue to the Prarion by the Col de Voza, 3.3km with dogs accepted, which the tourist office says can also be started on foot from the village. The Bellevue cable car also meets the Tramway du Mont-Blanc at its Bellevue-Téléphérique stop, the way up to the Nid d’Aigle without driving round to Saint-Gervais. The Bossons glacier walk starts above Les Bossons, a short way up the valley, and the Chamonix Mobilité bus line 1, which runs from Le Prarion at Les Houches through Chamonix to Les Praz, joins the village to the town and to the Flégère gondola for Lac Blanc.
Practicalities
The commune has four stations on the SNCF line from Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet to Vallorcine: Taconnaz, Les Houches, Viaduc-Sainte-Marie and Vaudagne. Les Houches station is a short walk from the centre. The Parking du Prarion, at the gondola, is free, long-stay and the official car park of the Tour du Mont Blanc, where walkers may leave a car for up to 15 days. Saint-Gervais-les-Bains is the next stop down the line, and the road down the valley joins the Route blanche towards Le Fayet.
Getting here and parking
The Parking du Prarion is free and long-stay, the official car park of the Tour du Mont Blanc, where walkers may leave a car for up to 15 days.
Walks from Les Houches
Chalet du Glacier des Bossons
A 2.6km walk from Les Bossons up to a chalet and lookout beside the Bossons glacier, which falls from the summit of Mont Blanc.
- 2.6 km
- 268 m up
- 1 hr 20 min
- Moderate
Grand Balcon Nord, Plan de l'Aiguille to Montenvers
A 5.7km balcony path under the Chamonix Aiguilles, from the Aiguille du Midi mid-station at 2,310m down to the Mer de Glace at Montenvers.
- 5.7 km
- 140 m up
- 2 hr 30 min
- Moderate
Chalets de Miage and Mont Truc from La Gruvaz
A 9.7km loop from La Gruvaz above Saint-Gervais to the summer chalets of Miage, under the Dômes de Miage, and back over Mont Truc.
- 9.7 km
- 751 m up
- 4 hr 55 min
- Moderate
Chalet de la Floria from Les Nants
A 4.2km shaded walk from the edge of Chamonix to the Chalet de la Floria at 1,337m, a buvette with a terrace facing the Chamonix Aiguilles.
- 4.2 km
- 307 m up
- 1 hr 45 min
- Moderate
Lac Blanc from La Flégère
A 7km walk from the top of the Flégère gondola to Lac Blanc at 2,352m, in the Aiguilles Rouges reserve, facing the Mont Blanc chain.
- 7 km
- 500 m up
- 3 hr
- Hard
Views without the walk
Reached by car, by lift or by a short walk, rather than a day on the hill.
Le Brévent
Summit at 2,525m directly across the valley from Mont Blanc, reached from Chamonix by the Planpraz gondola and the Brévent cable car.
- View all round
Adventure nearby
Tramway du Mont-Blanc
France's highest rack railway, from Le Fayet at 580m to the Nid d'Aigle below the Bionnassay glacier, begun in 1909 to reach Mont Blanc itself.
- mountain railway
- Régie départementale du Tramway du Mont-Blanc
Aiguille du Midi cable car
Two-stage cable car from Chamonix to the Aiguille du Midi at 3,842m, opened in 1955 and once the highest and longest in the world.
- cable car
- Compagnie du Mont-Blanc
Montenvers railway and the Mer de Glace
Rack railway of 1909 from Chamonix to Montenvers at 1,913m, above the 7km Mer de Glace and the ice cave cut into it each year.
- mountain railway
- Régie départementale du Train du Montenvers
Where to stay in Les Houches
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