Saint-Gervais-les-Bains

Why base here

Saint-Gervais-les-Bains is the spa town on the slope above Le Fayet, its station quarter on the floor of the Arve, just below where the Chamonix valley begins. Its thermal springs were found at Le Fayet in 1806 by a M. Gontard, and by 1824 the baths were drawing 600 bathers, French Wikipedia records. The commune has its own claim on Mont Blanc: the normal route to the summit passes largely through Saint-Gervais. On 12 July 1892 a lake inside the Tête-Rousse glacier burst and sent a wave of water, ice, rock and mud down the Bionnassay valley, which all but destroyed the baths. The case for sleeping here is the Tramway du Mont-Blanc, which stops in the town on its way from Le Fayet to the Nid d’Aigle, and the walks on the Saint-Gervais side of the massif, under the Dômes de Miage and the Bionnassay glacier.

On foot versus by car

The tramway does the climbing from the town without a car, and from its stops at the Col de Voza and Bellevue the walk from Bellevue to the Prarion runs along the balcony above Les Houches. The Chalets de Miage need a short drive or a long walk to the start, at La Gruvaz on the road towards Les Contamines, for a loop of 9.7km under the Dômes de Miage. Mont Joly, the summit above Megève, is in the commune too: one route up starts at the Plateau de la Croix above Saint-Nicolas-de-Véroce, on the Saint-Gervais side, and the regional tourist board asks for dogs on that path to be kept on a lead.

Practicalities

Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet station serves three lines: the line from La Roche-sur-Foron, the metre-gauge line up the Chamonix valley to Vallorcine, and the Tramway du Mont-Blanc. The tramway’s own operator lists free parking at its Le Fayet and Saint-Gervais stations. Le Fayet is beside the A40, the Autoroute blanche, and the RN 205 that carries on up the valley to Chamonix. The Cars Région bus Y82 runs from Chamonix through Le Fayet and Saint-Gervais to Combloux and Megève.