The Montenvers Mer de Glace train

About halfway up, the forest thins out and the Chamonix valley opens up through the right-hand window, with the Aiguilles Rouges punctuating the opposite side. Then, the train stops, pulling into a passing point on the single track and waiting while the descending train edges past on the other side. This is the Train du Montenvers: 5.1 km of rack-and-pinion railway climbing nearly 900 metres from Chamonix town centre to the Mer de Glace, France's largest glacier.

The first tourist attraction built in the Chamonix valley, the line was opened in 1908 and completed in 1909. Before it existed, the only way up was by mule or on foot, until 250 men spent three years building it by hand-carving the tunnels out of the rock. It was steam-powered until 1953, but the bones of it are much the same as they were then and it's one of the last cog railways still running in France.

Mathias Reding

Practical details

The Montenvers station is about 200 metres from the main SNCF station in Chamonix, connected by a footbridge. Trains run every 15 to 60 minutes depending on demand, with the first departure at 08:30 in the summer season, and 10:00 in winter. The train runs year-round, though there's a maintenance closure in mid-to-late May and a longer one in late October or November. The gondola and ice cave close for maintenance in late spring/early summer, and again in autumn, so check that they're open before you go. The full visit takes around two to three hours, or longer if you want to hike, eat a meal and watch the Alpine choughs flying overhead.

Emile

Tickets can be bought online or at the station. Online tickets are non-refundable and date-specific, but they're not time-specific and you can skip the queue, which is worth it in peak summer. An adult return for just the train journey is €31.50. The Mer de Glace Voyage ticket includes a return train journey, plus the gondola, ice cave and Glaciorium, and is €49.70 for an adult and €42.20 for concessions. There's a family rate at €154 for two adults and two children, and under-5s go free. The train is included in the Mont Blanc Unlimited pass and the summer Mont Blanc MultiPass, but it's not included in the standard Chamonix Le Pass.

Gregory Dalleau

The ride up

After pulling out of the muralled platform, the Montenvers train climbs steeply through forest, passing through two tunnels (the longer one, Grépon, is 306 metres and was carved by hand in 1907) and several covered galleries that protect the track from avalanches. As the train gains elevation, the views of the valley stretch out below. The buildings of Chamonix shrink, and on a clear day the view stretches down through Les Bossons towards Les Houches at the far end of the valley. The Aiguilles Rouges massif fills the opposite side, with the Brévent cable car visible on the facing slope. The windows open, which means no reflections or sticky fingerprints in your photos, though don't stick any limbs or phones out of the window. After the passing point, the train crosses the Montenvers Viaduct, built in 1907. As you approach the station, the trees thin, framing the granite peaks ahead, and then the glacier opens up. If you can, try to bag a seat on the right-hand side of the train (both ways), so you can get the best views.

Jeroen Roegist

At the top

The esplanade at Montenvers station sits at 1,913 metres, looking out over the Mer de Glace, with the double peaks of Les Drus and the north face of the Grandes Jorasses above it. What hits you first is the moraines. There's a lot of exposed rock where ice used to be. The glacier was visible from Chamonix itself until the 1820s, and it's been retreating ever since. It's still France's largest, roughly 7 km long and averaging about 200 metres deep. The glacier still advances 90–120 metres a year under its own weight, but is losing more than it gains.

A short walk from the station, past the Bar des Glaciers and down the stairs, a gondola drops down towards the glacier surface. From there, it's around 580 metal steps down to the cave, with the number increasing each year as the glacier surface drops. Be warned, you do need a reasonable level of fitness for the climb back up.

Ombeline Leprince

At the bottom is the ice cave, which is carved fresh into the glacier every year since 1946. The tunnels go about 100 metres in, through ice that formed over two centuries ago. Bring layers: the temperature stays around -2°C even in summer, the surfaces are wet, and the air is noticeably cold despite the mats lining the floor. The walls have a blue tint, and each season new ice sculptures are carved into the chambers alongside a Gallery of Crystals, housing geological specimens from the Mont Blanc massif.

Back up at the station, you can find the Glaciorium -an interactive exhibition that opened in 2012. Through videos, interactive screens, and historical photographs, it covers how glaciers form, how they move, and how the Mer de Glace has changed over time. The retreat photographs show the glacier decade by decade, and a dedicated section on climate change puts what you've just seen down at the ice cave into context. Getting to it means walking up a short but fairly steep slope from the station.

Heloise Lebrun

Where to eat and where to walk

If you fancy a bite to eat while you're at the top, there are three places to choose from. Le Refuge du Montenvers dates back to 1880 and doubles as a hotel, with private rooms, suites and dorms for anyone who wants to stay the night at 1,913 metres. The restaurant serves a mix of regional Savoyard cuisine and more modern dishes. Think planches with cheese or charcuterie, burgers, creamy tartiflette, and fondue. Meals are served in a wood-panelled dining room or terrace facing the Drus, which can also be booked out for events.

Le Panoramique sits at the far end of the station with large windows and a spacious terrace looking straight out at the Grandes Jorasses and the glacier. The menu is lighter than the Refuge: a pasta bar, salads, artisanal jars of terrine, and hot dishes. They stock beer from Big Mountain Brewing, a Chamonix brewery, have wine on tap, and very tasty slices of tarte aux myrtilles (blueberry tart), a local speciality.

The Bar des Glaciers is right by the station on the viewing platform. It's more of a snack stop: sandwiches, quiche of the day, charcuterie platters, coffees, hot chocolates, muffins, cookies and sweet tarts.

Sosthene Leblanc

Experienced walkers can take the train up and hike back down to Chamonix via Les Planards or Les Bois. In summer, the Grand Balcon Nord trail runs from Montenvers to Plan de l'Aiguille, the mid-station of the Aiguille du Midi. One-way tickets are available for this. These are mountain trails with real exposure and altitude, so they're not suited to casual walkers. Venturing onto the glacier itself is a different matter entirely: there are crevasses, and it should only be done with a qualified guide.

Embark on a rail holiday to Chamonix to take the Montenvers Mer de Glace train, or check out more rail holidays to France.

Read about the art of slow travel, why we love to take the local train, and why we don’t believe in flight-shaming.

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