Day 76 Sunday 19 July 2026
We had a spectacular day travelling 12.4km each way in the Mont Blanc Tramway, the highest cog railway in France, from Le Fayet 580m to the Nid d’Aigle (Eagles Nest) 2400m.
As soon as it opened to the public in 1909, the Mont-Blanc tramway became an indispensable means of transport for mountaineers setting out to conquer the highest peak in Western Europe. It dropped them off at the Nid d’Aigle from where they prepared for their ascent, not far from the Bionnassay glacier. Today we were not as adventurous but had a wonderful trip with a couple of walks to take in the beautiful scenery.
We bought our tickets online (€40pp) the night before to secure our 8am spot for 2 among the 130 available on each departure time (every hour from 7am to 3pm).
There were only 20 or so passengers at this time.. it gets booked out as the day goes on. The trains a fairly new having replaced the original ones in 2022.
First stopped was in St Gervais (792m alt,) then a small stop half way to Col de Voza (1653m). Next was Bellevue (1801m) before a steep climb to the end of the line at the Nid d’Aigle station.
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| View of the next valley over Chamonix |
From here we set off to have a closer look at the Bionnassay glacier. At 430 hectares and 5km in length it is the smallest of the great glaciers of the French side of the Mont Blanc. No dramatic changes occurred in the course of the 20th century. Around the year 2000, the debris-covered snout still reached down to 1800 m and has only receded by a few hundred metres although it has thinned considerably. Unfortunately since the start of the 21th century, the glacier is experiencing a rapid melt.
We then returned to the train station and headed back down. We got off at Bellevue and walked about 30mins to the Col de Voza. We had a bite to eat at one of the restaurants. Then had a stroll around and managed to capture the stunning mountain peaks without too much cloud cover.
| You can see a round building .. highest refuge, another a bit lower .. then the train in the green area. |
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| Quirky |
We arrived back to Bluey by 2pm and it was considerably warmer but luckily we have a bit of shade as we are staying here another night to do a different experience tomorrow.
In the mean time Mark is watching a replay for the Bombers win… finally.
