Hi:
I will be traveling 2 Chamonix in Sept and was wondering what are good day hikes that I can do from the village. I will be spending abt 5 days and was interested in multiple day hikes starting from the village early in the morning and ending in the village at night.

I am new to the area so details would be appreciated.
Thank you.

there are plenty of possibilities

the best is that you buy a map or even get one free of charge from Tourism office in the center of Chamonix

in September you should avoid the big crowd on the classical paths

I suggest that you start some of the hikes not from Chamonix city but from a cable-car station or from outside the city if you have a car ( or from a bus stop , or from Montenvers train ... ) as the best parts are not close to the city.

there are very nice landscapes towards Mont Blanc from the paths in the Aiguille Rouges ; but also from the feet of Aiguilles de Chamonix towards the Aiguilles Rouges

If you are staying at a hotel in Chamonix, ask for a 'guest card.' They will give it to you for free and it entitles you to free travel on the train which would open up some more options for you. I can't help you with specific hikes as we had a strict 'no hiking' policy when I was there (I do plenty of that at home... we wanted to take full advantage of the cable cars!) but we did have to hike down one night after a long day of climbing in the Aguilles Rouges when we missed the last cable car. About half way down the nasty awful gravel road, there was a trail leading to Chamonix. It was a very nice little trail that crossed several streams and went past a beautiful old restaurant which caters to hikers. You can see it up on the hill from Les Paz. I forget the name of it but it has something to do with flowers (it is absolutely covered with flowers). Anyway, this trail did spit us out in Chamonix eventually and it looked like there were plenty of others intersecting it so I don't think you'll have any trouble finding trails in and out of Cham.

I would definitely recommend buying a multi-pass for the cable cars (also gets you on the Montenvers train and the tramway). My knees were thrashed after coming down 6000ft the day we missed the cable car. There are loads of hiking trails starting at the cable car stations.

http://www.compagniedumontblanc.fr/page ... ss_gb.html

Hi Guys!
Thanks for the tips.. I will definately get a map and start planning the hikes. Any recommendations on hikes that are strenous, yet can be covered in one day (round trip)?

I will not have a car so will follow ur suggestion, and get the pass for a week. Qte excited about it and looking forward to the 15 days in France.

Go for Mont Blanc

A nice dayhike I once did is Mont Buet. Check out the page here on SP.

You can try this :

- Chamonix - Plan de l'aiguille ( cable car) then to Montenvers and back with the train. But from Montenvers you can continu to Leschaux or Couvercle huts and sleep there for one night. Crampons needed.

- Chamonix - Plan Praz (cable car) then to la Flègère, lac Blanc and down to col des Montets. Shuttle back to Chamonix.

- Le Buet ( Mont Blanc des Dames, Ladies' Mont Blanc ) is also a good idea. From Buet rail station follow the trail to Pierre à Berard hut ( you can sleep there . Buet climbing is very long trip. Nice round view from the top, more than 3000m.

More infos at OFFICE DE HAUTE MONTAGNE, close to the church.