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Tour du Mont Blanc: a still from my film

France, Italy and Switzerland · August 2019 · Solo

Tour du Mont Blanc

188.3 KM · 11 DAYS · 10,300 M

11 days hut to hut around Mont Blanc.

Watch the film 21:25 · 1.2M views

At a glance

Where
France, Italy and Switzerland
Distance
188.3 km (117.0 miles)
Days
11 walking days; 9 or 10 if you join days
Climbing
About 33,800 ft (10,300 m) up and the same down
Season
Mid-June to mid-September
Difficulty
Long climbs every day; no climbing skills needed
Start and end
Les Houches
When I went
August 2019
Relief map of the Tour du Mont Blanc route: 11 days drawn in red with numbered day starts, labelled Les Houches, Le Brévent, Champex-Lac, Les Chapieux and Rifugio Bonatti.
1234567891011Highest 8,280 ft (2,525 m)

Elevation, start to finish: highest 8,280 ft (2,525 m), lowest 3,190 ft (972 m).

My GPS recording on a relief map. The numbers are where each day starts. The GPX files come with the guide.

Also on this route: Tour du Mont Blanc, a group trip, 2026, Tour du Mont Blanc trail run, a group trip, 2022.

Everything I made about it

The film

Photos

  • Me at the Col du Bonhomme on Day 2 (2019).
    Me at the Col du Bonhomme on Day 2 (2019).
  • The Grandes Jorasses across Val Ferret from the balcony just past Rifugio Bertone, Day 5 (2019).
    The Grandes Jorasses across Val Ferret from the balcony just past Rifugio Bertone, Day 5 (2019).
  • Mont Blanc and the Chamonix valley from the Col de Balme, Day 9 (2019).
    Mont Blanc and the Chamonix valley from the Col de Balme, Day 9 (2019).
  • The balcony path from La Flégère toward Planpraz, Day 11 (2019).
    The balcony path from La Flégère toward Planpraz, Day 11 (2019).

The guide · 77-page PDF + GPX files · 2027 season edition

Do it yourself

11 days hut to hut around Mont Blanc.

  • All 11 days
  • GPX files from my own recordings
  • Booking the refuges for 2027
  • Buses and lifts
  • The refuges

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Instant download: PDF + GPX files.
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Look inside the guide

Free sample

Try Day 4 free

The whole Day 4, Rifugio Elisabetta to Courmayeur page from the guide as a PDF, plus my hut-to-hut packing list: the 35 things I carry, with a note on each. Both come by email. You'll also get my emails about new guides and trips, a few a year.

Gear on this trip

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What I carried

  • Pack (2019)a small packMine was much smaller than some people's, even with a camera.
  • Stove (2019)noneI did not cook my food. I bought bread, sausages, cheese and Twix in towns and ate a proper meal at restaurants and refuges.
  • Navigation (2019)my phone with AllTrails, and audiobooks
  • Running (2022)a running vest with water, and polesThe operator moved our bags between nights.
  • Hiking (2026)a daypack and an umbrellaOur luggage went ahead each day with the operator. On sunny days I walked with the umbrella for shade.

Filming kit

What I'd take now

My current kit

Everything I use, in Tools

The Alps bundle

This guide is in The Alps Hiking Guide Pack: 7 guides for $39. Or all 62 guides for $59.

Short answers

How many days do you need for the Tour du Mont Blanc?
The official site says 7 to 12, usually 10 to 11 stages. This guide splits it into 11 days of 7 to 14 miles. In 2019 I did the loop alone in five and a half days, but I was going fast.
When is the best time to hike the Tour du Mont Blanc?
Mid-June to mid-September, when the passes are clear and the refuges are open. July 14 to August 15 is the busiest stretch. My trips were in July and August, with clear, warm days.
When do Tour du Mont Blanc refuge bookings open for 2027?
Bookings for summer 2027 open on the official platform, montourdumontblanc.com, on October 15, 2026. A few refuges, like Elisabetta and Bonatti, book on their own sites. Book the smallest refuges first.
Can you camp on the Tour du Mont Blanc?
Only in a few places. Italy bans camping, and bivouac below 2,500 m, Switzerland mostly bans it outside campsites, and France allows a one-night bivouac in some communes.
How do you get to the start of the Tour du Mont Blanc?
Fly to Geneva. Shared shuttles and FlixBus reach Chamonix in about 1.5 hours, or take the train via Saint-Gervais to Les Houches. It's a loop, so you finish where you started.

I make my guides with AI, from my own films and GPS recordings. How.