Has the August bank holiday crept up on you? Do you have a plan? Do you even know that
there's an August bank holiday coming? I get it, you're super busy and planning is hard.
But at the same time, you still want to make the most of your free time. I've been there, trust
me. Well we have got your back friends, and we have planned the most perfect alpine long
weekend away just for you.
I'm talking about no place other than Chamonix and the French alps, people. Mountains in
the summer, are just absolute bliss - especially the high alps where it's nice and warm and
sunny, but the air is fresh enough to still be doing all that physical activity. A long
weekend in the Alps is also a fantastic opportunity to pull together a group of friends and spend
some quality time together. It also makes things a bit cheaper if there's more of you.
It's a win-win people.
So today I have five tips for you on how to make that alpine weekend as good as it can
possibly be.
First off, hire a car. If you're not within driving distance of Chamonix already, you're
probably going to be flying into Geneva airport. And if you hire a car from there, it's about
an hour to drive across the French border into Chamonix. You can get a bus from Geneva,
but honestly if you're going for a long weekend, it's just not worth it. You want to maximise
on every minute of free time and you want to be doing fun things, not waiting around
for a bus. And it means that you can pick your accommodation based on how great it is,
rather than on how close to the centre of town it is. Which segways nicely into my second
tip.
And that is - pick a fricking great place to stay. You want your weekend to be active,
but then like nice and relaxing when you get back to your accommodation. And there are
some pretty sweet AirBnB listings in the Chamonix area. There are lots of options directly in
town, but if you are going with a larger group and you have hired a car, then I
would highly recommend going somewhere further out of town. You're more likely to be higher
up so you'll have nicer views, the accommodation is likely to be bigger and nicer for the same
amount of money or just cheaper in general.
We stayed in what was possibly the best AirBnB I have ever stayed in. It was definitely up
there. It was about a 20 minute drive from the centre of Chamonix, so really not that
far. There were 7 of us sharing, but it could have comfortably slept at least another two
people. The chalet was beautiful, and so were the views and when you went outside, it was
just the sound of like flowing water and birds and just ugh, bliss. We took turns to cook
in the evenings which meant we didn't have to go to restaurants so it was both cheaper
and it meant that everybody could enjoy a glass of wine with their meal. I'll leave
a link to the AirBnB listing in the description below and you can also check out the accompanying
blog post on our website for a selection of other accommodation we were looking at, which
is also pretty swanky. Also linked below.
Tip number three is you must must MUST go to the Aiguille du Midi. If there's one place
in the alps that's accessible to the average human, and still completely and utterly mindblowing,
it is the Aiguille du Midi. We're here at 3,800 metres above Europe. And we're looking
out on a windless day, the sun is shining. This is my fave place in Europe. Welcome to
Aiguille du Midi. At 3,842 the metres above sea level, the air is thin and you will feel
the altitude here. People come up here because you can do altitude training. So that man
is just running up and down, you know, like you do. We are so altitudy right now. Honestly,
I've never felt so dizzy in my life. You know we usually like to go a bit more alternative
with our recommendations on this channel, but being essentially at eye level with the
Mont Blanc is an experience not to be missed. The views are beyond spectacular. That - I
don't know if you can see that, I'm just going to zoom in. Can you see that glass box? We're
about to go stand on that above 3,800 metres of nothing. Standing in a glass box at what
feels like the top of the world is also pretty great. At a return fare of 63 Euros per head,
the cable car is pretty pricey, but it's honestly worth the splurge. Just remember that the
temperatures up there are below 0 degrees even in the summer, so don't forget your jacket.
My fourth tip is do the hikes with the best views. Obviously you don't go to the alps
just to skirt around the valley floor - it's all about getting those hiking boots on, and
setting your gears to explorer adventurer mode. But if you're only in Chamonix for a
long weekend, then you want to do the hikes with the best views to really make the most
of the fact that you are in one of the world's most impressive mountain ranges. So for the
best views, choose one of the balcony walks - they're literally called that because you
get this terrace view of the mountain range on the other side of the valley. We unfortunately
went too early on in the year and for the large part the grand balconies were still
under snow cover and slightly dangerous to be hiking in just your hiking boots, but from
mid-summer onwards all the walks should be open and safe and entirely doable. The balcony
walk you want to do is the South Grand Balcony because that's opposite side to Mont Blanc
and the Aiguille du Midi so you get the more impressive views from the south side looking
up at the higher mountain range. If you're doing this hike from the valley floor, then
know it is a solid physical effort you are scaling one of the high alp mountains in the
end so do just bear that in mind. But if you're into the way mountains look and not so much
the way they make your legs feel, then there are lifts on wither side of both the south
and the north grand balconies. This is true for quite a few of the walks in Chamonix,
so for example you can take the train up to Montenvers to look at the glacier there - or
if you're like us and you enjoy your cardio, you can hike up and enjoy the views from the
train on the way down.
Make sure you check that the cable car you want to take is actually open on that day
and so is the walk. The best way to do that is online on the Chamonix area website or
at the tourist information office in Chamonix town centre. Not much should be closed from
kind of second week of June onwards, but Alpine weather can be extreme, so it's just best
to check things beforehand.
My fifth is to make the most of the fact that Chamonix is at the heart of the European alpine
region. Being close to both the Swiss and the Italian borders, you could do a day trip
to the Matterhorn or other alpine gems, for example. But if you're only there for the
long weekend and you want to keep it low-key like us, then a good spot to stop by on your
way back to Geneva airport is Annecy, which is a historic town on the edge of a beautiful
lake. We pottered around the beautiful old town, had a bite to eat and then cycled around
the lake to top it off, before heading off to the airport. The lake has some great swimming
spots and you can also take boats out on it if you fancy.
Alright, that is it for our tips for a fantastic weekend in Chamonix. I hope it inspired you
to go to the European alps. It's honestly so easy to get to from the UK and from around
Europe. It's just one of the most magical places on this continent in my humble opinion.
If you would like more information about our trip to the alps, and just more sort of practical
tips then do check out the corresponding blog post on our website, wefilmthings.com. And
if you have any questions or suggestions, then do leave them in the comment box below.
We're always keen to learn from you guys and to improve our own trips. Thanks so much for
watching guys, give this video a little like if you enjoyed it and make sure you subscribe
and hit the notification bell for more videos like this one. See you in our next video,
byeee.