Guidebook for hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc, one of the world's classic treks. The 170km (105 mile) TMB route via France, Italy and Switzerland typically takes 11 days, and can be walked in anti-clockwise and clockwise directions. With trek planning resources, accommodation guide and 5, 7 and 9-day options. A 1:25,000 IGN map booklet is available separately.

 

A guidebook to hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB), a spectacular circuit around Mont Blanc. Covering 170km (105 miles), the TMB takes around 11 days to walk from its official start at Les Houches (France), passing through Courmayeur (Italy) and Champex (Switzerland) before returning to France via the Chamonix valley. A well-serviced introduction to high-level mountain trekking for walkers with good levels of fitness, it can also be run, fastpacked or hiked in 5–9 days. 

The route is described in both directions in 11 daily stages between 7 and 21km (5–13 miles) in length. Variant routes and alternative stages are also provided, giving the option of visiting cols, refuges and viewpoints not included on the official TMB route.

• Contains step-by-step description of the route alongside 1:100,000 maps
• Handy facilities planner, route summary tables and accommodation listings help you plan your itinerary
• Includes transport info, a French–English glossary, notes on local history and sites of interest
• A map booklet, containing 1:25,000 IGN mapping and route line, is available separately from Cicerone
• GPX files available to download

Mountain safety
Map key
Route summary tables
Overview profile/staging options – anti-clockwise TMB
Overview profile/staging options – clockwise TMB
Stage facilities planner
Introduction
What is so special about the TMB?
The TMB route
Clockwise or anti-clockwise?
Planning your trek
Planning resources and staging
Using this guide
Essential information
When to go
How to get there
Accommodation and booking
Languages
Maps
Apps
Waymarking
Training
Equipment
Mountain safety
Top 10 tips for a first-time Alpine trekker
Chamonix and the Mont Blanc region
Time in Chamonix
Chamonix’s history
The early TMB
Climbing Mont Blanc
The geology of Mont Blanc
Wildlife and flowers

THE TOUR DU MONT BLANC

Stage 1 Les Houches to Les Contamines via Bionnassay

CLOCKWISE: Les Contamines to Les Houches via Bionnassay

Stage 1A Les Houches to Les Contamines via Miage

CLOCKWISE: Les Contamines to Les Houches via Miage

Stage 2 Les Contamines to Les Chapieux via Croix du Bonhomme

CLOCKWISE: Les Chapieux to Les Contamines via Croix du Bonhomme

Stage 3 Les Chapieux to Rifugio Elisabetta via Col de la Seigne

CLOCKWISE: Rifugio Elisabetta to Les Chapieux via Col de la Seigne

Stage 4 Rifugio Elisabetta to Courmayeur

CLOCKWISE: Courmayeur to Rifugio Elisabetta

Stage 5 Courmayeur to Rifugio Bonatti

CLOCKWISE: Rifugio Bonatti to Courmayeur

Stage 6 Rifugio Bonatti to La Fouly via Grand Col Ferret

CLOCKWISE: La Fouly to Rifugio Bonatti

Stage 7 La Fouly to Champex

CLOCKWISE: Champex to La Fouly

Stage 8 Champex to Trient via Alp Bovine

CLOCKWISE: Trient to Champex via Bovine

Stage 8A Champex to Trient via Fenêtre d’Arpette

CLOCKWISE: Trient to Champex via Fenêtre d’Arpette

Stage 9 Trient to Tré-le-Champ via Col de Balme

CLOCKWISE: Tré-le-Champ to Trient

Stage 10 Tré-le-Champ to Refuge de la Flégère

CLOCKWISE: Refuge de la Flégère to Tré-le-Champ

Stage 11 Refuge de la Flégère to Les Houches via Le Brévent

CLOCKWISE: Les Houches to La Flégère via Brévent
 

Appendix A Accommodation listings
Appendix B Camping on the TMB
Appendix C Useful contacts
Appendix D Further reading
Appendix E French–English glossary