--- title: "How to get to the Tour du Mont Blanc: trains, buses and shuttles" type: "blog-post" lang: "en" category: "Preparation" published_date: "2026-10-12" url: "https://www.tmb-guide.com/en/blog/getting-to-the-tour-du-mont-blanc/" description: "Reach the Tour du Mont Blanc start by train from Geneva, find buses and shuttles in every valley, shorten a stage by lift and get back to your start." --- # How to get to the Tour du Mont Blanc: trains, buses and shuttles **Published:** 2026-10-12 · **Category:** Preparation > The Mont-Blanc Express links Saint-Gervais-Le Fayet to Martigny via Les Houches and Chamonix, and the Léman Express reaches it from Geneva. Each valley along the tour has its own summer bus or shuttle: book the Chamonix-Courmayeur bus. Our Tour du Mont Blanc itineraries start at Les Houches, in the Chamonix valley: you get there by train via Saint-Gervais-Le Fayet and the **Mont-Blanc Express**. Along the way, each valley has its own summer bus or shuttle, handy for shortening a day or heading down if the weather turns. Timetables change every season, so for each line we point you to the site where you can check them. You can locate the stops on our [interactive TMB map](/en/map/). ## How do you get to the start of the Tour du Mont Blanc? **Fly into Geneva, take the train to Saint-Gervais-Le Fayet via Geneva-Cornavin and the Léman Express, then the Mont-Blanc Express to Les Houches**, the start of our [7-day](/en/itineraries/tour-du-mont-blanc-in-7-days/) and [10-day](/en/itineraries/tour-du-mont-blanc-in-10-days/) itineraries. - **From Geneva Airport, by train**: via Geneva-Cornavin, where the Léman Express serves Le Fayet; allow 2 h 40 from Cornavin to Chamonix. - **From Geneva Airport, by coach**: FlixBus runs to Chamonix every day. - **From elsewhere in France**: Le Fayet is linked to the SNCF network and the TGV. - **From Switzerland**: the Mont-Blanc Express leaves from Martigny and reaches Chamonix via Vallorcine. Timetables and tickets: [Swiss Federal Railways (CFF/SBB) website](https://www.cff.ch), for Swiss trains and for the Léman Express alike. Once there, keep your **Guest Card**, issued by your accommodation: in 2026 it gave free train travel between Servoz and Vallorcine. In Chamonix, the bus station on avenue de Courmayeur sells tickets and has information on every line. ## Which buses and shuttles run along the Tour du Mont Blanc? Valley by valley, here is what runs and what it is useful for. ### Chamonix valley Chamonix Mobilité buses and the Mont-Blanc Express serve the whole valley, from Servoz to Vallorcine: handy for reaching a start point or getting home at the end of a stage. Validate your ticket every time you board. Timetables and tickets: [Chamonix Mobilité website](https://www.chamonix-mobilite.com) (in French). ### Les Contamines In summer, a free shuttle runs from the village up to **Notre-Dame de la Gorge**, at the foot of the climb to the Bonhomme (in 2026, from 27 June to 30 August). From Le Fayet station, the regional line Y84 goes up to Les Contamines. Shuttle timetables: [Les Contamines tourist office](https://www.lescontamines.com/ete/pratique/acces-et-se-deplacer/navettes) (in French). Line Y84: [Borini website](https://borini.com/region/). ### Les Chapieux The road to the Ville des Glaciers is **closed to vehicles from 7:30 am to 6 pm**, but a shuttle takes over (in 2026, from 13 June to 13 September). Tickets are sold by the driver; **dogs are not allowed**. - **Bourg-Saint-Maurice - Les Chapieux**: 8 EUR ($9) one way, free for under-12s. - **Les Chapieux - Ville des Glaciers**: 5 EUR ($6) return, free for under-12s. Shuttle information: [Les Arcs website](https://www.lesarcs.com/en/what-there-do-les-arcs/summer-activities-les-arcs/summer-hikes). ![The Les Chapieux shuttle on the road to the Ville des Glaciers](/images/tmb_transports_navette_chapieux.webp "At Les Chapieux, the shuttle replaces the car on the road to the Ville des Glaciers.") ### Courmayeur and the Italian valleys A bus links Chamonix to Courmayeur through the Mont Blanc tunnel, up to six times a day. **Booking is compulsory**, according to the operator: on board, the driver only sells a ticket if seats are left, with a 2 EUR ($2) surcharge. Book ahead if you are relying on it to get back. From Courmayeur, shuttles run up the **Val Ferret** to Arp Nouvaz, with a stop at the turn-off for the Bonatti refuge, and up the **Val Veny** to La Visaille. The Val Ferret line runs every day of the year. Timetables and tickets for the bus and shuttles: [Arriva Aosta Valley website](https://aosta.arriva.it/courmayeur-chamonix/) (in Italian). ### Swiss Val Ferret, La Fouly and Champex To shorten the Val Ferret stage, the bus links **Ferret to Champex-Lac**: CHF 12 (14 EUR ($16)) for an adult, CHF 6 (7 EUR ($8)) for a child (2026 fare), with tickets online, at the La Fouly and Champex offices or from the driver, who needs exact change. The Entremont bus network also links La Fouly, Orsières and Champex. Timetables and tickets: [TMR bus website](https://www.tmrsa.ch/tmb/). ![The TMR bus for Ferret at its stop in the Swiss Val Ferret](/images/tmb_transports_navette_val_ferret.webp "In the Swiss Val Ferret, the bus to Ferret lets you shorten the stage to Champex.") ### Trient A PostBus links Trient to Martigny. Timetables: [Trient municipality transport page](https://trient.ch/transports-publics/) (in French). ## Which lifts can shorten a stage? - **Bellevue, at Les Houches**: a 5-minute cable car instead of the first climb of the tour. The Mont Blanc Tramway also goes up to the Col de Voza from Le Fayet. - **Le Brévent, from Chamonix**: the Planpraz gondola spares you the climb on the last stage (in 2026, from 13 June to 13 September). - **La Flégère, from Les Praz**: a ride down from the Grand Balcon Sud instead of the final descent on foot (in 2026, from 20 June to 13 September). - **Charamillon, at Le Tour**: a direct descent from the Balme area, about thirty minutes' walk from the Balme refuge (in 2026, from 20 June to 20 September). Dates and times: [Chamonix tourist office](https://en.chamonix.com/activities/practical-information-about-the-lifts/balme-charamillon-gondola). ![A Flégère gondola cabin leaving Les Praz, chalets and forest below](/images/tmb_transports_telecabine_flegere.webp "The Flégère gondola, from Les Praz: a way down from the Grand Balcon Sud without the last descent on foot.") ## How do you get back to your starting point? If you complete the loop, you walk back. If you cut the tour short: - **At Les Contamines**: line Y84 to Le Fayet, then the Mont-Blanc Express to Les Houches and Chamonix. - **At Courmayeur**: the bus to Chamonix, the most direct way back, provided you have booked. - **At Champex or Ferret**: bus to Orsières, train to Martigny with a change at Sembrancher, then the Mont-Blanc Express ([public transport access](https://www.saint-bernard.ch/fr/pratique/situation-et-acces-61/), in French). - **At Trient**: PostBus to Martigny, then the Mont-Blanc Express. - **At Les Chapieux**: the summer shuttle goes down to Bourg-Saint-Maurice, a longer way back, which we would only use if you have to leave the tour there. To split the tour into several trips, see [how many days to hike the Tour du Mont Blanc](/en/blog/how-many-days-tour-du-mont-blanc/); for what these journeys cost, our [TMB budget](/en/blog/tour-du-mont-blanc-cost/). If you would rather not organise these connections, our self-guided tours build them into their day-by-day programme, from Notre-Dame de la Gorge to the Val Ferret, with luggage transport included: