Col de Balme

The Col de Balme is where France turns into Switzerland on a grassy ridge at 2,191 metres, linking the Chamonix valley with the Trient valley. It is a wonderful half-day for people who want a high-mountain feeling without technical terrain. The simplest way up is the Balme-Charamillon gondola from the village of Le Tour, which the tourist office describes with the tagline Alpine pastures and boundless horizons, and in summer the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc lifts also run for walkers. You can also climb on foot from Le Tour, a good half-day outing for fit walkers. The Vallorcine cable car, with its top station at about 1,850 metres, serves the area from the other side. Many walkers on the Tour du Mont-Blanc cross the pass, and from here a path leads on to the Albert 1er refuge, so you will meet trekkers carrying full packs among day visitors in sandals.

Summer is the season for walking. The lifts open for hikers in the warm months, with dates that vary from year to year, so check with the tourist office before you travel. Weather and snow decide everything: the pass stays under snow into early summer, and early autumn can bring snow back again. In winter the same area becomes the Balme-Vallorcine ski area, with a snowshoe route that gives non-skiers a quiet way to enjoy the scenery, so it is a place with something to offer in more than one season.

Plan the day around the gondola timetable. Ride up in the morning, walk the ridge to the pass and the border marker, take your time over a picnic or a meal at the mountain restaurant if one is open, and return by the same lift or on foot. A short loop with views across to Mont Blanc and the Swiss Alps is an easy way to spend two hours, while the Albert 1er refuge path is a longer day.

Wear sturdy shoes, carry water, a windproof jacket and sun protection, and remember a passport or identity card if you intend to cross the border on foot.

The pass belongs to a walking tradition that stretches back centuries, when the route was used by shepherds and traders moving between the valleys. Today the crossing is a quiet ridge with a view, and the mood is open and unhurried. If you want a different angle on the massif from the busy Aiguille du Midi, this is it: wide, green and uncrowded. Pair it with a late lunch in Le Tour or Vallorcine and a ride home on the Mont Blanc Express railway, which links the villages of the upper valley.

Think about the weather carefully. The pass is exposed to wind, and a clear morning can turn to cloud by early afternoon, so look at the forecast the evening before and leave early. On a good day the views stretch from the Mont Blanc range across to the Swiss peaks, and the grassy slopes below the pass are alive with flowers in early summer.

Younger children enjoy the gondola, and older ones often enjoy the idea of standing in two countries at once. Take a hat and sunscreen as well as warm clothes, because the sun at this altitude is strong.