Tour du Mont Blanc – A Luxurious Backpacking Adventure

The Tour du Mont Blanc is possibly the world’s most famous trek, and it has definitely been on my bucket list for quite some time. Initially, I wanted to do this hike as a traditional backpacking trip, just like I did with the John Muir Trail  or the Wonderland Trail.

However, I quickly discovered that while no permit is required to hike the TMB, camping is a much tougher option due to differing regulations in each country (France, Italy, and Switzerland). As I thought more about it, the idea of experiencing different types of food from each country along the trail really appealed to me—and that changed my mind.

So I decided to book huts, refuges, gîtes, or hotels for my 10-day trek. I call this my luxurious backpacking trip because I didn’t have to carry a tent, stove, or food. My pack was much lighter—I ended up using my smallest backpack (36 liters) and still had plenty of room left. The thought of hiking up to one of the mountain passes (“cols”) with a fresh French baguette and enjoying it with some local cheese was simply too tempting to pass up.

Why 10 days?
After being in lockdown for over a year during the COVID-19 pandemic, I wanted to go really slow and savor every moment in nature. The phrase “slow down and smell the roses” has never meant more to me than it does now. I planned my start date to avoid the UTMB race week (August 22–28) and hoped that arriving on August 28th would mean the event was winding down. I ended up witnessing the final day of the race, which turned out to be a unique and exciting addition to my TMB experience.

Everywhere along the TMB feels like a postcard. Below are a few random photos from my hike, but you can click “Home” or the links at the bottom of each page to see more pictures from each day of my journey.