Geneva and Chamonix are two completely different destinations, but being just around 90 minutes apart makes them really easy to combine into one short break.
We visited in February, spending two nights in Geneva and taking a full day trip across the border into Chamonix in the French Alps. In just three days we managed to explore Geneva, head up into the mountains at Aiguille du Midi, ride the famous Montenvers Railway and visit the Mer de Glace glacier.
For us, it was the perfect mix. We got a city break in Switzerland and some incredible snowy mountain scenery in France, without needing a long trip or hiring a car.
In this guide, I'll take you through our exact 3 day Geneva and Chamonix itinerary, including how we travelled between the two, what we managed to fit into our day in Chamonix and where we stayed in Geneva.
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We based ourselves in Geneva for two nights and took a full day trip over the border to Chamonix in France.
Day 1 – Geneva: Fly into Geneva, check in and spend the rest of the day exploring the city.
Day 2 – Chamonix: Travel from Geneva to Chamonix, visit Aiguille du Midi and Step Into the Void, ride the Montenvers Railway and visit Mer de Glace and the ice cave.
Day 3 – Geneva: Spend the morning seeing more of Geneva before heading back to the airport for our flight home.
If you have longer, you could easily add an extra night in Chamonix itself. We would have loved more time to explore the town, as our day trip was packed with activities and we didn't get as much free time there as we'd hoped.
After flying into Geneva Airport, we headed straight into the city and checked in at Hotel D Geneva, which was our base for the next two nights.
One of the great things about staying in Geneva is that visitors staying in approved accommodation receive a free Geneva Transport Card for the duration of their stay. Our hotel emailed ours to us before we arrived, so we were able to use public transport straight away.
We took the train from Geneva Airport to Geneva Cornavin, the city's main train station, which takes just a few minutes. Hotel D was then only around a 5-minute walk from the station, so getting from the airport to our hotel was incredibly easy.
Once we'd dropped our bags off, we headed towards Lake Geneva to start exploring on foot.
Our first stop was the lake and Geneva's famous Jet d'Eau. You really can't miss it, with water shooting 140 metres into the air, and it's one of those sights you immediately associate with Geneva.
The lakefront is lovely for a wander too, with views across the water and the mountains in the distance. We'd actually planned to take one of the little boats across the lake, which were included with our free Geneva Transport Card. However, it was absolutely freezing and really windy when we visited, so we quickly changed our minds and headed into the Old Town instead.
From the lake, we made our way into Geneva's Old Town, wandering through the cobbled streets and historic centre.
One of the things we liked about Geneva was how easy it was to explore on foot. You don't necessarily need a huge list of attractions planned. We spent some time just wandering, taking in the buildings and stopping wherever caught our eye.
We finished our first day with dinner in the city before heading back to the hotel.
Geneva has a huge choice of restaurants, and being based close to the main train station meant we had plenty within walking distance. It also put us in a really handy position for our early start the following morning, when we'd be swapping Switzerland for the French Alps and heading to Chamonix.
We started day two with breakfast at Hotel D, which was fantastic. There was plenty of choice, but the scrambled eggs were genuinely some of the best I've ever had. I'm still trying to work out what they did to them!
After breakfast, we wrapped up warm and set off to find the bus stop for our day trip to Chamonix. Luckily, Geneva Bus Station was only around a 5-minute walk from the hotel, so we didn't have far to go for our 8.30am departure.
We'd booked an organised day trip from Geneva which included our return coach travel, along with tickets for Aiguille du Midi and the Montenvers Railway to Mer de Glace. With quite a lot to fit into one day, we liked having everything organised for us rather than having to book each part separately.
We visited in February and had great winter weather overall, but if you're planning to follow a similar itinerary, check the mountain attraction opening dates before booking. Some lifts close between seasons, including Aiguille du Midi, so have a look at our Best Time to Visit Chamonix guide before choosing your dates.
The journey from Geneva to Chamonix takes around 90 minutes by road, crossing the border from Switzerland into France, so don't forget to bring your passport.
Our coach had a panoramic roof, which was perfect for this journey. As we got closer to Chamonix, the scenery just got better and better, with huge mountain peaks surrounding us as we made our way into the French Alps.
We arrived in Chamonix at around 9.45am, ready for our first activity of the day, Aiguille du Midi.
If you're planning to travel independently rather than take a tour, we've covered the different bus, transfer, train and driving options in our How to Get from Geneva to Chamonix guide.
If there's one thing I'd recommend putting on your Chamonix itinerary, it's Aiguille du Midi.
Two cable cars take you from Chamonix up to an incredible 3,842 metres, right into the mountains with views across the French, Swiss and Italian Alps.
The journey up is an experience in itself. The higher we climbed, the more dramatic the scenery became, until we were eventually surrounded by snowy mountain peaks.
At the top there are several viewing terraces to explore, but the one experience we definitely weren't leaving without trying was Step Into the Void.
A big advantage of booking the organised tour was that our guide had pre-booked our tickets for all three parts of the day. Our Aiguille du Midi cable car, Montenvers Railway and Mer de Glace tickets were all included in the tour price, so we didn't need to queue at the ticket offices or organise any of these separately ourselves.
Of course, we couldn't come all the way up here without trying Step Into the Void.
This is a glass box at the top of Aiguille du Midi, with glass walls and a glass floor beneath your feet. There's something very unnatural about willingly stepping into a glass box nearly 4,000 metres up a mountain, but it was definitely one of those experiences we weren't going to miss.
One thing I hadn't really appreciated before visiting was how much you can feel the altitude. We saw a few people struggling with dizziness and headaches, and you could definitely feel the difference yourself. I'd recommend taking your time, drinking plenty of water and not rushing around once you reach the top.
At around 2pm, we met back up with our group and made the short walk over to the Montenvers Railway station for the next part of our day.
The bright red mountain train takes you from Chamonix up towards Mer de Glace, France's largest glacier. The journey takes around 20 minutes and winds its way up through the mountains, with some fantastic views along the way.
Top tip: If you can, sit on the left-hand side of the train on the way up and the right-hand side on the way back down. We found this gave us the best views.
Our return train journey was included in the price of our organised day trip, so again, we didn't need to arrange any separate tickets.
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Once we arrived at the top, we headed towards the gondola which takes you further down towards the Mer de Glace glacier and ice cave.
The scenery here was completely different again. Mer de Glace is the largest glacier in France and seeing it surrounded by the mountains really makes you appreciate the scale of the landscape.
We took the gondola down and visited the ice cave, where you can actually walk inside the glacier. This was another experience included with our tour and something we'd never done before.
After visiting the ice cave, we made our way back up on the gondola and caught the Montenvers train back down into Chamonix.
By this point we'd packed a huge amount into the day. Unfortunately, the attractions had been really busy and the queues meant we didn't get the free time in Chamonix town that we'd originally expected. This was probably our only disappointment, as the town looked beautiful and we would have loved a little more time to explore.
Despite that, Chamonix ended up being one of the highlights of the whole weekend and I'd happily go back for longer. If you're wondering whether it's worth adding to a Geneva trip, I've gone into much more detail in our Is Chamonix Worth Visiting? guide.
There's plenty more we'd like to do on another trip too, particularly the Alpine Coaster and actually having time to explore Chamonix itself. Our Things to Do in Chamonix guide includes everything we managed to fit into this trip as well as the things already on our list for next time.
We met our coach at around 5pm for the journey back to Geneva, arriving back at our hotel at approximately 6.30pm.
After getting changed and heading to China Town, this was also when we really noticed the difference in prices between France and Switzerland. At lunchtime in Chamonix we'd bought a coffee, a glass of wine, a panini, a piece of cake and a bar of chocolate for around £22 in total, which we thought was really reasonable considering where we were.
Back in Geneva that evening, two fairly basic meals and two bottles of water cost us around £60. We already knew Geneva wasn't going to be cheap, but after spending the day over the border in France, the difference was definitely noticeable!
After dinner, we headed back to Hotel D after a very full day, ready for one last morning exploring Geneva before flying home.
After such a busy day in Chamonix, we deliberately kept our final morning in Geneva nice and relaxed.
We started with another breakfast at Hotel D before taking our time getting ready and checking out. Rather than trying to squeeze in another big attraction, we spent the rest of the morning exploring some of the shops in the city centre and picking up a few last-minute bits to take home.
We stopped for lunch in Geneva before collecting our bags and making our way back to the airport.
With Geneva Airport being so close to the city centre, you don't need to write off your final day just because you have a flight home. The quick journey back to the airport meant we could enjoy a slow morning in the city without constantly worrying about getting back in time.
It was a much slower end to the trip after our packed day in Chamonix, and exactly what we needed!
Planning your own Chamonix trip? You might also find these useful:
• How to Get from Geneva to Chamonix – Bus, transfer, train and driving options, including the journey we made on our own trip.
• 20 Things to Do in Chamonix – The attractions we visited ourselves plus more things we'd like to do when we return.
• Best Time to Visit Chamonix – When to visit for snow, hiking and sightseeing, plus the seasonal lift closures to check before booking.
• Is Chamonix Worth Visiting? – Our experience visiting Chamonix as non-skiers, including what we loved and what we'd change next time.
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