Tour du Mont Blanc: Refuges, Gîtes, and other accommodations by country

One of the most common questions we get is for a list of refuges and other accommodations along the Tour du Mont Blanc. In this post, wdese provide a table of accommodations, with references to the ones we have stayed at and key information.

Rifugio Walter Bonatti

Gnocchi with local blue cheese and pear crisps at Chalet Val Ferret, Tour du Mont Blanc

Gnocchi with local blue cheese and pear crisps, Hotel Chalet Val Ferret

Gîte Alpage De La Peule

Candlelight dinner at Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme

Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme surrounded by mountains

Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme in the morning

Accommodations

We hiked clockwise in 2018; most hikers go counterclockwise, so you may encounter these in reverse order. There are many Tour du Mont Blanc variants, and so some accommodations may require a detour or variant. We’ve tried to note major detours. In major towns, this list is not exhaustive, but it instead notes where we stayed and other well-reviewed accommodations we considered.

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Location	Name	Type	Alpine Club	Notes
France (from Les Houches)
La Flégère		Refuge	No	Located at the top of a cable car in a ski area. Despite the more developed setting, the views across the valley to Mont Blanc are spectacular. The accessibility of the location also means that Flégère had good food and hot showers. Early in the season, we shared a five-person room with just one other person. See notes on this stage.
Refuge du Lac Blanc		Refuge	No	Closed during our trip, access also would have been challenging early in the season due to remaining snow. Beautiful location.
Auberge La Boerne		Gîte	n/a	Located along D1506 near Montroc and above Argentière; this would spare hikers looking to stop near here the descent into Argentière.
Les Ecuries de Charamillon		Gîte	n/a	Located in the valley on the way to Col De Balme, we passed far above on L’Aiguillettes des Posettes on our 2018 trip.
Refuge du Col de Balme		Refuge	No	25-person refuge at Col De Balme on the French-Swiss border; closed during our 2018 trip.
Switzerland
Refuge Le Peuty		Refuge	No	19-person refuge above Trient.
Trient	Auberge Mont Blanc (Hotels.com \| Booking.com)	Gîte/hostel	n/a	We stayed in a double room that was spacious and comfortable. Bathrooms were shared but clean and there was no line for showers. Dinner was good with ample portions. The hostel also has a large indoor/outdoor patio looking out on Trient’s pink church and the Trient Glacier. See notes on this stage.
Trient	Auberge La Grande Ourse	Hotel/Gîte	n/a	Another option in Trient, with a mix of rooms, dormitories, and apartments.
Relais D’Arpette		Hotel/Gîte	n/a	Accommodation in the Val d’Arpette, between Fenêtre d’Arpette and Champex-Lac. Rooms and dorms.
Auberge Gîte Bon Abri		Hotel/Gîte	n/a	Accommodation below Champex-Lac; maybe a 30-minute walk from the lake and town. Rooms and dorms.
Champex-Lac	Ptarmigan (Booking.com)	Hotel	n/a	A cute bed and breakfast overlooking the lake; great location and friendly owners. We booked partly because of outstanding reviews for their restaurant, which we later learned was not open early in the season. The bathroom was shared with just one other room, and the balcony nice. The self-service breakfast was a bit of a scavenger hunt, but good. See notes on this stage.
Champex-Lac	—	Hotels	n/a	See Champex-Lac hotels on Hotels.com
La Fouly	Maya Joie (Booking.com)	Gîte/hostel	n/a	An excellent stay in a comfortable double room with shared bathroom and good storage. Even with large groups, we didn’t have to wait for showers or run out of hot water. Dinner, at an additional 20 CHF per person, was a great value. See notes on this stage.
	Hotel Edelweiss	Hotel	n/a
	Gîte De La Fouly	Gîte/hotel	n/a	Rooms and dorms
	Auberge des Glaciers	Gîte/hotel	n/a	Rooms and dorms
Gîte de la Léchère		Gîte	n/a	Between La Fouly and Grand Col Ferret, 25 dorm beds.
Hotel du Col de Fenêtre		Hotel	n/a	Between La Fouly and Grand Col Ferret.
Gîte Alpage de la Peule		Gîte/refuge	No	Gîte on an alp on the way to Grand Col Ferret
Italy
Rifugio Elena		Rifugio	No	Refuge on the Italian side of Grand Col Ferret; 40 dorm beds. Lovely views.
Hotel Chalet Val Ferret		Hotel	n/a	We stopped here for lunch, and the food was outstanding. See notes on this stage.
Rifugio Walter Bonatti		Rifugio	CAI	The refuge looks out on to the breadth of the Italian side of the Mont Blanc Massif. It’s an outstanding view. Opened in 1998, the refuge has many nice touches. We stayed in a large dorm (dortoir). Despite the many people, we got a good night’s sleep. Dinner was fine though not the best compared to other refuges, but Bonatti served the best breakfast of the four refuges. See notes on this stage.
Hotel Lavachey		Hotel	n/a	This is in the valley below Rifugio Bonatti, which would mean missing a delightful balcony walk or a significant ascent/descent – so we only list it as an alternative if Bonatti is full.
Rifugio G. Bertone		Rifugio	No	The last refuge above Courmayeur, it has a lovely view. Popular with day hikers.
Courmayeur	Hotel Croux (Hotels.com \| Booking.com)	Hotel	n/a	Highly recommended. The location was convenient and our spacious room had a view of Mont Blanc. Breakfast was excellent. We were happy to make use of the sauna, and the hotel staff also prepared tea for use during the sauna. See notes on this stage.
Courmayeur	—	Hotels	n/a	See Courmayeur hotels on Hotels.com
Rifugio Monte Bianco		Rifugio	CAI	Part of a cluster of accommodations above Courmayeur to the south. Dorms and 16 rooms.
Gîte Le Randonneur du Mont Blanc		Gîte/Rifugio	No	Part of a cluster of accommodations above Courmayeur to the south. Dorms and private rooms.
Rifugio Maison Vieille		Rifugio	No	Part of a cluster of accommodations above Courmayeur to the south. Dorms and private rooms.
Cabane du Combal		Gîte/Rifugio	No	Lovely spot in the valley near Lago di Miage. Seven rooms for 3 or 4 with private bathrooms.
Rifugio Elisabetta Soldini		Rifugio	CAI	Excellent location, below two glaciers and looking out over the wetlands above Lago di Combal. It’s a smaller refuge, which means that dinner is served in two sittings and breakfast is a bit of a madhouse. The food was fine but not standout. The combination of good-natured hikers and staff, plus the stunning scenery, make it all work. See notes on this stage.
France
Refuge des Mottets		Refuge	No	Refuge below Col de la Seigne.
Refuge de La Croix de Bonhomme		Refuge	FFCAM	One of our favorite refuge stays. We stayed in a four person room, shared with two others, and we found it spacious and comfortable. Dinner was particularly good, with respect to both quality and quantity, here. The refuge is remote, so charging and shower facilities are more weather-affected; our rainy day meant the showers were cold and the end of dinner was candlelit. See notes on this stage.
Refuge de la Balme		Refuge	No	Pretty spot, potentially a good location if you wanted to stay and visit Lacs Jovet after leaving much of your gear, though it would be a bit of a hike back up from the refuge.
Refuge des Pres		Refuge	No	Rebuilt 2021. This requires staying above Val Montjoie instead of descending to Refuge de la Balme, which could offer some good views back across the valley.
Refuge Nant Borrant		Refuge	No	In the Val Montjoie.
Refuge de Tré-la-Tête		Refuge	No	Refuge above Val Montjoie, requires ascending from Refuge Nant Borrant, past Cascade de la Combe Noire. Potential side trip to Panorama Glacier Tré La Tête, which looks lovely. We have not hiked this route, so be sure to check other references.
Les Contamines-Montjoie	Gîte Le Pontet	Gîte	n/a	Gîte on the outskirts of Les Contamines-Montjoie.
	Hôtel-Chalet de Tradition la Chemenaz (Hotels.com \| Booking.com)	Hotel	n/a	~15-minute walk to town, in an area that seemed dead early in the season. Our first floor room was comfortable but had an odd patio with a view 90% blocked by the hotel restaurant. The hotel had a sauna, though we instead used the time for a relaxing dinner in town. See notes on this stage.
	La Ferme à Piron	Gîte	n/a
	—	Hotels	n/a	See hotels in Les Contamines-Montjoie on Hotels.com
Auberge du Truc		Refuge	No	28-person refuge on the Plateau du Truc on the Col du Tricot variant.
Refuge de Miage		Refuge	No	On the Col du Tricot variant.
Auberge de Bionnassay		Gîte	No	On the main route. Rooms and dorms.
Saint Gervais	Refuge Du Fioux	Refuge	No	On the main TMB route.
Les Houches	Gîte Michel Fagot	Gîte	No
Chamonix	—	Hotels	n/a	See Chamonix hotels on Hotels.com