Mountain cable car
Skyway Monte Bianco
Opened in 2015, this cableway climbs from Courmayeur via the Pavillon station to Punta Helbronner at 3,466 metres, right beside Mont Blanc, with broad balconies looking over the surrounding Alps.
The story
Rather than simply rebuilding an old lift, the designers of Skyway Monte Bianco set out to create a complete vertical ascent. The cable links three stations: Courmayeur, called The Valley, at 1,300 metres; Pavillon, The Mountain, at 2,173 metres; and Punta Helbronner, The Sky, at 3,466 metres. On clear days the panorama stretches as far as the Matterhorn, and the route carries on over the massif toward Chamonix. Pavillon has a museum about the old cable car, a bar, a restaurant and a store of wine kept at altitude, plus a pond ringed by deck chairs facing Mont Blanc. At the summit station come wide balconies, a crystal collection and another bar, with the historic Rifugio Torino a few steps away. Beyond the station, only unmarked mountaineering routes continue.
Good to know
TAGGG AI- ✦Aim for a clear day, when the views take in Mont Blanc and even reach the Matterhorn.
- ✦Stop at the Pavillon halfway station, where a pond with deck chairs faces Mont Blanc.
- ✦If driving through the Mont Blanc tunnel from France, set off very early to avoid long toll queues.