09:13 Zermatt🚄10:21 Visp 10:35🚄11:14 Martigny🔀11:18 Martigny🚄12:05 Vallorcine 12:10🚃12:45 Chamonix-Mont-Blanc |
After leaving Switzerland, I headed to Mont Blanc in France.
I changed trains at Visp on the way from Zermatt to Martigny, where I waited for the Mont Blanc Express, a small train to cross the valley. There was a store in front of the station with a sign "OUTLET" and I thought I could buy brand-name goods at a reasonable price, so I decided to stop by on my way back from Mont Blanc.
The train ride up the steep hill and the steep canyon was so long that I thought the train was going to fall down to the bottom of the canyon.
After entering French territory and changing trains again, I arrived at Mont Blanc station (Chamonix-Mont-Blanc). When we got off the train, the atmosphere was a little different from that of Switzerland, but we did not feel cold at all due to global warming; in fact, it was even hot.
Along the road leading from the cobblestone train station to the hotel, many restaurants were located along the sidewalk, and many tourists were chatting with each other. The hotel had no elevator, and we were in an attic room on the top floor of the fourth floor. It was a little old, and the shower pressure was low and low in height.
Not to mention, it was too hot for a resort, so I opened all the windows, but it was noisy with live music in the bar next door until 7:00 pm.
A young male staff member, who seemed to be a migrant from the Middle East, helped me with my luggage.
In Chamonix, there is a guest card called "CARTE D'HÔTE" that can be obtained free of charge when staying at an accommodation and allows unlimited rides on buses and some sections of the French national railway (Mont-Blanc Express). In addition, I tried to purchase a 2-day Mont Blanc Multipass, which allows unlimited rides on the ropeway and other services, at the tourist information office (Office de Tourisme de Chamonix-Mont-Blanc), but the staff told me to buy it from a vending machine in an overbearing manner. I asked the staff again, but they did not seem to speak English well, so I went back to the vending machine and after struggling for a while, I managed to purchase the ticket. I later found out that I could get a discount if I had purchased online two days before.
Walking distance: 7.1 Km
Stayed: La Croix Blanche (3 nights)
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