The Mer de Glace and the Montenvers mountain train are one of the main attractions of the Chamonix Valley. The Mer de Glace, or Sea of Ice, is a gigantic glacier moving at a pace of around 120 meters per year. One of the main attractions of the Mer de Glace is the Grotte de la Mer de Glace. This is a large man-made ice cave with carvings, statues and light effects. This is a very unique experience that should not be missed. There aren't many places in the world where you can enter into a glacier after all.
In winter, the Mer de Glace is part of the very famous Vallee Blanche skiing route starting off at the Aiguille du Midi and ending at the bottom of the Mer de Glace. Unfortunately, with global warming, the glacier is retreating at a rapid pace. Markings on the rock walls on the side of the glacier show the level that the glacier used to be in years past. It is shocking how fast the level is getting lower and lower and the ice cave and its entrance have had to be moved lower and lower as well as a consequence.
The Montenvers mountain train gives easy access to the Mer de Glace. From there is easy to continue onward and do one of the most popular trails in Chamonix: the Grand Balcon Nord to Plan de l'Aiguille. If you don't want to take the train then the Montenvers mountain station and the Mer de Glace can be reached using a trail from Chamonix.
Mer de Glace Photos
Below are all the photos we have in our Chamonix Photos collection for this point of interest. All our photos are tagged with the GPS coordinates and linked to the trails that you can take to find the location where the photo was taken. So if you want to see the full details for a specific photo then just click on it.
Hiking & Running Trails to Mer de Glace
All the trails and points of interest around Chamonix on our website are linked to each other so you can easily pick trails that cover the things you would like to see or visit sights that are nearby and can easily be combined with your target destination. These are the hiking and trail running trails and points of interest linked to Mer de Glace
Length
8.17km
Elevation +
+614m / -231m
Difficulty
Easy
9
Exceptional
Dogs
No Dogs
Children
7+ Years old
When to Go
Mid Jun - End Sep
Perhaps the most popular route in the Chamonix Valley taking you from the Montenvers station and the Mer de Glace over the Balcon Nord past the Lac Bleu to the Plan l'Aiguille lift station.
Points of Interests near Mer de Glace
Where is Mer de Glace?
Longitude:
6.9232593485085046
Latitude:
45.93197614713803
​Below you will find the location of Mer de Glace on the map. You can also click the button to show the nearby trails and points of interests that are listed above on the same map. Another option is to visit our interactive map that shows Mer de Glace and everything else that is listed on our website.
Looking for more Glaciers?
Mer de Glace is only one of many glaciers around Chamonix. We got many more we would love to show you and many more you should visit! To view all the other glaciers we cover on our website, you can visit our Glaciers around Chamonix page or view all the glaciers around Chamonix on our interactive map
Looking for other sights, attractions and points of interest around Chamonix?
