Getting to Chamonix
 

My wife and I are flyng to <BR>Geneva on Wednesday. Is it faster to travel by bus or train to Chamonix? Where do we get the bus/train? <BR> <BR>Can you recommend a Bed and Breakfast or inexpensive hotel for two nights in Chamonix? <BR>We would like to pay no more than about $75 a night. <BR> <BR>Thanks.

We stayed at Hotel D'Arve this summer, and really enjoyed it. 2 star -our family of 4 stayed for $70 a night. Breakfast was extra and a bit steep at 42 francs, but good. Our room overlooked the river, and the Aiguille du Midi, and we had a little balcony with a small table to eat our picnic meals.

I don't know about busses from Geneva to Chamonix, but there is a really comfortable and highly scenic train route which I've detailed below. On a map it looks like a roundabout route, but you get glorious views across Lake Geneva to the Alps, before your next train climbs up into the same mountains. <BR>Depart Geneva 0840, Arrive Martigny 1025, Depart Martigny 1039, Arrive Chamonix 1210. <BR>There is another option at 0940, arriving Chamonix 1310, but with an additional change at Lausanne. <BR>You will find this trip to be quite memorable. There are light refreshments available on the trains.

My apologies, the times I gave you for trains from Geneva were from the city. <BR>Both trains depart direct from Geneva airport at 0831 and 0931 i.e., nine minutes earlier.

Don't know how early your plane arrives Geneva, but there are earlier trains from the airport, 0609 change at Martigny only, and 0632, change at Lausanne and Martigny. There are also later trains than those I mentioned earlier.

Tbanks for the hotel and train recommendations.

I second GB's Hotel l'Arve recommendation (60 Impasse des Anemones <BR>74400 Chamonix Mont Blanc). I used the hotel last year and it was quite satisfactory. I also took the train route described by Tony, and it is a very scenic ride. Of course in Chamonix you must ride the cable car up to the top of the Aiguille du Midi. It is a spectacular ride. You can read about my visit there and look at the photos I took at my home page at: http://members.xoom.com/billfleites/ <BR>