The balcony above Courmayeur
The shelf above Courmayeur on Mont de la Saxe, high enough to see the whole massif and close enough to walk to from the village.
The balcony is not a valley. It is the grassy shelf between the village and the crest of Mont de la Saxe, and the reason to be on it is that it faces the entire Mont Blanc chain from across the valley rather than standing underneath it.
It is the one part of this catalog that needs no bus at all. A walk here starts at the door of the hotel and climbs, which makes it the answer on a day the timetable has run out or the weather has closed the valleys.
Getting there
- Line 924, Val Ferret · freeThis data covers 18 July to 27 September 2026.
Where to eat up here
- Rifugio Giorgio Bertone · 1,989 mUsually open 12 June to 26 September 2026. Ring to be sure.
- Rifugio Walter Bonatti · 2,025 mOpen 26 May to 30 September 2026.
3 walks
Rifugio Bertone balcony
A steady forest climb straight out of the village to a terrace that faces the whole massif.
Moderate9 km · 770 m up · 1,989 m
Bertone to Bonatti balcony traverse
The signature Tour du Mont Blanc day: a high traverse facing the Grandes Jorasses the whole way.
Hard12 km · 1,000 m up · 2,025 m
Col Sapin and Tete de la Tronche loop
The long way round behind Bertone, over a real summit, with the crowds left on the balcony below.
Hard14.7 km · 1,546 m up · 2,581 m
Each walk’s page names its photographer.