Chamonix in May?

We are a family of four (2 children, ages 3 and 5). We have much of our itinerary planned, but are looking for advice for a 2-3 day stay.

We will be on Corscia for one week, Nice for 4-5 days, and ending our stay in Paris for 5 days. We would love to spend the three days between Nice and Paris in Chamonix (driving through Italy); though weather wise seems iffy for the 20th of May.

Any recommendations or alternative ideas (perhaps Arles)?

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That whole area of France is lovely. If you%26#39;re driving you%26#39;ll be fine basing yourself in Chamonix and doing side trips to places like Chamb��ry. Some of the high passes may still be closed in May but in that case you just drive up as far as you can with a picnic let the kids run around and while you enjoy looking at the wild flowers and listening to cow bells.

Arles of course is nice too but much the same as Nice in terms of ambience. If you %26#39;head to the hills%26#39; you%26#39;ll see a different part of France, different food - raclette and fondue - and different landscape. Just my opinion.

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Thank you for the positive comments about Chamonix in May. Merci!

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check that the telecabines are in operation in May.The mountains will be very wet as the snow will be melting . If you can`t ski you can see the sights of chamonix in a day: the Mer de Glace by the little mountain train, the Aiguille du Midi by telecabine or the view of Mont Blanc from the opposite side also telecabine--Le brevent. Try to visit Annecy also, it is very pretty and the centre of Geneva by the lake is beautiful.

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And the old town part of Annecy is delightful!

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We%26#39;re doing the same thing! I%26#39;m so glad to hear someone else is going to drive from Nice to Chamonix - we%26#39;ve been concerned about the drive... have you rented a car? Can you recommend where to do so?

We%26#39;re headed there in about 3 weeks, and as far as we can tell, the aguille du midi will be open for business.

We%26#39;re staying at the Hameau Albert Premiere and plan on finding fondue!!

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Well, we%26#39;ve decided to leave three days for Chamonix and wait to see how the weather looks before making the final decision. Per Michelin it is only a 4 hour drive, so will be a lovely area to explore!

We%26#39;ve rented from Avis in Avignon as we are spending three weeks traveling (Provence, Corsica, Nice, and hopefully Chamonix/Annency) prior to 5 days in Paris to finish our trip.

Hopefully leaving things unconfirmed and hotel rooms unreserved should not be a problem for a family of four (children 3 and 5) in May.

Chamonix will be my husband%26#39;s highlight if the weather cooperates, though keeping him off the mountain may be a challenge.

We are hoping for good weather around the 17th of May!

Bon chance

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Thanks Seattle mom!

have a great trip!

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I have made the trip from the Nice area to Chamonix and beyond perhaps ten times and in both directions by every conceivable route. The route via Genoa and eventually through the Mont Blanc tunnel is definitely the quickest route, but with minimal stops I%26#39;d say it is more like a six hour trip than four - and that is assuming decent weather and little or no delay due to road works.

Certainly with young children I wouldn%26#39;t want to try to do it in less.

But YMMV, as they say :%26gt;)

Bonne route in any case!