Aiguille du Midi 3842m - Chamonix Mont-Blanc, France

The Aiguille du Midi is a 3842m peak in the Mont Blanc massif of the French Alps. This is the closest you can get to the summit of Mont-Blanc without hiking or climbing. The Aiguille du Midi is the highest mountain peak served by an aerial lift system. The name translates literally to "Needle of the Mid-day". The mountain lies to the south-east of Chamonix and when viewed from in front of the church it indicates that it is noon when the sun passes over its summit. The Aiguille du Midi is an extremely popular attraction with nearly half a million visitors per year. It is open all year round, except for the annual maintenance period in November (that can vary around two or three weeks) and during extremely bad weather conditions. The Aiguille du Midi is an ideal starting point of the Three Monts route to ascend Mont-Blanc. The intermediate point, Plan de l'Aiguille (2,317m), is the mid station of the Aiguille du Midi cable car and is an access point for off piste skiing and ski touring in the winter season, hiking, rock climbing, paragliding in the spring, summer and autumn seasons. A great day excursion is to walk from the Plan d'Aiguille to the Montenvers Train Station and Mer de Glace and take the train back down to Chamonix