A flight from Nice to Geneva cost only $28, so we headed north. The flight on this clear day provided grand views of the steep French Alps, which explains why there is no rail line connecting the two cities.
A joint Swiss-French train goes direct from Geneva to the end of the standard guage railway line at St Gervais les Bains-La Fayet (1). Here a connection is made to the Tram de Mont Blanc (2), a steep, meter guage cog- rail tram which wanders through the streets of La Fayet before climbing from 580 meters at La Fayet to a point near the glaciers on Mont Blanc (called Aguille de Midi) at 2,386 meters.
The Anne tram took us up as we enjoyed a seat directly at the front of the train. Return trams were scheduled to depart in an hour or in 3 1/2 hours. We wandered over to the small café for some caffeine and a closer look at the glaciers and returned on the Marie tram an hour later. Back in La Fayet, we dined outside while enjoying a fine view of the fading light on Mont Blanc.
(1) The station is in the town of La Fayet, but also serves the hill-side spa town of St Gervais Las Bains (The baths).
(2) The three tram sets are Anne (green), Marie (dark red), and Jeanne (blue), named after the original manager's three daughters Modern replacements are arriving this year and are accord with the original design esthetic.
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