Mountain huts in France

In FFCAM refuges the bed fee goes to the hut fund and the meals to the warden, so they are paid separately. At the Chalet des Contamines on the Tour du Mont Blanc a bed costs 19.50 euros, half that for Alpine Club members, and half board is 56 euros. At the Refuge du Glacier Blanc in the Écrins a bed cost between 12.25 and 24.50 euros in 2026, dinner 26 and breakfast 9.

Most huts on the Tour du Mont Blanc are private, and half board is the norm there: roughly 70–90 euros per person in a shared room, and 180–270 euros for a private room. In Corsica, along the GR20, a bunk in a park refuge cost 20 euros in 2026.

On the Tour du Mont Blanc most huts are booked on one platform, montourdumontblanc.com, which opens in mid-October the year before; cancelling more than 30 days ahead refunds 80% of the deposit. FFCAM refuges are booked on each hut's own site. On the GR20 booking is on the park's site only, and compulsory even for a tent.

The Croix du Bonhomme refuge on the Tour du Mont Blanc is closed for renovation from August 2026 until summer 2029.

Outside the staffed season every FFCAM refuge keeps part of the building open as a shelter. Bring a sleeping bag and cooking kit, sign the book on arrival, fold the blankets, sweep, take your rubbish and close doors and shutters. The night must still be paid for, on the refuge's site, by cheque, in cash or in an honesty box, and some refuges require booking even off-season.

For Chamonix and the Tour du Mont Blanc, fly to Geneva, about an hour away. For the Écrins and the GR54 the nearest airports are Lyon and Grenoble, and for Corsica we found no direct flights in 2026, so walkers connect via Paris, Nice or Marseille.

After the disruption of 2026 direct routes from Tel Aviv change often, so check the current schedule, and book the huts before the flight.