Tour du Mont Blanc 2027: What the New Booking Rules Mean for You

The Tour du Mont Blanc has become a victim of its own success. Local reports say more than 90,000 people walked the route in summer 2026, up from around 75,000 in 2025 and about 36,000 in 2019. In response, towns on the French side of the massif have announced new rules that are planned to start with the 2027 season.

The final details are still being agreed between France, Italy and Switzerland, so treat this page as a planning guide rather than the official rulebook. We'll update it as the rules are confirmed.

What's being proposed

A booking for every night. Hikers would need a reservation in a refuge, gîte or an authorised bivouac area for each night they spend on the route, with checks along the trail.
The end of wild camping. Camping would only be allowed in registered sites and designated bivouac zones.
Fewer vehicles. Authorities want to reduce luggage transfers and shuttle traffic on mountain roads.
No quotas, for now. Current proposals don't cap the number of hikers on the TMB itself. Separately, a quota system is planned for access to the very popular Lac Blanc.

Why it matters

Refuges on the TMB already sell out. The central booking site for most refuges usually opens bookings for the next summer in the autumn, and the best-placed huts fill within days. With camping restricted, more people will compete for the same beds.

How to plan your 2027 TMB

Pick your dates and direction early. Anticlockwise from Les Houches is the classic route. Going clockwise, or starting mid-way, can make some nights easier to find.
Book the bottleneck nights first. Nights with only one or two options in the right place go first. Build the rest of the itinerary around them.
Check more than one booking system. Most refuges use the central TMB platform, but several independent huts take bookings through their own site, a form or email.
Have a plan B for each night. A hotel in a nearby village plus a bus or lift can rescue a stage when a hut is full.
Train for the days you booked. Once your stages are fixed, you know exactly how much climbing each day involves. Our readiness quiz turns that into a training timeline.

Where to book

Montour du Mont Blanc: the official platform for booking many TMB refuges in one place.
Autour du Mont Blanc: official route information, stages and refuge list.
Alpine club hut reservations: some Swiss and Italian club huts on and near the route.

Book as soon as reservations open for your season. Popular refuges on the classic stages fill within days.