Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, also known as Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, Chamonix or Chamonix, is a city in eastern France and a municipality in the Haute-Savoie department of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Chamonix-Mont-Blanc is located in the eastern part of the Haute-Savoie department. Its municipal area is 116.53 square kilometers. As of January 1, 2017, the population was 8,611, ranking 1,201st among French cities.
Aiguille du Midi is a peak in Mont Blanc in the French Alps, with an altitude of 3,842 meters. The cableway to the summit was built in 1955 and was the highest cableway in the world at the time. It maintained the record for about 20 years and is still the cableway with the longest vertical distance in the world, from 1,035 meters to 3,842 meters. From the starting point of the cableway, Chamonix, to the end point, the summit of Aiguille du Midi, it only takes 20 minutes to reach an altitude of more than 2,800 meters.
There is a panoramic viewing platform, cafe and gift shop at the top of the peak.
The name of the mountain literally translates to "needle of the south". (Note: The word "midi" itself has two meanings. If there is no definite article in front of it and the first letter m is not capitalized, it means "noon"; if there is a definite article and the first letter is capitalized M, it means "the south of the country", which should refer to the south of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc.
