Parc De Merlet - Les Houches

I so wanted to like this place but..... The drive up there is not for those who aren't used to mountain driving. The car parks were full so you had to wait for people who were leaving. The act of parking in these poor spaces was also quite difficult. The website mentions that it is a 1km walk from the car parks, what they don't mention is that it is up an extremely steep slope. Once in, there are only two toilets by the entrance. This meant there was always quite a queue and no options if you are halfway around a 3 hour walk (except for trees.... . The scenery is breathtaking but don't come expecting to see a lot of animals. They are wild so it is very hit and miss. Not somewhere I would recommend.

Beautiful place amazing views. 3 parking lots. First one is About 1.5 km to the park difficult climb. Upper parking lot reserved for people with disabilities. Still some climbing to do.. Nice restaurant and shop in the sight.

Reserved our entry slot the day before for arrival, from 12:30 to 13:30. When reserving your time slot, bear in mind the walk from the parking can take up to half an hour. Paid on arrival, no problem, got given a map in English. Asked about the picnic area to eat lunch, but there isn't really a great place for this, you can't eat in the park area and we had to go back outside with a stamp on our hand for re-entry. There are shaded benches beside the path leading up to the entrance for eating. Inside the park is very nice, the walking trails are actually not that long and you could easily walk the whole area in a couple of hours. We didn't see lots of animals, maybe just the time we went. The views are amazing, definitely the highlight of the visit for me, being able to see Mont Blanc. The inside restaurant seemed OK, but had limited shade and was not great on a hot day if you have a table in the sun, but the Ice creams were lovely for a treat (try the Merlet) and nice views of the mountains. The drive up to the parking is steep, and the walk too, so make sure you have good brakes! The Parc is in French territory, so entry payment was in euros, but the parking is free.

An amazing park where you can watch local fauna (Bucks, chamois, groundhog, venison and others) as well as an amazing view of the French alps

Pleasant walk though thr woods and meadows, but nothing you couldn't do for free in hundreds of places in the area. We did see a few animals and a close encounter with a lama. Parking was very busy and required 20+ min uphill walk from the first available space.