In 1787, a year after Jacques Balmat, a Chamonix guide, and Dr. Paccard became the first to climb Mont Blanc, the Geneva scientist Horace Bénédict de Saussure repeated the enterprise. He wrote in his memoirs the same year: “the day will come when a paved road will be dug out under Mont Blanc…” This prophecy came true almost two centuries later. The Mont Blanc Tunnel was opened on 16 July 1965 by the heads of state of Italy and France, Giuseppe Saragat and Charles De Gaulle. The first vehicle entered the tunnel at 6 o’clock on 19 July. Work began in 1959, in January on the Italian side and in May on the French side.
Metre by metre, this new European road was dug out of the mountain by the labour of men. After overcoming all kinds of difficulties, the Italian and French minors met on 14 August 1962. Today, the Mont Blanc Tunnel is a main artery for tourist and trade traffic in Europe.

For information on toll rates, subscriptions and regulations, see the Tunnel website.