Mont Blanc rises from the heart of its eponymous massif and constitutes the highest peak of the Alps. It is also the highest peak of Western Europe, earning it the nickname "The Roof of Europe". It straddles the border between France and Italy, to the south of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (in the Haute-Savoie department, 200 km east of Lyon) and to the northwest of Courmayeur (in the Aosta Valley, 150 km northwest of Turin).
It towers above the famous Aiguille du Midi to the north and the Grandes Jorasses to the northeast, and directly feeds Les Bossons Glacier in the direction of the Arve River Valley.

The Mont Blanc Massif is home to France's largest glaciers. The most famous, located on the northern slope, are the Mer de Glace and the glaciers of Argentière, Les Bossons and Tré-la-Tête.

The massif is a veritable Mecca for French and European mountaineers.