The Aosta Valley is Italy at its most vertical, a single great trench carved by the Dora Baltea and walled by the four-thousand-metre giants that mark the borders with France and Switzerland.
It is the country's smallest and least populated region, and its only officially bilingual one, where road signs read in Italian and French and the old Franco-Provençal dialect still lingers in the side valleys.
Rome left its mark first. Aosta, founded as Augusta Praetoria, still guards its triumphal arch, its theatre wall and the gridded streets of a frontier garrison. Above the valley floor, castles such as Fénis bristle on their crags, and the high meadows yield the nutty, melting Fontina that thickens a pot of fonduta. To finish, there is genepy, the bittersweet alpine liqueur distilled from mountain wormwood.
Come in winter for the skiing under Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn, or in summer, when the ibex of Gran Paradiso, Italy's first national park, graze the slopes above wildflower meadows.
To finish, there is genepy, the bittersweet alpine liqueur distilled from mountain wormwood.
When to visit Aosta Valley
Typical climate in Aosta, the regional capital.
Where to base yourself
Aosta
The regional capital, founded by Augustus as Augusta Praetoria in 25 BC and still laid out on its Roman grid. The Arch of Augustus and the great wall of the Roman theatre rise among the streets, while the cathedral and the priory of Sant'Orso guard medieval frescoes and a carved Romanesque cloister.
The Aosta guide
Cogne
A mountain village on the doorstep of the Gran Paradiso, Italy's first national park, where ibex and chamois roam the high valleys.
Fénis
A village best known for its castle, the Castello di Fénis, the most photographed in the region.
Bard
One of Italy's smallest comuni, a single medieval street clustered beneath the vast Forte di Bard, the fortress that famously slowed Napoleon's army in 1800.
Courmayeur
The grande dame of Italian alpine resorts, set in the shadow of Mont Blanc at the head of the valley.
Sleeping in Aosta Valley
Well-reviewed places to stay, each checked open, by town.
- Hotel Bouton d'OrCourmayeur
- Bellevue Hotel & SpaCogne
- Hôtel-Chalet de Tradition Notre MaisonCogne
- Auberge De La MaisonCourmayeur
- Le Rêve CharmantAosta
- Hotel du Grand ParadisCogne
- Vecchio Mulino Guest HouseAosta
- Villa Novecento Romantic HotelCourmayeur
- Hotel MilleluciAosta
- Hotel Cavour Et Des OfficiersBard
What to see first
Matterhorn
The 4,478-meter Alpine icon above Breuil-Cervinia, lift-linked across the border to Zermatt's glacier ski area.
Read the guide
Eating and drinking in Aosta Valley
Well-loved everyday tables and Michelin stars, each checked open.
- Bar à FromageCogne · Trattoria
- Trattoria Sonveulla Bar SalumificioCogne · Trattoria
- AuraAosta · Pizzeria
- Lou RessignonCogne · Trattoria
- Ristorante La ChaumièreCourmayeur · Trattoria
- Pizzeria Farina Del Mio SaccoAosta · Pizzeria
- Fuori dal piattoAosta · Pizzeria
- Pan Per Focaccia CourmayeurCourmayeur · Pizzeria
- Ristorante 4810 We Are FoodCourmayeur · Osteria
Michelin-starred
- Le Petit Bellevue ★
- Paolo Griffa al Caffè Nazionale ★
- Vecchio Ristoro ★
The year in Aosta Valley
The rituals, races, and processions the region still keeps.
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