Aosta Valley: Nature, Trails, Castles and Regional Specialties

The Aosta Valley combines high-alpine landscapes, long hiking traditions, castles and regional cuisine within a compact cultural area. If you are planning a trip based on your interests, you will find different starting points here: nature parks and botanical diversity, historic buildings, pilgrim and high-altitude trails, white-water activities, as well as Valdostan specialties. You can choose a hotel in the Aosta Valley according to the personal focus of your trip, without having to consider nature, culture and cuisine separately.

Castles and history between Bard and Aosta

Forte di Bard is one of the most important works of 19th-century military architecture. An extensive restoration project made the complex usable again for cultural and educational activities. Aosta also preserves visible traces of its Roman past: a large part of the course of the Roman city walls can still be explored on foot today.

Castello di Cly belongs to the so-called typology of “primitive castles”; its donjon dates from the first third of the 11th century. Castello di Cly can be visited in part, exclusively as part of guided tours in summer and during events at the castle. Castello di Fénis has a pentagonal ground plan. Its corners feature round towers, except for the southwest corner, with a massive tower, and the southern corner, with a square tower. The keep is surrounded by a double ring wall with watchtowers and a covered wall-walk.

Nature parks, lakes and alpine plants

Mont Avic Nature Park was established in 1989 and is the first regional nature park in the Aosta Valley. It borders Gran Paradiso National Park and includes dozens of lakes, ponds and peat bogs that are unique in the Aosta Valley in terms of both number and extent. The A5 motorway provides a useful reference point for travelling to the nature park: from the Verrès exit, continue via Champdepraz; from the Pont-Saint-Martin exit, continue towards Champorcher.

Gran Paradiso National Park extends across 70,000 hectares of high-alpine territory between the valley floor at 800 metres and the 4,061-metre-high summit of Gran Paradiso. In the Aosta Valley, the park has four visitor centres: one in Cogne, two in Valsavarenche and one in Rhêmes-Notre-Dame. Cogne is also home to the Paradisia Alpine Botanical Garden, with more than 1,000 plant species.

Hiking trails for different elevations

The Aosta Valley has more than 400 short hiking routes. The two Alta Via routes cross the entire Aosta Valley. They are joined by the Via Francigena, a historic pilgrimage route from Canterbury to Rome that crosses the Aosta Valley from the Great St Bernard Pass to Pont-Saint-Martin. The network of trails covers more than 5,000 kilometres; routes can be searched by location and GPX or KML tracks can be downloaded.

Elevation shapes the character of the trails: one route runs mainly along the valley floor and on slopes at medium elevations between 500 and 1,900 metres above sea level. You can therefore base your trip planning on shorter stretches, longer crossings or historic route connections, provided that these cover different landscapes and interests.

White-water activities and winter sports

From April to September, the rapids of the Dora Baltea and the alpine mountain streams offer opportunities for rafting, hydrospeed, canyoning, kayaking and canoeing. As a winter attraction, Indian Park is considered the highest-altitude snow park in Europe. The two areas complement the Aosta Valley’s nature-focused selection with seasonally different activities, without prescribing a single type of trip.

Valdostan specialties and festivals

Micóoula is a local sweet bread made from whole-wheat and rye flour, chestnuts, raisins, butter, eggs, salt and sugar. In Hône, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on 8 December is celebrated with the Micóoula Festival and food stalls; visitors can sample this traditional sweet there. Every year on 10 and 11 October, Bard hosts an event promoting Valdostan agricultural and food culture. Visitors can sample and purchase products from various local sectors directly from the producers, including cheese, cured meats, honey, baked goods, fruit and vegetables, as well as wine.

Places for your further planning

Find more destinations in the Aosta Valley here: Antey-Saint-André, Valgrisenche, Aosta, Arvier, Avise, Aymavilles, Bionaz, Breuil-Cervinia, Courmayeur, Introd, Saint Nicolas, Saint Pierre, Sarre, Valsavarenche, Valtournenche, Villeneuve, La Salle, Verrand, Cogne, Rhemes-Saint-Georges, Ayas, Gressoney-Saint-Jean, Verrès, Torgnon, Frachey, Etroubles, Chamois, Nus, Saint Jacques, La Thuile, Champoluc, Brusson, Arnad, Fénis Ao, Pollein, Bard, Châtillon, Valpelline, Roisan, Saint-Rhémy-En-Bosses, Ollomont, Gaby, Saint-Oyen, Montjovet, Chateau, Lillianes, Fontainemore, Acque Fredde, Pont-Saint-Martin, Gignod, Champdepraz, Challand-Saint-Anselme, Coveyrand, Charvensod, Issime, Pontboset, Morgex, Allein, Donnas, Doues, Brengon, Saint-Christophe, Rhêmes-Notre-Dame, Jovencan, Gratillon, Epinel, Chambave, Challand-Saint-Victor, Issogne, Verrayes, Ozein, Chef-lieu, Oyace, Émarèse, Grand Brissogne, Lignan, Saint Vincent, Quart, Pré-Saint-Didier, Gressoney-La-Trinité, Gressan.