Saint Nicolas: Patois, Panoramas and Trails through the Mountain Landscape

Saint Nicolas combines a sunny plateau at 1,200 metres with Franco-Provençal linguistic culture, historic buildings, geological formations and trails through forests, fields and alpine landscapes.

Plateau with sweeping panoramas

Saint-Nicolas lies on an expansive, sunny plateau at an altitude of 1,200 metres. From Saint-Nicolas, the panorama stretches from Mont Emilius to Rutor. The altitude is therefore as much a part of the character of the village as the open view across the surrounding mountain landscape.

Language, village history and collections

Jean-Baptiste Cerlogne was a poet who wrote in the Franco-Provençal dialect and published numerous works, including the “Dictionnaire du patois valdôtain”. The Centre d'études René Willien is dedicated to protecting and promoting Patois and has an extensive library that bears witness to Alpine culture. Here, Patois refers to the Franco-Provençal dialect and connects linguistic subjects with the regional culture.

The village of Vens lies at an altitude of 1,734 metres and has restored buildings as well as old rural houses. In the Chiesa parrocchiale di San Nicola, only the crypt beneath the presbytery probably dates from the ancient 12th-century church building; the bell tower dates from the 15th century.

The Museo Gerbore in Lyveroulaz is housed in the historic Maison de la Tôr building and contains around fifty agricultural machines from the 1950s. The cultural range therefore extends from language and literature through religious architecture to material agricultural culture.

Cross-country skiing, hiking and unusual landforms

The cross-country ski trails near the main village of Saint-Nicolas run through forests and sunny fields; three kilometres of them are also illuminated at night. For a hike, the Lac du Joux–Pointe Aouillette route follows Trail No. 29 along the lakeshore before entering a coniferous forest. It crosses the alpine pastures on the southern side of Pointe Aouillette and reaches the summit on the watershed ridge between the central valley and the Vallon de Vertosan.

The Saint-Nicolas geosite includes channels known as calanchi, as well as earth pyramids. There is also an equipped picnic area in the Bois de la Tour woodland. Within a small thematic area, the lakeshore, coniferous forest, alpine pastures and distinctive geological formations thus complement one another.

Seasonal traditions and getting there

During the Dezarpe de Vertosan, herds are brought down in late summer from the high-altitude pastures of the Vallon de Vertosan in Avise, from Vétan in Saint-Pierre and from the Saint-Nicolas area. From Aosta, Saint-Nicolas can be reached by the “Villeneuve - Saint-Pierre - Saint-Nicolas - Aosta” bus route.

As a project, “L’AttraversArt” envisioned a cultural trail about 10 kilometres long, beginning in the main village of Saint-Nicolas and reaching Vétan in the municipality of Saint-Pierre.

Discover more places

More places: Oyace, Fontainemore, Champoluc, Pont-Saint-Martin, Brengon, Courmayeur and Quart.

Back to the main travel overview: Aosta Valley.