ItalyField Guide
Valle d'Aosta

Region

Valle d'Aosta

Italy's smallest, most alpine region — the Matterhorn (Cervinia), Mont Blanc (Courmayeur), Gran Paradiso, and a French-Italian mountain culture. Tiny, expensive, and entirely about the peaks.

Worth a Detour
All regions

The verdict

Valle d'Aosta is pure mountains: Mont Blanc from Courmayeur, the Matterhorn from Cervinia, Gran Paradiso's national park, and Aosta's Roman ruins. It's small enough to do in a few days, expensive, and the least Italian-feeling region in the country. Go to ski, to hike, or to stand under the biggest peaks in the Alps — not for food-and-wine touring.

Why go

Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn, and Gran Paradiso — Italy's most concentrated dose of big alpine peaks.

Skip if

You're not here for mountains; there's little else in this tiny region.

Where to go in Valle d'Aosta

View all →
Breuil-Cervinia
01

Town · Valle d'Aosta

Breuil-Cervinia

The Italian side of the Matterhorn — a ski resort in the shadow of the pyramid. The cable car to Plateau Rosà (3,480m) is the point. Worth a day for the mountain, or a week for the skiing.

Cogne
02

Town · Valle d'Aosta

Cogne

The base for the Gran Paradiso National Park — meadows, marmots, ibex, and the only 4,000m peak entirely in Italy. Worth a night for hikers and anyone who wants the alps without the resort.

Aosta
03

Town · Valle d'Aosta

Aosta

The best-preserved Roman city in the Alps — a triumphal arch, a theater, the walls — in a valley floor below the peaks. Worth a day as a base for the Val d'Aosta.

Courmayeur
04

Town · Valle d'Aosta

Courmayeur

The Italian side of Mont Blanc — a polished resort town, but the real draw is the Skyway cable car to Punta Helbronner and the view of the highest peak in the Alps from its south face. Worth it for the mountain.

Things to do in Valle d'Aosta

Ready to plan?

Ready to turn discovery into a trip?

Italy Field Guide helps you decide where to go. When you're ready to build the actual day-by-day itinerary, take your saved places to Travel Itinerary Co — your interests go with you.

Turn your saved Valle d'Aosta places into a trip