A view of exceptional beauty, in front of the highest European mountain, the Mont Blanc Valley is a natural depression at the north west of the Aosta Valley, which is the smallest country where the highest European peaks are grouped.

The sight sweeps from eternal glaciers, sparkling under the sun, to huge pinewoods coloured with all green shades and to wide flowered meadows: the rock dominates the whole ground, the silence dominates the view. At an altitude of over 4000 mt you find natural untouched scenaries, covered by glaciers, lakes and peaks: the Mont Blanc peak, at an altitude of 4810 mt, is the highest one. Its chain is crossed by a cable car which links up Courmayeur, on the Italian side, to Chamonix, on the French side; it is possible to cross the Mont Blanc taking a cable car which has been defined the eight wonder of the world: an experience not to be missed!. Explorations and occupations have succeeded one another since the middle of the 18th century; climbers from every place of the world have arrived and come to Courmayeur to measure themselves with this massif, which is among the most fascinating ones. The Alpine Guides’ Society of Courmayeur has been the protagonist of enterprises which have been written in the story of the alpinism. Included in a zone called “gengiva”, between the meadows at the bottom of the Valley and the limit of the glaciers, we find the game preserve of the Mont Blanc: here chamois, cheers, steinbocks, marmots and cocks find their natural habitat.

The “Tour du Mont Blanc” climbs among larchs and firs woods; it is an important way traced on the frontier of Italy, France and Switzerland; in summer you can run through it in a relatively simple way, spending the night in alpine refuges.

At the foot of the Dente del Gigante and of the Grandes Jorasses the Ferret Valley is one of the best known by tourists. At the beginning wild and rough, dominated by the imposing sight of the Grandes Jorasses, the Ferret Valley widens at Planpincieux in large meadows, surrounded by thick woods and cut across by the waters of the Dora of Ferret, that flows shaping wide loops in which surrounding peaks are reflected; in summer a golf course with 9 holes can be practised: every passage on it is spectacular; in winter the Ferret Valley is the perfect place for Nordic skiing, walkings with snow-shoes and simple night hikes. Hot springs, already known by Roman people for their salutary properties, have given rise to the tourist development of the Mont Blanc Valley: the thermal source of Pré-Saint-Didier has arsenic-ferruginous waters at a constant temperature of 36°, which have therapeutic properties. The Mont Blanc Valley is a multi-coloured universe for traditions and folklore: it is a country where everything should be discovered. The natural estate is represented by a variety of landscapes and colours in every season; there is the possibility to practise many sports: rafting and canoe, ridings, mountain-bike trips, free climbing, trekking and alpinism in summer of course; besides all the traditional winter sports can be practised in a natural seductive scenery among breathtaking views; extreme sensations that can be proved practising the most new and active winter sports which fascinate adults and children; furthermore there is a new snow park and it is possible to practise golf on the snow. The indoor forum sport center is architecturally precious and fully equipped: international competions find place there. The Blanc de Morgex and the La Salle D.O.C. wine, exquisite and with a tender flavour of mountain herbs, cultivated in the highest European vineyards, is the ideal aperitif to drink before eating in order to taste the traditional food of the Aosta Valley. Strictly bound to the natural environment is the Fontina, made in different ways: it is a soft and flavoured cheese of a unique taste, it is one of the few Italian products which has won the D.O.P. appreciation of the European Union.

Salami and cold pork meats are available on the table together with polenta, butter, rye bread baked in the old wood-burning oven, inviting dishes, sometimes game-based or the famous “carbonada”, traditional desserts and, at the end of the meal, the traditional coffee of the Aosta Valley is not to be missed. The whole year round, festivals and fairs take place all along the Mont Blanc Valley, dictated by a will of good taste, handicraft and tradition. Courmayeur, at an altitude of 1224 mt among firs and larchs is surrounded by mountains and glaciers which make it extraordinary; it is a modern alpine town which praises centuries of history and a celebrity that had made it known all around the world; in Courmayeur we find tourist accomodation facilities at an international level. The city centre, completely pedestrian, is the beating heart of the town, the commercial and mundane heart. The opening of the Mont Blanc Tunnel had and has nowadays a great importance relating to the great communication routes of our mainland: it represents a meeting point and a confluence among the European routes and it gives the opportunity of cultural, social economic and commercial changes and integration. [credits: AIAT Monte Bianco]

Suggested Hotel in Courmayeur: Hotel Bouton d'Or