Visit Roman Aosta, its secret valleys and nearby mountains

There are towns that can be visited, and others that can be crossed to reach the mountain. Aoste is neither one nor the other: it is lived. Because in the heart of the Aosta Valley, this ancient town is much more than an administrative center or a stopover on the road to Mont Blanc. It is a Alpine identity card, Roman in its foundations, Valdostan in its culture, turned towards the sky by its geography. From its alleys with stones laden with history to the peaks of Pila, passing through the little-known valleys of the valpelline and Great Saint Bernard, this territory reveals a complete mountain: inhabited, cultivated, admired. A route to meet the past and the landscape.

Visit Aosta: Roman and Alpine stroll in the heart of the city

Start your walk with the most spectacular entrance: the Arch of Augustus, erected like a stone threshold for anyone entering Aosta from the east. Built in 25 BC to the glory of Augustus, it marks the starting point of a network of straight streets, modeled on Roman cities. Following the ancient via consular, which has now become the via Sant'Anselmo, you enter the city as the legions once entered.

The pedestrian streets from the center lead you between austere palaces, discreet signs, flower-filled courtyards and artisan shops. Here, the city does not reveal itself immediately. It reveals itself gently, between two stone frames, under an arch, at the corner of a carved walnut gate. The air is calm, the pace slows. We hear the bells, the wind rubbing on the roofs, the voice of the nearby mountains.

Suddenly, at the turn of a porch, you come out onto a large and bright space : it's here Place Émile Chanoux, open-air lounge in Aosta. Lined with elegant porticoes, cafes with lively terraces and the majestic City Hall in the neoclassical style, the square embodies a form of Italian sweetness in the heart of the mountains. In summer, it hosts concerts, markets, and festivals. In winter, it becomes a postcard setting, framed by white peaks and hanging garlands.

Continuing west, you reach the Roman remains: the Praetorian Gate, ancient theater, the surrounding walls, and further, the mysterious forum cryptoporticus, this long, semicircular underground corridor which once served as a warehouse and discreet passage, where the echo of another time still resonates.

Discovering the city of Aosta on foot — Roman heritage in Aosta

Then comes the collegiate church of Saint-Ours, a masterpiece of the Valdostan novel. Its carved cloister is a gallery of symbols and enigmatic scenes. In winter, it crunches under the snow; in summer, it echoes with the slow footsteps of visitors. People come here as much to meditate as to observe.

Finally, at the top of the city, the Aosta Cathedral, millennia-old and layered, takes you back to the center of faith, art, and community life. Here, everything intersects: bishops and builders, pilgrims on the Via Francigena, locals who come simply to listen to the organ or admire the floor mosaics.

Around the city, the mountains watch over. In the South, the Mount Emilius, often bathed in light, seems suspended. Aosta is a city surrounded by peaks, set in a vertical clarity. One is never far from the summit.

Pila, the Aosta ski resort, one of the most beautiful viewpoints in the Alps

Practically from the city center, a cable car propels you into class up to Pila, a high-altitude resort perched at 1800 meters, placed on a natural balcony when faced with your dog's highest peaks of the Aosta ValleyThe climb is already a journey: along the cables, we leave the slate roofs for the ridges, the orchards for the mountain pastures.

In winter, Pila is a smooth and panoramic ski area, very popular with families, but also with experienced skiers thanks to its steep slopes and the constant quality of its snow cover. In summer, the resort becomes a soft adventure playground : Mountain biking, marked trails, paragliding, alpine yoga…but also contemplation. The Mont-Émilius (3559 m) watches over the south, while the Mont Blanc, le Grand Combination, the Tooth of Hérens, Matterhorn and the Mount Rose draw the backdrop. From the top of the slopes, at the back you enjoy a magnificent view of the Gran Paradiso.

From Pila, accessible walks allow you to reach Chamolé, its high-altitude lakes and flowery mountain pastures. You'll come across marmots, stop by clear streams, and simply breathe. In the evening, the lights of Aosta twinkle below, as if the city were saluting the mountain.

Panorama of the Alps in Pila — The view from Pila

What to visit around Aosta: the Great Saint Bernard Valley, on the Via Francigena

Let's return to Aosta to take the road north which goes up the Great Saint Bernard Valley. Lined with deep forests, dark stone villages and solitary chapels, this valley is one of the oldest transalpine passageways. Since Roman times, it connected Italy to Helvetia via the Mont-Joux pass, later renamed Great Saint Bernard in homage to the 11th century abbot who founded a hospice there that has become legendary.

On the way, stop at Gignod, a panoramic village, with its Romanesque church and medieval watchtower. On Sunday mornings, the bells still ring in the crystal clear air of the mountain pastures. A little further on, Étroubles, ranked among the most beautiful villages in Italy, unfolds its cobbled streets, its granite houses, its open-air art galleries. Here, the heritage is alive: the wood carvers perpetuate their know-how, Fontina producers mature their cheese in cellars dug into the rock.

Among the treasures that the Great Saint Bernard Valley has in store, there is one that discerning palates consider to be a nugget of the culinary heritage of the Aosta Valley : the IGP Bosses Ham (Ham from Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses). Matured at an altitude of over 1600 meters, this raw ham with its delicately perfumed taste owes its unique character to thedry and pure air of the high mountains, as well as a mixture of alpine herbs used to flavor it and rub it before drying.

Its soft texture, its noble fat, its slightly peppery and floral aromas make it an exceptional product, once reserved for special occasions. Even today, its production remains artisanal and confidential, perpetuated by a few families and local cooperatives in Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses, at the very end of the valley.

Ham from Saint Rhémy en Bosses — Saint Rhémy en Bosses

Every summer the Bosses Ham Festival, which takes place in the medieval village, is an opportunity to discover this product in its original terroir, accompanied by Fontina, rye bread, and Aosta Valley wines. A gastronomic stopover as precious as it is authentic, at the foot of the glacial passes.

As we approach the pass, the landscapes become lunar. We enter the kingdom of minerals and wind. The Great St. Bernard Pass (2473 m) is now passable by tunnel or by road in summer. The hospice, still in operation, accommodates pilgrims and hikers. There you can visit a small historical museum, a baroque church, and of course the kennel of the famous Saint Bernard dogs, snow rescuers with gentle eyes.

Valpelline: a secret valley to visit in Aosta Valley

To the east of the Great Saint Bernard Valley, a more discreet, wilder valley opens up: the valpelline. Long closed in winter, it has retained an end-of-the-world atmosphere. It is reached from Aosta by a road that rises gently between orchards, chestnut groves and waterfalls.

The village of valpelline, in the heart of the valley, sets the tone: old houses of wood and stone, fountains carved from a single block, collective bread ovens, and a cheese factory where the AOP Alpine Fontina, which you can taste directly on site. This is also where you can discover the “barms”, natural caves used for storing cheese wheels: a unique combination of geology and food culture.

Higher up, Oyace, Bionaz and finally Moulin Square, on the edge of a huge artificial turquoise lake, open the doors to a high, unspoiled mountain. From there, many trails lead to the Alpine refuges (Dry Ridge, Nacamuli, Aosta), nestled between 2500 and 2800 meters. The Tsa de Tsan glacier, Grand Combination, and the border ridges with Switzerland dominate these areas, where silence becomes a language.

In summer, the valley is a hiking paradise. In winter, it closes in, becomes white and silent, inhabited only by the locals: ski tourers... and foxes.

If a dish were to embody the spirit of the northern valleys of the Aosta Valley, it would undoubtedly be the Seuppa at the Valpelenentse, originally from Valpelline. This peasant soup mix stale rye bread, Melted Alpine Fontina, green cabbage and meat broth in a rustic dish that simmers in the oven until it forms a golden, melting crust. Long considered a festive or winter evening dish, it is now a symbol of Aosta Valley cuisine passed down from generation to generation.

Served piping hot in valley restaurants or at local festivals, it embodies the genius of mountain cuisine : simple, nourishing, rooted in the seasons and local products. Taste the seuppa, it's like stepping into the kitchen of an alpine chalet on a winter evening.

From Roman city of Aosta to glacial ridges of the Grand Combin, frequented valleys to those who whisper, this itinerary takes you to the heart of what makes the soul of the Aosta Valley: a rare alliance between thousand-year-old history, natural beauty, living memory and Alpine culture.

Here, every stone has seen the passage of an emperor, a mountain guide, a pilgrim, a child of the mountain pastures. Here, heritage is reflected as much in a fresco as in a wheel of cheese, in a Roman arch as in the gaze of a Saint Bernard dog. And above all, here, the mountain does not dominate. It welcomes, it elevates, it tells its story.

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