Courmayeur and its balconies overlooking Mont Blanc

Courmayeur, a town at the foot of Mont Blanc.

Courmayeur is actually a little further back. Compared with the French side of the massif, Entrèves lies at the foot of Mont Blanc, like Chamonix, and Val Vény and Val Ferret are the counterparts of the Chamonix valley.

However, Courmayeur and all its hamlets are the winter port resort that has developed at the foot of Mont Blanc.

Over the centuries, Couramayeur has evolved from a spa resort to a mountain sports center, but over the years it has become a luxurious village resort, where hotels stand side by side with fine mansions and new residences built in a style that respects mountain traditions. Stone and wood. Harmony obliges.

When you walk around Courmayeur , you can sometimes feel the sporty side, particularly skiing and trail running, but less the mountaineering side than its neighbouring town. Chamonix.

And yet, right in the center of town, in front of the parish church, stands the mountain guides' office, which also houses the mountaineering museum. It's testimony to an important alpine heritage that has seen the greatest names in the discipline conquer the massif's peaks one by one from this slope.

You don't need to be a mountaineering specialist to realize that the Italian side of Mont Blanc is a tough climb. Rock, verticality. Fewer curves, fewer glacier valleys than on the French side. It's a wall of rock that closes the Valdigne, the high valley at the bottom of which flows the Doire Baltée and of which Courmayeur is the capital.

To appreciate its immensity, you can take a walk to Plan Gorret, on a hill above Courmayeur, which houses a small alpine garden.

If Courmayeur 's town center has lost some of its authenticity to the commercial and gastronomic life of the past, it's in the surrounding hamlets that you can understand the way of life of the villagers of yesteryear.

Stone houses are often built side by side, with streets that are sometimes open to the sky and sometimes cross buildings. As a result, there are many narrow passageways that lead from alley to alley and from courtyard to courtyard, providing shelter from the elements.

Three hamlets are of particular interest in this respect: Verrand, on the outskirts of Courmayeur as you leave Mont Blanc, with its unobstructed views towards the Mont Blanc massif; La Saxe, at the very start of Val Sapin, whose buildings show a certain past wealth; and Dolonne, on the other side of the river, which is growing up opposite Courmayeur, thanks to its proximity to the ski slopes, while retaining one of the very old quarters along the central street.

Entrèves, at the entrance to the Mont Blanc tunnelThe village of Entrèves, at the entrance to the Mont Blanc and Val Ferret tunnels, has kept its lauze roofs and its houses stuck together. But you get the feeling that the village is more touristy.

You can stroll from one hamlet to the next along quiet lanes far from the hustle and bustle of the main road that runs alongside the river and down to Aosta.

The Val Vény balconies

Whether you get there on foot, by bike, by ski lift or by car via the Pré Pascal road, the Col Checrouit is a must.

The view of Mont Blanc directly opposite is phenomenal. Having gained around seven hundred meters in altitude from the Courmayeur plain, you're more aware of the difference in altitude between the summit and the valley floor. The entire southern part of the massif is visible, and the hike to Lac du Chécrouit allows you to appreciate every detail.

This trail is part of the Tour du Mont Blanc and can therefore be followed to the most breathtaking sites in Val Vény. Facing what remains of the Miage glacier, it descends to skirt the moraine, before crossing the marshy area of Combal, at the foot of the Lex Blanche glacier, then the Elisabeth refuge allows you to regain your strength before tackling the Col de la Seigne, a major crossing point for merchants, hikers and smugglers between Chamonix and Courmayeur before the opening of the Tunnel.

In winter, the ski area develops on the slopes above the Col Checrouit and down into the Dolonne and Val Vény valleys.

The Val Ferret balconies.

The bottom of the Val Ferret, between Entrèves and the Col Ferret, which gives access to the Valais in Switzerland, is inhabited. Small hamlets are inhabited year-round, offering tourists the opportunity to find some accommodation too. The valley is dotted with the villages of La Palud, Planpicieux and Lavachey, which are ideal for cross-country skiing in winter. In autumn, you can hike through golden larch forests, before the snow covers everything for months on end.

The view from below, from the bottom of this valley, is overwhelming, but it doesn't quite capture the verticality of the Grandes Jorasses, the Dent du Géant (also clearly visible from Courmayeur) and the Aiguille du Triolet. It's better to climb a little.

And for that, there are two levels. First, the trail known as Tour du Mont Blancwhich faces the massif at an altitude of between 1,900 and 2,000 metres. It offers a panoramic view of both Val Ferret and Val Vény. If you look up, the summit of Mont Blanc comes into view, and you can see the snow domes beyond the rocky summit ridges.

The second stage follows the Tour du Mont Blanc variant up the ridges to Testa Bernarda and Col Sapin at altitudes of between 2200 and 2500 metres, in much more isolated, windswept alpine meadows. The Mont Blanc chain then appears in all its majestic immensity.

How do you reach these trails from Courmayeur? The effort is intense, but the ascent towards Refuge Bertone at the very start of Val Sapin is the quickest route. From the refuge, which is already an excellent vantage point for observing the Mont Blanc massif and the valleys that lie at its feet, you can choose either of the upper or lower levels to continue your hike. After the Col Sapin, you can descend to the bottom of Val Ferret, along the Armina torrent, in a wide, wild valley. The hike is well worth the effort; it's a real feast for the eyes.

People come to Courmayeur to admire Mont Blanc.

So you have to find your own path, balcony or terrace, according to your own physical abilities and desires. You also need to get up early, because as the sun sets in the west, on the other side of the massif, it will be more difficult to take good photos in the afternoon. In the morning, it's cool enough to climb faster, the dew is still shining on the meadows, and the glaciers are bathed in soft light.

Images that will stay with you for the rest of your life.

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