Courmayeur

Courmayeur is a skiing and mountaineering resort at the head of Valle d’Aosta, in northwest Italy. At 1224 m elevation, it has a spectacular location near the foot of Mont Blanc (called Monte Bianco in Italian).

Understand
The village has been settled since Roman times, during which the villagers subsisted on a sparse crop of rye and meat, and was a spa resort as early as the 18th century, because of its sulphurous springs. It began to grow during the 19th century's fashion for alpinism, and Italy’s first alpine guide society was established here. In the 20th century, it developed as a ski resort. The opening of the Mont Blanc tunnel in 1965 greatly improved road access from northern Europe. The core of the village is the 1 km pedestrianised section of Via Roma, between Hotel Courmayeur at the south end and the town hall at the north end. About 500 m SW of Hotel Courmayeur, down Via Volpi, is the base station for the main cable-car; the north end of the village is served by the smaller Dolonne cable-car. These both rise to the 1702 m station of Plan Checrouit, a small plateau with restaurants, bars and ski rental & schools. All the resort’s skiing is above here: the ski lifts close late afternoon, but the main cable-car runs till 23:40, and the plateau restaurants and bars stay open evenings.

Beyond the centre of Courmayeur, the village straggles along highway SS26. The top of the highway is at the small settlement of La Palud / Entreves, where Valle d’Aosta is formed by the confluence of Val Ferret from the east, and Val Veny from the west. A third cable-car runs up to the ski slopes from here. The SS26 interchanges with the Autostrada, which briefly emerges from its tunnel to take a last gulp of air before plunging beneath Mont Blanc to France.

By plane
The closest airport is Geneva, 100 km northwest via the Mont Blanc Tunnel. Most tour operators fly into Turin Caselle, 150 km south. About 220+ km away south are the Milan airports of Malpensa and Linate. All these have good connections across Europe, and Geneva’s reach is global.

By car
Autostrada A5 (toll) comes up Valle d’Aosta from Turin past Ivrea and Aosta – above Aosta it’s mostly in tunnels, bad for views but good for weather-proofing. After the Courmayeur exit, it continues north to the last exit for Italy at La Palud then into the Mont Blanc tunnel (cars €45 single, €56 to return within 7 days), emerging 11.6 km later above Chamonix in France. This is the obvious route to Geneva, and the recommended route to eastern Switzerland, Austria and Germany. (The short cut from Chamonix to Martigny via Col de Montets may be closed by winter weather, in which case take the long way around via Thonon & Evian.) Switzerland can also be reached via the Great St Bernard Tunnel (open year-round, but the historic road over the pass is only open in summer). The Little St Bernard Pass (open summer only) crosses into France via La Thuile towards Val d’Isere and Annecy.

Savda buses run four times a day between the Turin railway stations and Aosta, taking two hours, change there for the local bus to Courmayeur (see below).

By train
From Turin, change at Ivrea for the train to Aosta. A connecting Savda bus runs between Aosta station and Courmayeur. Until 2016 trains continued up the valley to Pre St Didier, but this link has been cancelled, citing low passenger numbers for the cost of running it.

There is of course no railway under Mont Blanc, nor any plans to build one. It’s arguably the biggest missing link in the European railway network.

Get around
Savda buses run every 30 min between Aosta and Courmayeur, taking one hour. They also do a circuit of Courmayeur (as far up as La Palud) every half hour. There’s a direct service between Courmayeur and La Thuile, 3 times in the morning and 3 late afternoon.

Their direct bus between Courmayeur and Chamonix runs six times a day, 45 minutes via the Mont Blanc Tunnel. Other destinations will usually mean changing in Aosta.

See

 * in Courmayeur village documents the craft of mountain guiding. The Duke was an early alpinist, founding the guides’ society in 1850, and together they made many exploratory ascents, nearby in the 19th century and then globally in the 20th. It was always primarily a recreational activity here, and client-driven, as Courmayeur isn’t on a historic transalpine route. Entry €3, the opening times posted are just a statement of good intentions but usually daily from 17:00.
 * Church of St Pantaleon & St Valentine, opposite the museum in Courmayeur, is early 18th century.
 * Sanctuary of Notre Dame de Guérison is a church at the foot of Val Veny.
 * On a clear day, ride up the Monte Bianco Skyway, the cable-car which ascends from near La Palud. At the midway station of Pavillon (2173 m), in summer take the short walk to Saussurea Alpine Botanical Gardens. The lift continues up to the terrace at Punta Helbronner (3462 m) on the border with France. From here there are off-piste trails down the glaciers, for expert skiers only, and a guide is essential. The lift system then descends into Chamonix but the Skyway ticket doesn’t give access to the Chamonix ski lifts, and it isn’t a practical route into that ski area – drive through the Mont Blanc Tunnel instead. A return trip up the Skyway is €49 for an adult, unless your ski lift pass covers it – see below. The Skyway is routinely closed in November for annual maintenance.
 * If it’s clear-ish but not clear enough for the Skyway (the summit is often mist-shrouded), instead ride up the Courmayeur cable-car to Plan Checrouit. An adult return is €16 if you don’t have a lift pass.

Do
Ski: the resort is good for beginners and intermediates, who for a one-week holiday will be well-served by the Courmayeur six-day pass. In winter 2018/19 it cost €239 for adults, reductions for under 18 and over 65. Uplift from town is via the main or the smaller. All the skiing is on the two sides of the ridge above, mostly blues and reds with limited black runs. Uplift is good and queues are seldom significant except for the cable-car up to Youla, at 2624 m the highest piste. A final cable-car climbs from Youla to Arp (2755 m) but it’s off-piste only from here, or admire the view from the terrace then ride back down to Youla.

As the resort is high, the snow is as reliable as you’ll find anywhere in Europe, but this does mean a risk of avalanches: the pistes are well-monitored but fatal incidents off-piste are not uncommon. On 1 March 2017 three people were killed on an off-piste route into Val Veny.

The Courmayeur area does not link into any other ski domain, so you have to return to the valley and jump in the car to get elsewhere. However the six-day pass is also valid for two days skiing anywhere in Valle d’Aosta (La Thuile or Pila being the obvious choices), or one such day and one trip sight-seeing up the Monte Bianco Skyway as described earlier. Expert skiers, and intermediates staying longer than a week, should consider buying the Valle d’Aosta pass, or the Mont Blanc Unlimited pass which covers an enormous domain including Chamonix, Megeve and Verbier. You need your own transport to benefit from these.

Other activities around Courmayeur include climbing - all ranges of difficulty, in amazing scenery, and summer trekking from easy walks to guided hikes.

Events: Courmayeur Noir film festival takes place in mid-December. Check local media and hotel noticeboards for other events and fiestas. Mardi Gras 2017 took place in heavy snowfall, with the brass band, morris dancers and giant papier-mache head of Donald Trump looming out of the swirling snow.

Eat
Lots of eating places along Via Roma or just off it, eg La Piazetta and La Padella. Also consider a walk-in meal at one of the hotels, Cresta et Duc is particularly good. Places up the mountain include Christiana and La Chaumiere.

Drink
Try the local white wine – Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle is DOC Valle d’Aosta. An exceptional local product is the “ice-wine” Chaudelune from ice-charred grapes.

Many of the bars serve aperitivos, free snacks from about 16:00, though of course that’s reflected in the price of drinks. Popular spots along the main drag of Via Roma include Bar Roma, American Bar and Le Privé cocktail bar. Places up the mountain at Plan Checrouit include Christiana and Super G.

Sleep
In peak ski season, hotels may be entirely booked out to package tours. It’s particularly busy at Italian half-term in late February, usually a week or two later than the English half-term.

Go next
Either go back down the valley to Aosta and Turin, or through the tunnel to France. Or take the summer-only route over the Little St Bernard pass, descending through swathes of lupins to Bourg St-Maurice and Moutiers.