Four days, from the cable car to the Roman city

Here the itineraries are vertical rather than horizontal: you pick a valley, you go up it and you come back. These four days leave the campsite in the morning and return in the evening, and cover the four things people come for: the high altitude, the park, the castles and the Roman city.

Mont Blanc by cable car

The Skyway Monte Bianco leaves from Pontal d'Entreves, above Courmayeur, and in two stages reaches Punta Helbronner at 3,466 metres: the cabins rotate on themselves as they climb. At the top there is a terrace, at the middle station an alpine botanical garden, and in front of you the Giant glacier. Book ahead and go early, because the clouds arrive by midday.

Roman Aosta

Aosta was founded in 25 BC as Augusta Praetoria and its grid plan is still visible. Half an hour on foot takes in the Arch of Augustus, the Roman bridge, the Porta Praetoria with its three arches, the theatre facade twenty-two metres high, and the cryptoporticus, a double underground corridor that ran around the forum. One ticket covers the sites.

A day of castles

Along the main valley there are more than a hundred castles and towers, and four can be visited inside: Fenis, with its double ring of walls and frescoed courtyard; Issogne, with the pomegranate fountain; Sarre, a Savoy hunting residence; and the fort of Bard, today a museum. They all stand on the same road, within thirty kilometres.

Cogne and the park

From Aosta you climb to Cogne in half an hour and park at the Prato di Sant'Orso, a grassy flat in front of the village. From there the level walk towards Valnontey sets off, which is the easiest, and the paths that climb into the park. Three kilometres away are the Lillaz waterfalls, three drops reached in a twenty minute walk.