Official website for tourism in the Aosta Valley
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Cycling on the roads of the Aosta Valley
If you love road cycling, in the Aosta Valley you will find many fun and scenic cycling routes, from the most accessible - along the bike paths of the valley floor or among vineyards and castles - to the most challenging, that will lead you up to the great alpine passes. Here we propose some.
You leave Aosta on the road towards Courmayeur and the first place you come to is Sarre. Its castle was bought by the Savoys in 1869 and turned into a hunting lodge. Straight after you reach Saint-Pierre where you can admire the Sarriod and de la Tour castles as well as the fairy-tale castle of Saint-Pierre. On the road towards Courmayeur you go through Arvier, which lies in a little hollow surrounded by vineyards, and Avise, an ancient village dominated by three mediaeval castles.
After the Lenteney waterfall, on the left, La Salle marks the entrance to the Mont Blanc Valley. This village slopes downwards, surrounded by sun-soaked vineyards and orchards, and has been totally renovated, although the original architectural style of the pre-existing houses has been retained. Continuing on, you come to Morgex, an old mediaeval village lying in a vast area of flat land, surrounded by a beautiful circle of mountains. Before continuing on your route towards Courmayeur, it is worth stopping at Pré-Saint-Didier, an important spa town, which was already known to and appreciated by the ancient Romans. Courmayeur lies at the foot of the enormous Mont Blanc massif. It grew up around the ancient church of San Pantaleone and San Valentino and since the 19th century it has been regarded as the capital of mountaineering and Alpine walking.
Places you go through on the route:
- Aosta (585 m)
- Valle di Cogne junction 4.5 km (625 m)
- Rhemes/Valsavarenche junction 10.1 km (670 m)
- Valgrisenche junction 13.7 km (745 m)
- Strada dei Salassi junction 15.3 km (780 m)
- Col San Carlo junction 24.9 km (920 m)
- Pré-Saint-Didier - Little St Bernard Pass junction 29.7 km (1010 m)
- Courmayeur 35.1 km (1200 m)
Route included in a stage of the Giro d’Italia in 1959 (Aosta/Courmayeur). Stage won by Gaul (LUX)
Climbing up towards the Great St Bernard Pass, the first centre you come to is Gignod, which features a picturesque church with a Gothic entrance.
Continuing the ascent, you reach the mediaeval village of Étroubles, and a few kilometres further on, you pass through Saint-Oyen, a small village with traditional Val d’Aosta style houses.
At the foot of the main village, you can see the Great St Bernard charitable home run by monks, and the Regina Pacis monastery.
The last municipality on the Italian side is Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses, famous for its DOP raw ham called “Vallée d’Aoste Jambon de Bosses”.
Before entering the village, you turn right onto the road which, in 10 kilometres, leads you to the Great St Bernard Pass. The Celts, the Romans and, from the Middle Ages, numerous pilgrims who traveled the Via Francigena in the direction of Rome passed through this Alpine pass. The most famous crossing was that made by Napoleon. Just a few metres across the Pass, on the Swiss side, stands the famous hospice where they breeded St Bernard dogs.
Places you go through on the route:
- Aosta (590 m)
- Arpuilles junction 1.9 km (690 m)
- Valpelline junction 3.8 km (780 m)
- Gignod 8 km (960 m)
- Etroubles 16.4 km (1,265 m)
- Saint-Oyen 18.1 km (1,350 m)
- Great St Bernard Pass junction 20.3 km (1,490 m)
- Saint-Rhémy 22.2 km (1,615 m)
- Great St Bernard Pass 35.1 km (2,473 m)
Route included in a stage of the Giro d’Italia in 1973 (Geneva/Aosta). Stage won by Merckx (Belgium).
