30-second guide to Valle d’Aosta region
Italy’s smallest region, Valle d’Aosta is tucked into the north-west corner of the country, surrounded by the Alps, and bordered by France to its west, by Switzerland to the north, and by Piedmont (Piemonte) to the south and east. The region, which has an autonomous status within is also the least populous and the least densely populated. The history of Valle d’Aosta is inextricably linked with that of France (the region is bilingual) and in some of the valleys the old German-based dialect, which the early settlers brought with them from Switzerland, is still spoken.
Valle d’Aosta (the Aosta Valley) has tributary valleys which include the Italian sides of the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) and unsurprisingly winter sports are big here, with the ski resort of Courmayeur. This is also beautiful country for walking and hiking, kayaking and rafting during the summer months: much of Valle d’Aosta is covered by the Gran Paradiso National Park (Italy’s earliest national park) with the mountain of Gran Paradiso the highest peak. Once part of the Dukedom of Savoy, Aosta is linked to France (and the Savoy region) by the Mont Blanc Tunnel, with other connections via the Great St Bernard Pass and the Little St Bernard Pass. The nearest international airports are Turin Caselle (to the south) and Milan Malpensa and Linate (east), or there is Geneva (north west on the Swiss side).
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