Aosta Valley is the easiest big mountain adventure for families this summer

A family holiday in Aosta Valley is one of the easiest you can plan this summer. It’s so easy you could even come for a long weekend, but we guarantee your kids will want to stay longer.

Lake Moulin Bionaz, Aosta Valley ©Aosta Valley Tourist Board/Enrico Romanzi

Aosta Valley is the smallest region in Italy, but you really wouldn’t know it, because it’s also the region that’s surrounded by some of Europe’s highest mountains: Monte Rosa, Gran Paradiso, Matterhorn and Mont Blanc. Mighty peaks aside, you’ll find historic cities here as well as towns and villages awash with historic monuments, wonderful stories, beautiful castles and stunning views. Also, it’s northern Italy, so of course the food is marvellous too.

Families love it here in winter because it’s affordable, very easy to reach and one of the best places in Europe for quick ski breaks from the UK. Come summer all those advantages translate into sunny holidays packed with hiking and cycling, wildlife spotting, horse riding, climbing, exploring and so much more.

Bordered by France and Switzerland, Aosta Valley also gives you the choice of three convenient airports with direct UK flights: Geneva, Turin and Milan Malpensa. Alternatively, if you want to make the journey part of your holiday this summer, think about coming by car, through the Mont Blanc Tunnel or Little St. Bernard Pass from France or from Switzerland via the Great St. Bernard Tunnel.

We like the fact that you can make Aosta your big summer adventure and spend weeks here, yet just as easily, hop on a plane and visit for just a few days. Whatever works best for you, here are some of the things you shouldn’t miss, but really they’re on a hint of what’s happening all over Aosta this summer.

Chamoix, Grand Paradiso National Park ©Aosta Valley Tourist Board

Gran Paradiso National Park: the natural playground on a family holiday in Aosta Valley

There’s plenty to be amazed about in Gran Paradiso National Park. Not only is it Italy’s oldest, first established in 1922, it’s packed with astonishing wildlife including ibex  and chamois, as well as marmots – every kid’s favourite sighting – golden eagles, bearded vultures and lynx. But one of the park’s most surprising features has to be how accessible it is for families during summer.

Although it covers an impressive 70,000 hectares and sits in the high mountainous area, Gran Paradiso ranges from valleys at 800m to the soaring grandeur of Mount Gran Paradiso at 4,061m, so it’s a natural playground for families and as much fun for gentle, sunny hikes with younger children as it is for mountain biking with older ones.

This could also be the summer you introduce kids to the thrill of horse riding, and Gran Paradiso is the perfect place for that adventure. Even if you’ve never ridden a horse before, that’s not an issue. Guided treks with calm and steady ponies make the experience a pleasure for beginners. Plus, as it’s one of the traditional ways to get around the park, historic riding paths are spectacularly beautiful and the pace means you can take it all in without missing a thing.

To make Gran Paradiso even easier to explore, it has four visitor centres. Make a point of dropping into the one at Cognes for the Laboratory Park which lets kids discover the park through interactive games and sensory experiences, along with excellent exhibits focused on ibex and wolves.

Mountain biking, Pila, Aosta Valley ©Aosta Valley Tourist Board/Pila SpA

Swap snow for sunshine and bike trails all over Aosta Valley this summer

Thanks to an incredible variety of terrain, Aosta Valley is a bit of a hotspot for Nordic Skiing during winter. So what happens to all those exciting routes during summer?

Swapping snow for sunshine and skis for wheels, over 80km of Nordic skiing trails are transformed into mountain and e-biking heaven during the warmer months of the year.

If you and your kids are MTB experts you’ll find plenty of red and black trails delivering just the kind of challenge you expect on a family holiday in Aosta. Or, if you’re more of an easy-going, glide along, admire the scenery and spot wildlife family of cyclists, hire e-bikes and hit the less demanding blue trails.

Whichever type of freewheeling you’re up for, fresh mountain air and big blue skies come as standard.

Rutor Waterfall, La Thuile ©Aosta Valley Tourist Board/foto archivio Regione Autonoma Valle d’Aosta

Fairy tale hikes make a summer holiday in Aosta Valley magical

Between Aosta Valley’s lovely weather and stunning landscapes, it’s one of the most rewarding places in Europe to hike in summer, and persuading children to stride out is surprisingly simple: just promise them a fairy tale.

If that sounds far fetched, wait until you set eyes on some of the walks that bring you as close as it’s possible to get to magical waterfalls, without getting wet.

For a clue to the drama of the Lillaz Falls bear in mind they’re one of the most popular places to ice climb in winter. So when you come for a family holiday in Aosta during summer this hike is a must-do. Your adventurous kids will be wowed by the ascent to a height of 1,745m passing waterfall after waterfall on the way, before finally arriving at the summit and the grandest cascade of all. So worth the leg work!

The route is car-free and starts in the village of Lillaz – you can park here – and, as well as giving you waterfalls along the way, it winds through larch forests, over pretty wooden bridges and out onto open plateau, so you have lots of views to admire as you go. Also, it’s a circular route starting and finishing in Lillaz, which works well with kids, especially younger ones. Remember to take a minute to stare at the Valleille Valley glaciers when you arrive back at the village square in Lillaz.

Older kids who like a challenge and a bit of a climb with their hike, will enjoy the Rutor Waterfalls route from La Thuile. It’s also circular and just over 17km round, but the panoramic views are amazingly incentivising, along with the spectacular falls and interesting touchpoints along the way like the Deffeyes refuge, fixed rope sections and Plan Praz plateau.

Criptoportico Forense, Aosta Town ©Aosta Valley Tourist Board/Enrico Romanzi

Discover the wonders of ‘Little Rome of the Alps’

As we said, a choice of three different airports, all with short, direct flights from the UK, means a family holiday in Aosta could easily fit into a long weekend. Although when you see how much there is to do, you’ll probably want to stay longer, or visit more than once.

Aosta Town alone could easily fill a week with exploring and still leave plenty to see next time, not least because of its wealth of Ancient Roman monuments. It’s worth mentioning here that Aosta Valley is known as the ‘little Rome of the Alps’ and Aosta Town takes a lot of the credit for that nickname.

A total of nine impressive monuments give you plenty of history to get to grips with here, from the mighty Arch of Augustus to the grand Pailleron Tower and Roman Theatre. Take your time to see the lot, if you have time. But on a shorter break, the one not to miss with kids is the Criptoportico Forense. For sheer atmosphere, there is nothing quite like the experience of walking under the town through vast, colonnaded passageways which date back to the Augustan era between 70bce and 18ad.

With a past that’s as sprawling as its actual size, the Criptoportico has served both sacred and practical purposes in its time, which makes it all the more fascinating to delve into. Of course, teenagers will especially like the idea of finding its entrance in a pretty little garden next to the cathedral, which gives few clues to the splendour that lies beneath.

Astronomical Observatory, Saint-Barthélemy ©Aosta Valley Tourist Board/foto archivio Regione Autonoma Valle d’Aosta

Fresh mountain air and clear skies make Aosta Valley a stargazing legend

Aosta Valley’s enormous, clear night skies are a wonder to see with the naked eye, thanks to the region’s altitude and very low levels of light pollution. This summer take that experience to the next level with a visit to the Astronomical Observatory in Saint-Barthélemy.

Made up of two sites, the Planetarium of Lignan and the Regional Astronomical Observatory, this is first and foremost a highly respected research institute and home to one of the largest collections of astrophysics’ instruments in Europe. But, from the point of view of a family holiday in Aosta, it’s also a tremendous day out with kids.

Catch one of the Planetarium’s immersive shows that transport audiences into space, and surround them with planets and galaxies, brought to dazzling life with hi-definition projection systems. Updated every month, the shows are about an hour long and take place whatever the weather.

Also, guided night tours held by the Observatory throughout the year give you an extraordinary opportunity to observe the wonders of Aosta Valley’s night skies, indoors and out.

Summer is coming, start planning your easy and amazing family adventure in Aosta Valley