Valle d'Awesome!

Ciao a tutti! Goodness this week has been busy! I finally have enough time to sit down and talk about this past weekend in Valle d'Aosta. As I said before, I want to take as much time as I can to explore local areas around Torino. If you're at all interested in doing the same, I would definitely recommend Aosta.

This small town is located about 68 miles north-west of Torino in the Italian Alps between France and Switzerland. If you want to see some amazing panoramic mountain views, this is the place to go. To get there, my group and I took two trains, one from Torino to Ivrea, and one from Ivrea to Aosta. The entire trip took about two hours and was well worth the journey! Our train tickets cost just under 10 € (round trip)

Aosta is, in one word, picturesque. With its cobblestone streets, colorful buildings, charming shops, and of course incredible views of the alps wherever you look, Aosta has definitely made my list of favorite places.

While small, Aosta is still packed full of sights to see. There is still evidence remaining from Roman rule throughout the city. Visitors can see ancient roman roads, town walls, bridges, and crypts. The valley is also full of ancient castles. 

Our group spent Saturday exploring around the city. On Sunday we decided we wanted to see more of the alps and do a little hiking. We found a tourism office near our hotel that told us to take bus 8 (near the train station, cost is about 2 €) to Cogne, which was about a 30 minute trip further into the mountains. Cogne is an adorable little ski resort town. That weekend there happened to be a cross country skiing competition going on, which definitely added to the excitement. We explored around Cogne for a bit, then took another short bus ride (about 10 minutes, cost was 1 €) a little further into the mountains where there was a hiking trail.

The area was absolutely beautiful. There was tons of snow but the weather could not have been more perfect (although much colder than Torino!). The trail was flat for the most part, and we were able to watch parts of the race at various points also. Words cannot really explain how beautiful it was! 

This was the perfect place to go for a short, inexpensive weekend trip. Including transportation, lodging, and food, I only spent about 70 €. I would definitely go back! As always, please feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions or want more information! Ciao for now!