Tour du Mont Blanc (versante valdostano)

The Tour du Mont Blanc is the classic long-distance circuit of the Mont Blanc massif, roughly 170 kilometres through France, Italy and Switzerland. Its Aosta Valley flank crosses Val Veny and Val Ferret between Col de la Seigne and Grand Col Ferret, amid glacier and ridge scenery.

Why it matters

The Italian side crosses the glacier country of Val Veny and Val Ferret, linking Col de la Seigne with Grand Col Ferret. Along the route are refuges including Elisabetta, Bertone, Bonatti and Elena; Rifugio Bonatti is dedicated to the celebrated alpinist Walter Bonatti.

What to notice

The landscape alternates between valley floor and high balcony. From Bertone and Bonatti the path holds the sunny slope hundreds of metres above Val Ferret, with an unbroken skyline from the Aiguille Noire de Peuterey across the Grandes Jorasses to Mont Dolent, the peak where the three national borders meet. Glacial history is visible in moraine walls at Combal, the braided Dora torrents, the snout of the Pré de Bar above the Elena hut. The Col de la Seigne and Grand Col Ferret form thresholds between Italy and neighbouring countries. The route's refuges include Elisabetta Soldini, Maison Vieille, Bonatti, Elena, each with its own character and booking culture.

Context and history

Circumnavigating Mont Blanc on foot grew from the scientific and romantic expeditions of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries into the marked, hut-served route known today. The trail crosses seven valleys and three linguistic worlds — French, Italian and a Swiss valley where a Franco-Provençal patois survives — and its popularity has made it a prominent long-distance route. The Aosta Valley stages follow paths that carried salt, cattle and smugglers long before tourism, and the refuges occupy former herding sites. Official sources document the route's history and its passage through the three countries.