This tour will bring you to one of the best hidden jewels in Italy, Aosta Valley. This is the smallest of the 20 regions of Italy, and it is located up in the north-western corner of the country, on the border with Switzerland and France.
Day 1. Milano - St. Vincent. Transfer to the valley and stay at a very comfortable hotel that will be our base for the next four nights. Dinner with a pizza in a local fabulous pizzeria.
Day 2. We start with a nice ride to the valley of Gressoney, where the Walser people settle 800 years ago, and their culture and traditions are still very much part of today's life. We will visit the beautiful Savoia Castle, the favorite of Queen Margherita, the queen of Italy at the end of the 19th century. In the afternoon we will visit the fortress of Bard. The fort is located in a narrow gorge by the Dora Baltea river. This strategic location was used for millennia to control the entrance to the valley. This has been an important route between Italy, France, and Switzerland throughout the ages. The current fortress was built by the House of Savoia, at the beginning of the 1800s. We will end the day with a nice dinner Italian style.
Day 3. Today we are going to participate in a 3 hour cooking class where you will learn to make a four-course meal the Italian way. After our homemade wonderful lunch, we will drive to the foot of the famous Matterhorn known here as "Il Cervino". We will stroll around the little town of Cervinia until dinner time. After dinner we will return to our hotel down the valley.
Day 4. Today we are visiting the beautiful castles of Fenis and Issogne, and with the help of our own English speaking guide we will learn about their history. The afternoon we will hike to a fort that was built in the XVII century because of its strategic location. We will have a traditional Aosta Valley "merenda" (a little afternoon meal) before returning to our hotel for a free night in town. If you feel lucky you can even try the casino.
Day 5. We will start the day with a nice ride up the central valley with a view of the many castles and cute mountain villages. Cogne is our destination. This small but delightful town is located at the entrance of the oldest Italian national Park, the Grand Paradiso, named after the 13,000 feet massif that dominate this valley. We will take a small walk in the park for a chance to see some of the fauna, such as the chamois and ibex, that call this park home. We will see the flora of the Alps by taking a tour of the Paradisia Alpine Botanic Garden. Cogne is also famous for its beautiful lace making. We will watch how the lace is still made today with the same techniques used in the 1600's. On our way back toward Aosta we will visit the castle of Aymavilles with it's beautiful gardens. We will end the day with a dinner in a garden surrounded by a 2000 year old roman wall.
Day 6. After a fantastic breakfast we are going to find out why Aosta is also known as the "Rome of the Alps". The small city is surrounded by very well preserved roman walls. We will walk by a 2000 years old amphitheater, an imposing Roman stone gateway to the city dating to 25 BCE, with double archways & a central plaza. and so much more. In the afternoon we will visit an old copper mine to learn about the world renowned cheese made in this valley, the Fontina. To end our culinary tour we will visit the place where an extraordinary prosciutto is made. This unique raw ham has been prepared since ancient times with no additives. Its production is still carried out almost unchanged for hundreds of years using only berries and mountain air.
Day 7. Today we will experience a breathtaking view of the Alps from 11,358ft. Starting early in the morning we will drive to Courmayeur to ride the ultra modern cable car that will bring us very close to the majestic Mont Blanc massif. The view is amazing! In the afternoon we will enjoy a well deserved Spas in natural thermal water with invigorating waterfalls, whirlpools, saunas and relaxation rooms, this is the perfect ending to our culture and food tour. The Spas also has many outdoor panoramic pools that make the beautiful panorama of Mont Blanc even more impressive.
Day 8. Transfer from Courmayeur to Milan.
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