Welcome to

Champoluc

Nestled in the stunning Aosta Valley, Champoluc sits at one end of theMonterosa Ski Area - Italy’s very own Three Valleys which includes the resorts of Alagna and Gressoney-la-Trinité. In total the ski area boasts 180km of slopes including some huge areas of off-piste and it is the setting of the largest heli-ski area in the Alps.

In spite of these heady attributes, Champoluc and the Monterosa remain a relatively calm, quiet and unspoilt area – the Russian Oligarchs are nowhere to be seen and it is likely to be a while before Prada considers opening a store anywhere near here! As a result the slopes are emptier, the lift queues are shorter and the prices in the restaurants are cheaper than in resorts of a similar size elsewhere around the Alps.

Skier's Guide

And Champoluc is a great place from which to explore the Monterosa – it appeals to the beginners because of its ease of access to nursery slopes, it appeals to families because of its down-to-earth nature, it appeals to the shredders because of its vast off-piste areas and it appeals to the apres-crowd with just enough going on to keep skiers & snowboarders from building up too much of a thirst!

There are some lovely routes to follow in the Monterosa. The ski from Champoluc via Gressoney all the way to the rustic, traditional village of Alagna at the other end of the Monterosa is delightful and achievable by intermediate skiers and above. There are some great cruisey red runs above Champoluc, del Bosco stands out as am testing way to finish the day. Off-piste itineraries abound with departure points from the top of all three valleys and, of course, the heli-ski possibilities offer further excitement!

Getting to

Champoluc

Flying is the best way to cover off the largest part of your journey to Champoluc. There are a few options when it comes to your destination airport; which are considered below:

• Turin: 100km, 1h30m
• Milan: 160km, 2h20m
• Geneva: 200km, 2h40m

Driving is the only other credible option. Drivers will find the roads through France faster and emptier than those in the UK and this is largely down to them being toll roads…so there is a price to pay! With passage through the Eurotunnel + petrol + tolls, you should expect the journey to cost around £200 each way. Total journey time from London is about eleven-and-a-half hours…90 minutes to Dover, 30 minutes in the tunnel and nine-and-a-half hours from Calais to Champoluc.

Food and Drink at

Champoluc

An easy starting point for this one is the two, sort of three, restaurants in Camp Zero. First up, you have The Summit which is a fine dining restaurant serving contemporary cuisine sourced from quality local ingredients and a wine list with over 800 bottles to choose from! Also on the property is The Cliffhanger’s Grill – a brasserie with lively and friendly atmosphere that is open for breakfast, lunch & dinner. This eaterie has a keen focus on classic Italian dishes, many of which are cooked in the special charcoal oven, the Josper! The third sort-of-restaurant is La Champagnerie where guests can enjoy a range of stunning canapés & oysters washed down by some lovely bubbly!

Our favourite Mountain Restaurant is Campo Base at the top of the Mandria Chair which looks like a trekker’s hut but serves some fine fayre – home-made pasta, sumptious steaks and, on Tuesdays, the Tibetan lunch – all in a warm and convivial environment!

Colle Bettaforca is also great for a pizza, you can get there via the Colle Bettaforca chairlift and it is in a lovely spot between Champoluc and Gressoney. Nice spot for an afternoon drink too! Rascard Frantze – a converted cattle shed - is very popular and located off the home run to Champoluc and served local and seasonal produce combined to produce fantastic dishes using recipes handed down from generation to generation.

Down in town, there are a few good options. Located in the centre of town, Osteria il Balvio is a very welcoming restaurant with open fire and some great typically Aosta Valley dishes. The Brasserie at the Breithorn Hotel is another recommended option...it has great décor with large cheeses and wine bottles and other random ornaments filling all available wall-space! The food is great too – the cold meat and cheese platters are insanely good and try out some of the more experimental dishes featuring quail, wild boar and rabbit. And, if you like a cracking steak, you could do a lot worse than Le Sapin next to the gondola.

Non-Ski Activities at

Champoluc

Champoluc is a relatively small & traditional mountain village and so there is not a wide range of shops to browse or sports centre at which to burn off excess calories from all the delicious pasta, pizza and prosecco!

That said, there are a few distractions for those that do not wish to ski from first to last lifts every day and then recount every turn over an apres session at one of the bars – Bar Kondor at the bottom of the Pistone piste and Sante in the centre of town are popular spots!

Although not a massive diversion from downhill skiing, cross-country skiing is a completely separate discipline and there are some lovely circuits through the woods in Champoluc. For the uninitiated, lessons and hire are available. You could also try snowshoe-ing or simply walking in the fresh air and stunning scenery.

Also in town there is the Monterosa Spa which has indoor and outdoor swimming pools, jacuzzis, saunas, hammams, relaxation chambers, water fountains and café bar. Beauty and relaxation treatments are also available. There are two other Spas in Hotels in Champoluc.