La Thuile sits at 1441 metres at the far north western corner of the Aosta Valley, on the last threshold before the French border. In winter it is the door to the Espace San Bernardo, 152 kilometres of pistes between Italy and Savoy on a single ski pass; in summer there remain 520 kilometres of paths, the Rutor waterfalls and the road that climbs to the Little St Bernard Pass. The village is small and compact: you leave the motorhome in the areas of the hamlet of Villaret and do the rest on foot or by bicycle.
Sleeping
Stops and overnight stays
All three lie between Villaret and Entrèves, a few minutes on foot from the centre and the lifts: two with full services, one free and with nothing at all.
Area Camper Grand Assaly
Frazione Villaret, 11016 La Thuile (AO)
it used to be called Area Azzurra. Fenced, with a surface of interlocking pavers and some pitches with green space at the back, 300 metres from the lifts. Electrical hook-up of 800 watts a socket, water loading and unloading, picnic area with barbecue, playground and gas cylinders for sale. The toilets are kept spotless and are open from 8 to 22, the hot showers cost 1 euro and there is a washing machine at 6 euros. There is also a place to wash a mountain bike and to charge it. The manager comes round morning and evening for payment. It fills up in high season, but the capacity is good.
in a pine wood beside the Rutor stream, five minutes on foot from the centre and 300 metres from the lifts. Roomy pitches with hook-ups for electricity, TV and gas, motorhome service for loading and unloading including the chemical toilet, a modern service block, hot showers at 1 euro for six minutes, a laundry, an indoor bar and a play area. In winter you ski back in with your skis on, in summer paths and mountain bike tracks start at the gate. Second number +39 333 1372961. Managers Silvio and Francesca.
the piazzale Planibel, a mixed car and motorhome car park in the hamlet of Entrèves, a few steps from the lifts, the market and the sports shops. Bays on asphalt and no services at all. On Saturdays from 6:00 to 16:00 parking is forbidden for the weekly market: anyone stopping on the Friday night has to move early on the Saturday morning.
From the parking areas to the centre is a kilometre at most: 10 to 15 minutes on foot, 5 by bicycle
The village runs along the SS26: from the old centre, piazza Cavalieri di Vittorio Veneto, to the lifts is about 500 metres, almost flat
SAVDA/Arriva buses to Aosta, about 1h50, and to Courmayeur, about 30 minutes: three runs a day
In winter the Winterbus is free and links La Thuile with Pré-Saint-Didier, Morgex and Courmayeur, with more frequent runs
For the Little St Bernard Pass and the French side you need your own vehicle: the road is scenic and worth the trip
Seeing
Sights
The water of the Rutor on one side, the Little St Bernard Pass on the other, and in between the village with the lifts and the paths that set off from the hamlets. Tap a marker on the map to open its entry below.
1
Cascate del Rutor
Waterfall · free entry · 45.69669, 6.95965
three waterfalls fed by the Rutor glacier, one of the largest in the Aosta Valley. The path starts from the hamlet of Villaret, next to the motorhome area, and is well signed: an hour and a half brings you to the first waterfall, the easiest to reach, through conifer woods and alpine meadows. It suits families with children used to walking. The second and the third waterfall ask for more training. Early in the morning the light on the spray makes rainbows.
the largest glacial lake in the area, along the road that climbs to the pass between Italy and France, with a car park close by and a viewpoint on the shore. Higher up comes the pass itself, 2188 metres, on a plateau of alpine grassland where the Chanousia alpine botanical garden stands, one of the oldest in Europe, with hundreds of species of mountain flowers. The pass has always been a way through: the Celts came this way, and the Romans, who built a temple to Jupiter here, and in the Middle Ages the pilgrims heading for France. Half a day is enough.
a circle of 46 stones at the Little St Bernard Pass, from the first millennium BC. Nobody knows what it was for: a Celtic place of worship, an astronomical observatory or a meeting point for those crossing the pass. On 21 June, as the sun drops behind the saddle of Lancebranlette, a shadow moves forward and draws outlines inside the circle: cloud permitting, it is the reason archaeoastronomy enthusiasts come here from all over Europe.
Point of interest · paid entry · 45.69866, 6.93891
152 kilometres of pistes between the Aosta Valley and Savoy on a single international ski pass, 38 lifts and a capacity of more than 60,000 people an hour. The Franco Berthod piste no.3 is one of the steepest in Europe, for experts only, with gradients of up to 76%, and it has hosted women's World Cup races. The Les Suches area has blue runs for beginners and families. Off piste there are ski mountaineering and freeride routes in the side valleys.
520 kilometres of paths and 55 mapped tours, from family walks to treks for experts. The classic one leads to the Rifugio Deffeyes, 2494 metres, at the foot of the Rutor glacier: three or four hours of walking with a view of the Mont Blanc range. The Orgère and Chavanne valleys stay wild, and the Lago Verde at 2539 metres and the Lago Grigio at 2532 ask for trained legs. The lifts run in summer too and carry you up with the bike, to come down the downhill tracks and the family ones.
three days of downhill and enduro racing on the trails of the resort, with the best bikers in the world. Watching is free, and the finish areas fill with stands and music.
Tour du Rutor
late March, in even years
one of the most prestigious ski mountaineering races in Italy, three days of routes on the glacier, with categories for amateurs too. It is held every two years: after the 2026 edition the next one is in 2028. The base is at Arvier, and the Saturday stage starts from La Thuile.
La Pass Pitchü, Fête des Bergers
August
at the Little St Bernard Pass, the festival that recalls the meetings between Aosta Valley and Savoyard shepherds for the cattle market: tastings, traditional music, crafts and one of the qualifying rounds of the Bataille de Reines.
Summer solstice at the Cromlech
21 June
at sunset the shadow of the saddle of Lancebranlette enters the stone circle. It is not an organised event but a gathering that happens by itself: at 2188 metres, even in June, it is cold at sunset.
Festa di San Nicola
in May
the patron saint's festival lasts several days, with a race, a historical walk and an evening of dancing to the traditional band. The big day is the one of the Badoche, a ritual traced back to ancient Celtic initiation ceremonies: from the morning a group of unmarried young women and men in traditional costume goes from house to house, the first carrying a plate decked with flowers and ribbons for the offerings and another the halberd decorated with coloured ribbons that bears the names of the children born that year. Then mass and the celebration in Piazza Corrado Gex.
Remember
Useful tips
You come all year: December to April for the skiing, June to September for the paths, the mountain bike and the lakes. Spring and autumn are the quiet months, with no crowds
Leave the motorhome in the area or the campsite and move on foot, by bicycle or by service bus: the centre is small and the distances short
The Pré-Saint-Didier thermal baths are 15 km away, with open air panoramic pools and a view of Mont Blanc
Courmayeur is 20 minutes away, and from there the Skyway Monte Bianco cable car climbs to 3466 metres
Over the Little St Bernard Pass the road drops into Savoy, towards Bourg-Saint-Maurice
The village has supermarkets, grocers and bakeries: prices are those of a mountain resort, but this is the right place for Fontina DOP, lardo d'Arnad and jambon de Bosses. Several mountain dairies around sell fresh cheese and ricotta on the spot
La Thuile · part two
and then?
What to do, what to taste, and where to go tomorrow.
Experiences from here
What we did starting from here, ordered by driving time.
take the rind off the Fontina and cut it into thin slices or grate it coarsely, then cover it with the milk in a bowl and leave it in the fridge for at least 4 hours, better overnight
drain the cheese through a fine sieve, keeping the milk aside, put it in a double boiler pan with the butter in pieces and set it over a pan of boiling water
stir with a whisk always in the same direction, over a low heat, and add the reserved milk a little at a time, until it is creamy but not runny
when the mixture is smooth turn the flame down to the lowest and add one yolk at a time, stirring fast so it does not curdle, for two or three minutes
grind over white pepper, and add no salt because the fondue is savoury already
pour it straight into the pot over its burner, or into small earthenware bowls, and serve with toasted black bread, boiled potatoes in their skins and, if you like, a few shavings of black truffle
the bridge at the entrance to the village with La Thuile written in stone, under falling snowthe waterfall seen from above among the rocks, the water turquoise and a rainbow in the spraya pair of skis and the poles planted on the piste, with the snowy peaks in fronta lane in the village between stone houses and wooden balconies, during a snowfalla motorhome and a car buried under half a metre of snow, with a clear skythe stone front of a mountain hut lit in the evening, with lanterns and candles burning outside
