The guide · as seen from the hotel
A village at the gateway to Italy’s first national park. Ibex, world-famous ice falls, 80 km of cross-country trails and paths for every pair of legs. Here’s what we genuinely recommend, with distances from our door.
Family trattoria opened in 1966 by Arturo Allera and now run by his children Davide and Elisabetta. Traditional Aosta Valley cooking, such as Valpelline soup, plus the old fireside tavern, open on Friday and Saturday evenings.
The Hotel Bellevue's fine-dining room: five tables looking over the Sant'Orso meadow and Gran Paradiso, chef Niccolò De Riu's cooking built on local produce, and a cellar of around 1,800 labels. One Michelin star in 2026.
The Hotel Bellevue's mountain restaurant: a wood-panelled room with a fireplace, windows onto the Sant'Orso meadow and staff in Aosta Valley costume. Cheese takes centre stage, from raclette and potence to the alpine cheese trolley, alongside meat and fish.
A trattoria bringing Cogne's traditional flavours back to the table: polenta cooked on a wood stove, house-made cured meats and produce from local farms. Specialities include soça and seupetta di Cogne. Takeaway available too.
Cogne's classic hike: from the Valnontey car park a wide mule track climbs through forest and pastures to the hut at 2,588 m. Ibex are almost regulars here, and the Lauson lakes lie just above.
The valley's best-loved summer walk: from Lillaz you follow the Urtier stream up to the falls, with a short steeper stretch in the middle. Easy, fine for everyone, an easy half day.
From Lillaz a steep path climbs through the forest past the waterfalls to a high lake above 2,300 m, facing the Gran Paradiso. One for keen walkers: about 750 m of ascent.
A cluster of stone huts on high pasture at 2,300 m, at the head of the Valnontey: you follow the stream, then a steep path, with grand views of the Tribolazione and Money glaciers. Quieter than the Sella hike.
Our doorstep walk: the vast Sant'Orso meadow starts a few steps from the hotel. An easy, level loop, full of flowers in summer, with the Gran Paradiso and its glaciers as a backdrop. Pushchair-friendly too.
Italy's busiest icefall, 10-20 minutes' walk from Lillaz. The lower tier has at least eight lines from WI2 to WI4: the perfect place to start, with Cogne's mountain guides.
Long, serious icefalls deep in the valley, about an hour and a half's walk from the village: from the Patrì wall (4/4+, 250 m) to Repentance Super (5+/6), Cogne's signature icefall.
The side valley above Lillaz is a gallery of icefalls on both sides, 15-45 minutes from the car park. Long lines graded 3 to 5, including the Cold Couloir, 600 m, the longest icefall in Cogne.
Summer rock at Lillaz: south-facing, bolted, with single pitches and a few multi-pitch lines. Other crags in the valley: Epinel, and Lauson in the Valnontey.
The highest peak lying entirely in Italy. You start from Pont, at the head of the Valsavarenche (about an hour's drive from Cogne), spend the night at the Vittorio Emanuele II hut and climb the glacier next morning. Graded F, but go with a mountain guide.
Cogne is one of the great cross-country centres: a dozen loops between the village, Valnontey, Lillaz and Epinel, for every level. The nearest, World Cup loop included, are on the Sant'Orso meadows right outside the hotel.
From the village to Valnontey through snowy woods, over little wooden bridges and alongside the cross-country track, on trails 3 and 5. If you like, carry on along the flat to the hamlet of Valmiana.
The nearest downhill ski area: around 70 km of runs between 1,800 and over 2,700 m, with views of Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. About 50 minutes by car, or drive to Aosta and ride the gondola up.
In winter the ibex, the Park's emblem, come down to the sunny slopes and are easier to spot. On snowshoes, with a nature guide, you go looking for them without disturbing them.
