The Gressoney Valley is the first you come to on entering the Aosta Valley from the Piedmont plain.  It is crossed by the Lys and, as far as the Guillemore ravine, is called Valleise.  The valley stretches as far as the slopes of Monte Rosa where sparkling glaciers form a wonderful background.  The fame of this valley is linked with the peculiar ethnic-linguistic characteristics of its people, the Walser, who came from German Switzerland in the middle Ages.  An ancient German dialect is still spoken in Gressoney and Issime and is particularly evident in the traditions of the valley. 

The wide road to Gressoney starts at Pont-Saint-Martin near a Roman bridge.  Climbing the valley, you can see on the left the ruins of an ancient castle belonging to the lords of Pont-Saint-Martin and, a little further on, the Perloz villages.  In the main town of this commune, you can see the parish church of 1676, with its fresco of the Last Judgment (you must pass by another road from Pont-Saint-Martin to Perloz) as well as many fortified residences.  Further on, you come to Tour d’Héréraz whose bell-tower is in fact an ancient tower of the castle belonging to the nobles of Valleise.

Lillianes, reached after a long series of bends, has a medieval bridge over the Lys and a road leading to the parish church (bell-tower of the 15^th century).  There is another medieval bridge a little further on at Fontainemore.  The next place you come to is the Guillemore ravine, where the torrent, after wearing away the rock, goes over a waterfall into the wide basin of Issime, a quiet summer holiday resort.  The parish church here also has a fresco of the Last Judgment (16^th century), a fine example of the Aosta Valley School.  Inside you can see the carved and gilded Baroque high alter (17^th century).  Further along this road, after the beautiful Wury sanctuary on the left, you come to Gaby, a charming spot described by Carducci. This village is unique in being a French-Provencal island between two Walser settlements, Issime and Gressoney.

You then cross the Lys torrent over the Pont-Trentaz Bridge, which marks the entry into Gressoney-Saint-Jean, the most important center in the valley.  Queen Margherita loved to stay here and, at the end of the last century, had the Savoy castle built.  On the right, before coming into the town itself, you can see Villa Peccoz, which is now the town hall.  Gressoney-Saint-Jean has many hotels, shops and sports facilities and many visitors come both in summer and winter to enjoy themselves and partake of the hospitality of the local people.  The road winds on through green fields dotted with houses and you will have many opportunities of admiring the find traditional architecture of the valley.

The road then winds its way up again to another basin where Gressoney-La-Trinité, a popular holiday resort, lies.  As already mentioned, the skiing facilities form a single network with those in the adjoining Valley of Ayas.  Besides walks and outings, there are lots of other things to do.  Chair lifts take visitors up to the snowy slopes of Monte Rosa if you are interested in more difficult climbing.