This wide valley is one of the most beautiful and popular in the province.  Along a winding road with splendid views of the castle, you come from Verrès.  Before getting there, however, you must pass through a number of villages in the Challand-Saint-Victor and Challand-Saint-Anselme communes. 

These are at a moderate altitude with open meadows interspersed with dark chestnut woods and are quiet, friendly resorts for anyone fearing the more invigorating air higher up.  The Challand-Saint-Victor parish church is very old and contains valuable art treasures showing the influence here as elsewhere in the valley of the Challand family, one of the most important families in the feudal history of the Savoy Sates (the ruins of the Challand castle, the family seat, overlook Villa).

The first village in the Brusson commune is Arcésaz, which is a popular holiday resort bordering on a vast stretch of meadowland.  After crossing the bridge over the Evançon torrent, you must leave the road to Graines to get to the castle, which is built in an ideal defensive position on the hill.  This is a fine example of fortified architecture with its towers and 3 feet thick walls of the Roman chapel intact.  The other buildings inside the massive town walls are in ruins.

The main road then climbs steeply again as far as Brusson, a popular holiday resort with many historic and art treasures.  The town, together with Vollon and Extrapieraz, has all the facilities to ensure visitors an enjoyable stay. 

Saint Vincent is reached along the road over the Colle di Joux, which runs through magnificent coniferous woods with stupendous view of the Dora Valley on the other side of the valley.

The road to Ayas rises again just outside Extrapieraz with hairpin bends running through a picturesque forest before widening out into the Ayas valley itself.  A road branches off to the left just after the quaint little village of Lignod to Antagnod, the main town in the commune.

The glaciers of the Monte Rosa range provide a fine background for an outing along this valley with its open meadows and pretty little villages where you can see many examples of local architecture.  Besides other treasures, Antagnod’s parish church has the finest gilded and carved Baroque high altar in the Aosta Valley.  It is a popular resort and a number of hotels, chalets and apartment blocks have recently been built together with ski facilities to provide skiers with a wide variety of slopes.  The area also abounds in nice, peaceful walks through meadows and pine forests.

On the way up to Evançon from the lower valley, you come to more villages including the famous resort of Champoluc.  The last village is Saint-Jacques, a sheltered spot with some fine hotels.

Rock climbers are spoilt for choice in the Monte Rosa range, starting out from the Mezzalama mountain hut.  In winter, there is no end of slopes for skiers who can cross over to Gressoney-La-Trinité by means of the new installations.