According to an old saying, at Valgrisenche, you do not travel by “land or sea,” but by “rock and stones.”  Though there is now a smooth road into the valley, the entrance to it certainly has not changed very much.

You drive up to Leverogne (Arvier) along a winding road round the summit where the Rochefort sanctuary stands (built on the site of a medieval castle in the last century), with the village of Rochefort itself not far off. The road then skirts a cliff beneath which flows the Dora of Valgrisenche.  The scenery is wild and romantic, dominated by the tower of Montmayeur, which is the loneliest of all the castles in the Aosta Valley.  After the last climb, almost cut out of the rock with a fortified medieval residence at the top, the road enters a wood and comes out after a few hundred yards into the pretty village of Planaval.

The sparkling Rutor glacier, at the foot of which you can just glimpse the giant Beauregard Dam, dominates the valley.  Nearby, there are a number of pretty little villages where many families come to spend their holidays in the good hotels available. The main town has preserved its patriarchal aspect and is grouped around the 18^th century parish church with its medieval bell-tower (14^th century).  Good accommodation is available for visitors wishing to get away from it all but not to the point of giving up their comfort.

In winter, there are ski lifts, etc., to take skiers on to the slopes.  Though the dam covers much of the upper valley, it can be skirted on either side along a ring road.  To the right, you come to the pretty little village of Bonne, which, on account of its hotel, is the departure point for climbs up to the Scavarda mountain hut and Rutor.  The ruins of Fornet, a village destroyed by flood, can be seen from the road round the dam.  Both the Bezzi mountain hut and Col du Mont, a busy link with France, can be reached from Surrier at the end of this artificial lake. Continuing along this ring road, you come back to Valgrisenche.