Monterosa / Village

Champoluc (1564m)
This is the largest village within the Monterosa region, with more hotels and a distinct ski-resort feel compared to the villages in the other valleys. Though without as much old-world charm as Gressoney and Alagna, it’s still has Italian mountain village charm (in fact, there are associated practical issues - access to lifts isn’t great from much of the accommodation).
The area around the main square has bars, restaurants and a few shops and there’s more at the foot of the gondola a short walk up-valley. Further still, towards the other Frachey lift are more lodgings, but little in the way of other resort amenities.
The village of Brusson, ten minutes down the valley, is also used as a base for skiers using the Monterosa area, though there are no lift links from its own small area into the main circuit.

Gressoney
The upper Gressoney valley is home to two main villages: Gressoney St Jean (1385m) and Gressoney La Trinite (1637m), 7 km higher up the valley. Access to the main ski area at Stafal is a further 3 km north, where the road ends.
Though fifteen minutes by car from the principal lifts, Gressoney St Jean is popular for its exceptional village centre, a large pedestrianised zone of great charm with well-restored original buildings. The main cobbled square is flanked on one side by the gallery of local photographer and guide Davide Camisasca who stocks a good range of mountain books as well as his remarkable photographs, many of them from the Monterosa region; it’s worth a visit just for ideas on where you want your guide to take you. Through an alley is the church and a further square with St Jean’s most central hotels and the majority of shops. This is a perfect base for skiers who don’t like ski resorts. The village follows the river for over a kilometre southwards across the broad valley floor with a mixture of old farms and substantial apartment-chalets (which make up the majority of the accommodation in these valleys) leading to a group of shops, restaurants and a hotel near the base of the Weissmatten, St Jean’s own ski slope. Nearby is the Castello Savoia, a castle built by the King for Queen Margherita in the 1800’s; she was a keen mountaineer, reaching some of the peaks of the Monterosa under her own steam before descending on a huge wooden sledge hauled by her entourage.

Gressoney La Trinite has a smaller old village that has been developed more as a ski resort. Several hotels and the double chairlift linking into the main ski area makes it the resort centre for the valley. There is a square with a church, cafes and a small grocery store; ski shops and two of the main hotels are by a parking area and lift base within half a kilometre from the centre.

At the end of the valley, Stafal (1824m) is the base for lifts to both sides of the valley. Recent developments, including the new Hotel Nordend, make it ideal for visitors who don’t want a daily transfer to the skiing. During a good snowy week in January, this is the place to stay for maximum time on snow. The downside is simply the height and the steep valley sides which make this a cold place in winter, and a relative lack of eating options and village charm.

Alagna (1200m)
Traditionally this small farming village had a following with alpinists needing little more than a base for access to the multiple 4000m peaks of the Monterosa. Little has changed in recent years, with imposing old buildings, some of them renovated, and a village centre of great charm and authenticity but little in the way of ‘standard’ resort amenities. It remains the choice for hardcore skiers only, though the new lift link to Gressoney may help to change the situation, particularly for visitors from the west of Milan, for whom access is straightforward. But the limited view and dark situation of the village, at the bottom of a deep, steep sided valley, is a handicap that no amount of development can overcome.