Things to do in Courmayeur: the town, two valleys and Monte Bianco
A stone town you want to walk round, with a valley opening on either side, and much of the best of it is free: groomed walks from the village, a flat trail up Val Ferret and, last winter, free buses to get there. For anyone not skiing, the Skyway Monte Bianco to Punta Helbronner is the one to do, on its own ticket.
Courmayeur is a stone town at the foot of Monte Bianco, with a valley opening on either side, and that shape makes a week off the skis work. The town does a slow morning well, Via Roma in particular, and Val Ferret and Val Veny do the rest. Neither valley needs a car.
Start with the free things. The commune grooms three Tor walks after snowfall: Tor de Dolonne is short and gentle enough for the youngest, and Tor di Vercuino, four kilometres through woods and hamlets from Parco Bollino, is a proper morning. Up Val Ferret there are ten kilometres of prepared trail from Planpincieux, flat almost the whole way, and last winter the green bus to the bottom of it was free. Welcome Winter opens the season with free concerts in the village.
For anyone not skiing, the Skyway Monte Bianco is the one to do, and it is separate from the ski pass. Two stages take you to Punta Helbronner at 3,466 m, where the terrace turns through a full circle. Go early: time at the top is capped and the last car down leaves in the afternoon. On a wet day, build it around the ice rink and the climbing wall at the Courmayeur Sport Center, or take the regional bus about five kilometres down the valley to QC Terme. Under 14s are not admitted there. For a family not skiing, Fun Park Dolonne has tubing, a bob run and a play area.
Evenings start with an aperitivo on Via Roma and can go further. No cars go up Val Veny in winter, and in the evening snowmobiles run diners up to its refuges for Aosta Valley cooking: polenta concia, carbonada, fonduta. Book the refuge itself rather than a tour, and book the dog sledding direct too: you drive the team yourself, an instructor beside you.
Free, and worth knowing
Three walks the commune grooms after snow, marked snowshoe routes, a flat trail up Val Ferret, buses that were free last winter and concerts to open the season.
The three Tor walks
Three low routes that the commune itself prepares and grooms after snowfall, part of a project it calls Courmayeur a passo slow. Free, no ticket, no lift, and they start from places a guest can walk to. Tor de Dolonne is 500 m with 50 m of climb from Dolonne hamlet opposite the old town, and the commune calls it the simplest and suitable even for the youngest. Tor d'Entreves is 1.5 km with 100 m of climb from Entreves, where Val Veny and Val Ferret meet by the Skyway base.
The long one is Tor di Vercuino, 4 km and 250 m of climb from Parco Bollino in the middle of Courmayeur, running through woods and past hamlets with liberty era houses in them. That one is a proper morning.
Dolonne, Entreves, and Parco Bollino in Courmayeur centre
Free local buses in winter
Last winter the commune paid for local public transport outright, so the Val Ferret green line and the Circolare Courmayeur blue line carried everybody for nothing from Boxing Day to the beginning of April. It is run by Arriva Italia and promoted by the council as a sustainable mobility measure, and it is what makes Val Ferret reachable without a car.
Snowshoeing on marked itineraries
Four marked itineraries are published by the tourist board and they carry the same Tor names as the walks, plus longer routes out through Val Ferret and Val Veny towards the Toula glacier. Nothing is ticketed. You hire the snowshoes if you have not brought any, and there are six rental shops in town doing it: 4180 Rental, Ski In Courmayeur, Savoye Sport, Mont Blanc Ski Service, Noleggio Courmayeur and Lo Chalet Ski Rental.
The prepared pedestrian trail up Val Ferret
Ten kilometres of prepared pedestrian trail running from Planpincieux up the valley to Lavachey, laid alongside the cross country pistes and flat almost all the way. It is the best long walk in the resort for somebody who does not want to climb anything, and the free winter bus goes to the bottom of it.
Planpincieux, Val Ferret. Green bus line from the centre
Welcome Winter, the season opening
Courmayeur opens its winter with a run of free concerts and live shows in the village, announced by the commune and known as Welcome Winter. It is the one free event series that recurs here year after year, and it lands right at the start of the season when a lot of guests are looking for something to do in the evening.
On the mountain
Monte Bianco on its own ticket, a husky team you drive yourself in Val Veny, and the snowmobile up the closed valley to dinner at a refuge.
Skyway Monte Bianco
The biggest thing here for somebody not skiing, and the first thing to tell them is that it has nothing to do with the ski pass. Two stages from Pontal d'Entreves at 1,300 m. The first cabin takes about four minutes up to Pavillon du Mont Frety at 2,200 m, where there is the Cave Mont Blanc, billed as the highest wine cellar in Europe and open for tastings, an exhibition gallery, a restaurant and a bar.
Over 50 euros · Pontal d'Entreves, 1,300 m. Ticket office and car park at the base · Their page
Dog sledding in Val Veny
Dogsledman run a team of thirty huskies in the heart of Val Veny, at the foot of the Mont Blanc massif. A session starts with a theory briefing and then you drive the sled yourself with an instructor alongside, which is the difference between this and most of the dog sledding in the Alps, where you sit and are driven. Booking is direct with Fabrizio Lovati rather than through an agency.
Price on request · Val Veny
Snowmobile up to a refuge for dinner
Val Veny is closed to cars all winter because it forms part of the ski area, so the only engines up there in the evening belong to the snowmobiles running dinner guests to the mountain refuges. You book the refuge itself rather than a tour operator, which is why there is no central number to call. What arrives at the table is Aosta Valley cooking rather than French, so polenta concia, carbonada and fonduta.
Price on request · Val Veny, closed to vehicles in winter
In the village
Ice and a climbing wall for a wet afternoon, and a snow park in Dolonne for a family that is not skiing.
Courmayeur Sport Center
Twenty five thousand square metres of sport in the village, and the answer to most bad weather questions here. An indoor climbing and bouldering wall, an ice rink, indoor and outdoor tennis, padel, pickleball, squash, table tennis, a gym with classes, a dance studio, football and basketball pitches, a children's play area, and an Ice Bar beside the rink.
Under 20 euros · Courmayeur centre · Their page
Fun Park Dolonne
A beginner snow area on Strada Checrouit in Dolonne with three magic carpets on a nursery slope, a tubing run and a bob run beside it, and a play area with soft inflatables, trampolines, roundabouts and slides for the ones who are too small for any of it. This is the facility a non skiing family will get the most out of.
Price on request · Strada Checrouit 9, Dolonne
Nearby
Thermal baths about five kilometres down the valley and on the regional bus, and the evening tickets are the good value ones.
QC Terme, the thermal baths at Pre-Saint-Didier
Roughly five kilometres down the hill from Courmayeur, four to six minutes in a car. The regional Aosta to Courmayeur bus runs through Pre-Saint-Didier and stops close to the baths, so this works for a group without a car.
Over 50 euros · Pre-Saint-Didier, about 5 km. Regional bus from Piazzale Monte Bianco · Their page
These are our own picks, not paid placements. Prices and opening times change, so it is always worth checking before you set off.