WEEKENDER COURMAYEUR


With Mont Blanc as its backdrop, this elegant Italian mountain town is an indulgent choice for gourmands. And as home to some of Europe’s best ski terrain, there’s plenty of opportunity to work up an appetite. Words: Neil English


Skiers in the Alps frequently like to boast of Mont Blanc views. Even distant ones. So, when the herculean hunk of crystallised magma towers right over your resort, as it does in Courmayeur, you have some genuine bragging rights. The glacier-clad force of nature straddles the border between France and Italy and, at 15,774ft, claims a hat-trick of superlatives: the highest point in Italy, the Alps and all the EU. Futuristic cable-cars ferry all comers from Courmayeur to Punta Helbronner, one of 11 peaks along the Mont Blanc Massif. A platform at 11,370ft gives incredible views of the southeast face of Monte Bianco (as Mont


Blanc is known in Italy). Vast ice flows cascade toward France and Italy, with ice pinnacles the size of houses and crevasses 600ft deep — Punta Helbronner is also the starting point of the world-renowned off-piste ski run, the Vallée Blanche. Courmayeur’s panoramic stardust is paralleled by its culinary flair, a highlight of which is aperitivo time, where drinks often come with free snacks at many bars along the pedestrianised high street, Via Roma. Furthermore, the region’s food festivals see local and international chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants showcasing the absolute best of mountain cuisine.


24


NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.CO.UK/TRAVEL


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100