Aosta Valley, Bard Fort and the villages at its feet

The Aosta Valley is a region in northern Italy, bordering France and Switzerland. The valley is located in the Alps, and in it you will find fortresses, such as the Bard Fort, medieval castles, small villages, and vineyards on the hillsides. A tour by car or bicycle can take us to discover these wonders. Sounds appealing, doesn’t it? So let’s start with the visit to the Bard Fort in the Aosta Valley.

Indice:

Arrival from France

One of the entry points to the valley is from the border with France. The crossing is via the Mont Blanc tunnel.

The tunnel is almost 12 kilometres long and runs under the Alps, linking France with Italy, between the towns of Chamonix and Courmayeur.

►The cost of the toll for crossing the tunnel is €48.80 one way, or €60.80 round trip.(2022). More information on the website

During the crossing, you will get safety reports on the radio. A very serious accident happened in this tunnel in 1999, and since then safety measures have been implemented.

Entering Italy with the snow-capped peaks is fabulous. This road runs through the Aosta Valley from the tunnel crossing, taking us to Bard, a very small town, but where we will find a very interesting fort. We will stay in the nearby town of Donnas, to continue our journey to Turin the next day. ►Did you see our post about Turin?

Several villages appear during the trip, as well as castles on the tops of the mountains, such as Vérres, Aymavilles, or Sarre Castle, the road trip is wonderful.

Sarre Castle in the Aosta Valley

Bard’s Fort

After several kilometres, in which we were marvelling at the landscapes more and more, we could make out the shape of the Bard Fort. We were already getting closer…

There are references to the existence of this fortress as early as 1034, and this is one of the oldest references to the castles of the Aosta Valley.

In 1242, the lordship of Bard passed into the hands of Savoy. The fortification gained importance with the passage of the French army in 1704, and even more so when Napoleon arrived in 1880 and found a garrison of 400 Austrians entrenched in the fort, who held out for two weeks until they were defeated. After this, Napoleon ordered the fort to be dismantled to avoid future problems.

At the end of the 19th century, it was used as a prison. The fort was fully restored in 2006 and now houses the Alpine Museum, the Museum of Fortifications and Borders, and permanent and temporary exhibitions.

More recently, in 2015, fans of the Marvel saga saw how the fortress became the setting for Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Bard’s fort served as the setting for Avengers

When you arrive, you can park your car in a car park below the fortress, the cost is €3 with no time limit. Visit the website for more information. If you want to park for free, there are the Liéron or San Giovanni car parks, each approximately 200 metres away.

The climb to the fort is in several sections with a panoramic elevator, and the views are… impressive!!

View of the Aosta Valley from the Bard Fort

Don’t miss the video, we always leave it for last, but… this time we tell you that it is worth watching it now to get an idea of what we are talking about. Come back later, we will tell you how to book that wonderful b&b that you will see there…

The visit to the fort as we did, just going up and walking around the outside, is free. Entrance to the monument is € 7. More information on their website

Donnas

At the foot of the fort we find the medieval village of Bard, with only 150 inhabitants, and next to it the municipality of Donnas. It is here, in the latter, where we had our B&B reservations to spend the night and enjoy this area that had already won us over.

Arriving at Donnas had a very special charm, with a certain decadence that accentuates its authenticity; you feel like you are invading the tranquility of neighbors who continue to live a relaxed life at the foot of those impressive mountains.

The Roman arch shows us that we are on the ancient consular road of Gaul, a road that was built by the Romans to connect the capital of the empire to the valley of the Rhône River in France.

Donnas has a 221-metre stretch of this ancient road and a 4-metre-high arch carved into the rock.

Roman arch in Donnas, Aosta Valley

At 322 m above sea level, above the Dora Baltea river, we find this small town.

As we said, it was a very important centre in Roman times, as it was a mandatory stop on the road to Gaul. Here in this ancient village, the 16th century windows, its frescoes, the portals, give the place a fascinating atmosphere.

The city’s highlight is the Fiera del Legno, which takes place on the penultimate Sunday in January and is celebrated along the main street of the medieval town.

Lodging

And if there was something that added to the charm, it was the chosen b&b, Le Coeur Du Pont. As soon as we opened the door we were greeted with typical costumes, and a kindness and hospitality to highlight, apart from the charm of the decoration of its interior, and the rooms with careful details.

At night we had dinner at the B&B, and by the way, it was also very good. It is one of the places I recommend. If you like simple, small places with a family atmosphere, if that is your taste, I assure you that you will have a… spectacular time.