Bardonecchia

Updated October 2026 · Sources: Comune di Bardonecchia, Bardonecchia Ski, Turismo Torino

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Bardonecchia is a mountain town in the upper Susa Valley in Piedmont, north-west Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Turin. The town sits at 1,312 metres in a basin where four valleys meet, about 90 km west of Turin: roughly an hour and a half by car on the A32 motorway or by regional train. It is the last Italian town before the Fréjus tunnel; Modane, in the French Savoie, is about 20 km away on the other side. The nearest airport is Turin Caselle, 95 km away.

It is also Italy’s westernmost municipality: its territory reaches the Rocca Bernauda, the country’s westernmost point, on the French border. The municipality covers 132 km², from about 1,200 to over 3,500 metres, and has around 2,800 residents spread between the town and the hamlets of Les Arnauds, Melezet, Millaures and Rochemolles.

In winter people come to ski: 100 km of pistes on two sides of the valley and a snow park that dates back to the 2006 Turin Olympics, when Bardonecchia hosted all the snowboard events. In summer it is a base for hiking and mountain biking to huts, lakes and old military roads. It also has a real old town, hamlets with 15th-century chapels and a railway station on the international Turin–Modane line, so you can get here without a car.

The town has two centres. The Borgo Vecchio, higher up, is the old core around the parish church. The Borgo Nuovo, lower down by the station, grew in the late 19th century with the railway tunnel; it is the shopping area, around Via Medail. The hamlets, a few minutes away by car or free town bus, keep the oldest churches and chapels.

Borgo Vecchio and the church of Sant’Ippolito

The old town is the Borgo Vecchio: narrow lanes, stone houses with wooden balconies and the square in front of Sant’Ippolito. The present church was rebuilt in 1826–1829, after the Romanesque church of Santa Maria “ad lacum” collapsed in 1806. Its Romanesque bell tower survives on the left; on the right is a later tower with an onion dome. Two bell towers for one church is unusual.

Inside, the oldest piece is the 15th-century carved wooden choir, brought from Novalesa Abbey. On the square stands the town’s oldest fountain (1651), and next door, in the old town hall, the Civic Ethnographic Museum displays furniture, tools and everyday objects from mountain life. The patron saint’s feast is on 13 August.

Sundials and Piazza Suspize

Look up as you walk around the Borgo Vecchio: many old family houses still have painted sundials with Latin mottos. Casa Pellerin on Via Fiume has a stone doorway dated 1555. In Piazza Suspize there is a pear tree about 200 years old, listed as a monumental tree of Piedmont. It grew in the garden of the house where the Italian prime minister Giovanni Giolitti spent 23 summers; a seven-stop trail with smartphone panels tells the story.

Tur d’Amun

Above the Borgo Vecchio, the Tur d’Amun archaeological park holds the remains of the castle of the lords of Bardonnèche, probably from the 12th century. The trail is always open; the tower can be visited by booking. Walk up for the view over the basin.

Via Medail, the Fréjus rail tunnel and Palazzo delle Feste

The Fréjus rail tunnel, opened on 17 September 1871, was the first tunnel dug through the Alps: over 12 km long and the world’s longest railway tunnel until 1882. About 4,000 workers built it, and the Borgo Nuovo grew up to house them. Via Medail, the pedestrian street of shops and bars, is named after the man behind the project, Giuseppe Francesco Medail; at the end of it stands an 1881 monument, a block of tunnel rock topped by an eagle.

Nearby, on Piazza Valle Stretta, the Palazzo delle Feste (from 1910, between eclectic and Art Nouveau style) was meant to be a grand hotel and became a function hall. Today it hosts exhibitions, concerts and the tourist office.

Passeggiata del Canale

The easiest walk in town runs from the Tre Croci bridge in the Borgo Vecchio to the hamlet of Les Arnauds. The path follows the canal built in 1859–1860 to bring water to the tunnel works, past wooden sculptures from the “Sculture nelle Alpi” contest. It is flat enough for children and pushchairs.

Forte Bramafam

On a rise at the edge of the basin, Forte Bramafam was built in 1885–1894 to defend the tunnel entrance. Restored by a volunteer association since 1995, it is now a museum of over 4,000 m² on the history of the Royal Italian Army from 1890 to 1945, with reconstructed scenes, uniforms and artillery. It opens only in summer, usually on Sundays in June, July, September and October and daily in August: check dates and tickets on the Forte Bramafam website.

Melezet: Alpine religious art museum and San Sisto chapel

Melezet is the hamlet right by the slopes. The church of Sant’Antonio Abate dates from the late 17th century, with a stone spire and a fountain from 1732. On the main street, the Madonna del Carmine chapel houses the Museum of Alpine Religious Art: more than 300 pieces from the 15th to the 19th century, including wooden statues, paintings and vestments, shown in rotating exhibitions. About forty old photographs hang on the house walls.

About a kilometre further, at Pian del Colle, the 15th-century chapel of San Sisto stands on a rocky spur, with frescoes inside and out. You can open it with the “Chiese a Porte Aperte” app, which also starts an audio guide.

Les Arnauds and Millaures

Above Les Arnauds, a 15-minute walk from the church of San Lorenzo, the chapel of Notre-Dame du Coignet has frescoes from the late 15th and early 16th centuries; it opens with the same app. In Millaures, on the other side of the valley, the tower of Sant’Andrea has the octagonal stone spire typical of these valleys.

Rochemolles and its lake

Rochemolles is the most remote hamlet, at the head of its own valley, with the 15th-century church of San Pietro, a small folk museum and a watermill that worked until 1961. Above it, a 1930s dam holds back Lago di Rochemolles at around 2,000 metres, on the road to the Colle del Sommeiller.

Valle Stretta and Rocca Bernauda

The Valle Stretta starts at Pian del Colle above Melezet. Under the 1947 Treaty of Paris its upper part went to France: the Grange di Valle Stretta, with their huts, and Lago Verde now belong to the French municipality of Névache, although by car you can only reach them from Italy. Above rises Mont Thabor (3,178 m). On the border ridge, the Rocca Bernauda (over 3,200 m) is Italy’s westernmost point – a record it gained precisely when the valley was handed over.

The Bardonecchia Ski area has 100 km of pistes, 23 lifts and a snow park, up to about 2,700 metres. It is not part of the Milky Way (Via Lattea) area and has its own lift pass. The season usually runs from early December to Easter, snow permitting. Open runs and lift times on the Bardonecchia Ski website.

Colomion, Les Arnauds and Melezet

The largest sector lies south of town, with three linked bases: Campo Smith, on the edge of the centre, Les Arnauds and Melezet. Campo Smith has the nursery slopes for beginners and children. Higher up, easy and intermediate runs dominate, up to about 2,400 metres. The 2006 Olympic halfpipe was at Melezet, and today’s snow park is its legacy.

Jafferau

Jafferau is on the other side of the valley and not linked to the rest; the free ski bus gets you there in a few minutes. The lifts go higher, towards the summit (2,805 m), and the runs are longer. It is the sector for confident skiers looking for vertical; there is also a Jafferau-only day pass.

Lift passes 2026/27

Official adult day-pass prices: €44 on weekdays, €51 at weekends and on public holidays, €52 in the peak period (24 December – 6 January), €40 in the promo periods (5–18 December and 30 March – 11 April). Under-16s and over-65s pay €42–44; children born after 1 December 2018 pay €15. Afternoon pass €36–37, Jafferau-only day pass €37, adult season pass €1,020. Online sales open on 9 November 2026.

Cross-country, snowshoeing and ski schools

The cross-country loops are at Pian del Colle above Melezet and run towards the Valle Stretta, between about 1,400 and 1,800 metres; the free town bus goes there. The Valle Stretta is also the classic snowshoe route, along the road that is closed to cars in winter. There are several ski and snowboard schools in town, with children’s lessons at Campo Smith.

From June to September the basin is a base for hiking and cycling, often on the military roads built for the old border forts. Some roads are regulated: Rochemolles – Rifugio Scarfiotti – Colle del Sommeiller is open from May to November for a €10 fee per vehicle, cash only; the Valle Stretta road is closed to cars in the middle of the day at weekends in July and on many days in August. Current rules are on the town’s mobility page.

Rifugio Scarfiotti and Colle del Sommeiller

The best-known hut is Rifugio Scarfiotti, at 2,165 metres on the Grange du Fond plateau in the Rochemolles valley. It dates from 1923 and was renovated in 2025. From the lake it is about 4 km on a gravel road, an easy walk. The military road then continues to the Colle del Sommeiller on the border: allow a full day. Check that the hut is open before you go.

Valle Stretta and Lago Verde

From Pian del Colle to the Grange di Valle Stretta it is about 6 km on a steadily climbing road, on foot or by bike. The Re Magi and III Alpini huts are at the Grange; a short path from Re Magi leads to Lago Verde. Fit hikers continue to the Colle di Valle Stretta (2,438 m) and towards Mont Thabor.

Colle della Rho

From the town centre (1,320 m) the trail climbs the Rho valley to the pass at 2,545 metres: more than 1,200 metres of ascent, a full day. On the way you pass the Granges La Rho and the Montserrat chapel. Some sections are steep and rocky; in early summer, ask about lingering snow.

Monte Jafferau

The summit of Jafferau (2,805 m) is reached on the old military road past the high forts. A loop on foot from the upper part of the road takes about 6 hours with almost 900 metres of ascent. The road to the top is open to vehicles only on Wednesdays and Saturdays, from June to September.

Mountain biking and families

In summer the lifts serve a bike park with freeride and enduro trails; for cross-country and e-bikes there is a network of gravel and military roads, with classic routes to Lago di Rochemolles, the Valle Stretta and the Colle della Rho. At Campo Smith you can rent e-bikes and ride the Alpine Coaster, a rail toboggan over a kilometre long through the woods, next to an adventure park. Summer opening dates change every year: check the lift company’s website.

• Exilles (about 25 km): the Fort of Exilles towers over the valley road. It is not in Bardonecchia, but it is the nearest historic sight.
• Susa (about 38 km): the Arch of Augustus and the medieval centre.
• Sacra di San Michele (about 65 km): the abbey perched on Monte Pirchiriano at the mouth of the valley.
• Sauze d’Oulx (about 20 km): the nearest Milky Way resort.
• Sestriere (about 35 km): the hub of the Milky Way, at 2,035 metres.
• Cesana Torinese and Claviere (25–35 km): border villages with slopes linked to the Milky Way.
• Montgenèvre (about 35 km): the French resort just past Claviere.
• Névache and the Clarée valley: in summer via the Colle della Scala / Col de l’Échelle (1,762 m), closed in winter.
• Briançon (about 45 km via Montgenèvre): the town fortified by Vauban, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
• Modane (about 20 km through the Fréjus tunnel): the gateway to the Maurienne valley in France.

Bardonecchia is compact: the free town bus takes a few minutes from the hamlets to the centre. Choose based on what you plan to do.

• Centre and Borgo Nuovo (Via Medail, station): best if you arrive by train or without a car, with shops and restaurants on foot and the ski bus to the slopes. Hotels, B&Bs and apartments.
• Borgo Vecchio: quieter, a few minutes’ walk from Via Medail. Good for couples and off-season trips.
• Campo Smith: for skiers who want to walk to the lifts and families with children in ski school.
• Les Arnauds: a small hamlet with its own lift base, for skiing with a village feel.
• Melezet: for keen skiers and summer hikers: pistes, snow park, cross-country and access to the Valle Stretta. Quiet in the evening.
• Jafferau and Millaures: on the other side of the valley, handy if you mostly ski Jafferau; residences and holiday rentals.

For a family ski week, an apartment or residence works best; for one or two nights, or if you arrive by train, a hotel or B&B in the centre. Book early for Christmas, New Year and February.

By car

From Turin take the A32 Turin–Bardonecchia motorway: about 90 km, an hour and a half. You can also use the valley roads (SS 24, SS 25 and SS 335). From France, come through the Fréjus road tunnel from Modane, about 13 km long; tolls are on the SFTRF website. In winter carry snow chains or fit winter tyres.

By train

Bardonecchia is the last Italian station on the international Turin–Modane line. Regional SFM3 trains from Turin Porta Nuova take about an hour and a half. High-speed Paris–Milan trains (TGV and Frecciarossa) do not stop in Bardonecchia but at Oulx, 14 km down the valley, and at Modane. Timetables on Trenitalia.

By bus

Line 902 links Oulx, Bardonecchia and Modane from Monday to Saturday (€3.70 per journey, departing from Via Torino near the station). On school days line 285 also runs Oulx–Bardonecchia. In town, the municipality runs a free bus for visitors, with lines to Melezet and Pian del Colle and to Millaures.

By plane

The nearest airport is Turin Caselle, 95 km away, about 1 hour 15 minutes by car. Alternatives are Chambéry (about 1 hour 30), Lyon and Geneva (about 2 hours 15 each) and Milan Malpensa (over 2 hours). Without a car, get from Caselle into Turin and take the train from Porta Nuova; private transfers from the airports are also available.

Parking

The centre, the Borgo Vecchio and Melezet have limited-traffic zones with hours that change with the season. For skiing, use the car parks at Campo Smith and the lift bases; in the centre there is the Viale della Vittoria car park. Campervans have a dedicated area at the Pian del Colle campsite. EV chargers are at Campo Smith, Via Sommeiller and Via Nicala.

BARDONECCHIA Meteo