Sauze d’Oulx

Updated October 2026 · Sources: Comune di Sauze d'Oulx, Vialattea, Parchi Alpi Cozie, Olympedia

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Sauze d’Oulx is a ski village in the upper Susa Valley in Piedmont, north-west Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Turin. The village sits at 1,509 metres on a west-facing terrace below Monte Genevris, which is why Italians call it “the balcony of the Alps”. Turin is about 85 km away, roughly an hour and a quarter by car on the A32; Turin Caselle airport is around 100 km, about an hour and a half by transfer. The nearest station, Oulx, is 5–6 km below the village, and the Paris–Milan TGV and Frecciarossa trains stop there.

Sauze has long been a favourite with British skiers: tour operators fly in from UK airports all winter, English is widely spoken in the ski schools and bars, and the Ski Club of Great Britain has a rep here in season. The party reputation of the 1980s has mellowed, and today it is a lively but family-friendly resort with a real old village at its heart. The municipality is small, 17 km² and about 1,000 residents, spread between the old centre and the hamlets of Jouvenceaux, Clotes, Richardette, Tachier and Sportinia.

In winter Sauze is one of the gateways to the Milky Way (Via Lattea), more than 400 km of linked pistes shared with Sestriere, Sansicario, Cesana, Claviere and Montgenèvre in France. In 2006 all the Olympic freestyle skiing events were held at Jouvenceaux. In summer the lifts carry mountain bikers and hikers up towards the Assietta ridge road and the Gran Bosco di Salbertrand nature park. Under Fascism the village was renamed Salice d’Ulzio; it took back its original name after the war.

Sauze has two sides. The old village around the church keeps its cobbled lanes and stone houses. Around it grew hotels, apartment blocks and holiday homes, along with the lift stations. The hamlets are a few minutes away on foot or by ski bus.

The old village and Via Assietta

The heart of Sauze is Via Assietta, the street of shops, bars and restaurants that opens onto the square of the same name. Side lanes lead off it past stone houses, wooden balconies and stone-slab roofs. You can walk the old centre in half an hour. In winter this is where the après-ski happens: Sauze is the liveliest resort in the Milky Way.

Church of San Giovanni Battista

The parish church was built around 1532 and consecrated in 1538, in the century when Sauze broke away from Oulx and got its own parish. The five-storey stone bell tower is in the Romanesque-Dauphiné style of the upper valley: until 1713 this area belonged to the French Dauphiné. Inside, look for the 1540 font in green marble carved with the Dauphins’ coat of arms, and the altarpiece carved in 1703 by Chaffrey Faure of Thures. The patron saint’s day is 24 June, with a bonfire the night before.

Jouvenceaux and the chapel of Sant’Antonio Abate

Jouvenceaux is the lowest hamlet, at the bottom of the pistes, and one of the best preserved in the upper Susa Valley. In its old core, the chapel of Sant’Antonio Abate (St Anthony the Abbot) was painted inside and out between 1480 and 1490, probably by the Serra brothers of Pinerolo. The façade shows the Last Judgement; the side facing the square has St Michael, the Annunciation, St Anthony with the sick and a large St Christopher. The outside frescoes are always visible; ask the tourist office about the interior.

Sportinia

Sportinia is the bowl at about 2,150 metres above the village: in winter it is the hub of the Sauze ski area, with ski schools and mountain restaurants; in summer an open alpine meadow. A chairlift goes up from Piazzale Prariond, 500 metres from the centre, and non-skiers can ride it with a pedestrian ticket. The view takes in the whole Susa Valley and the peaks along the French border.

Lago Nero and Carlo Mollino’s lift station

Above Sportinia, at 2,350 metres, Lago Nero is a small glacial lake. In the same area stands the top station of the old Lago Nero sledge lift, designed in 1946–47 by the Turin architect Carlo Mollino and restored in 1999–2005: a classic of 20th-century mountain architecture. Don’t confuse it with the lake of the same name near Cesana.

Lago Laune and Monte Genevris

Lago Laune, at 2,043 metres, is a small spring-fed glacial lake that is easy to reach in any season. Above it rises Monte Genevris (2,536 m), Sauze’s own mountain, with views over the whole upper valley. The area between Sportinia and Pian della Rocca is a protected breeding ground for black grouse.

Gran Bosco di Salbertrand Nature Park

The eastern part of the municipality lies inside the Gran Bosco di Salbertrand Nature Park, created in 1980: 3,775 hectares between 1,000 and 2,600 metres, with Piedmont’s only large mixed forest of silver fir and Norway spruce. Red deer, roe deer, chamois, golden eagles and bearded vultures live here, and wolves returned in 1997. From Sauze you walk in from Richardette and Monfol, in summer on foot and in winter on snowshoes. Trails and rules on the Cottian Alps parks website.

Suspension bridge and Adventure Village

At Gran Villard, a ten-minute walk from the centre, a 400-metre Tibetan-style suspension bridge hangs 121 metres high. It is open all year, with booking required in winter. Next to it, a summer adventure park has tree-top courses for all ages, zip lines and trampolines for small children.

Sauze is part of the Milky Way, which links Sestriere, Sauze d’Oulx, Sansicario, Cesana, Claviere, Pragelato and Montgenèvre: more than 400 km of pistes and 70 lifts, up to 2,800 metres. The season usually runs from early December to Easter, snow permitting; for 2026/27 the price periods run from 5 December to 11 April. Open runs and conditions on the official Vialattea website.

The Sauze slopes

Three lifts leave the village: Clotes, a couple of hundred metres from the centre; Sportinia, from Piazzale Prariond; and Jouvenceaux, from the hamlet. A cheap local ski bus links the hamlets to the lifts. Below Sportinia the runs cut through larch forest, which is the place to be on windy or flat-light days. Above it, the Rocce Nere chairlift climbs to 2,420 metres, above the tree line.

Reds dominate: Sauze is a resort for confident intermediates. Strong skiers head for the blacks in the Vallone and on the Fraiteve, the long run from the Fraiteve down to Jouvenceaux (about 1,300 vertical metres) and the Moncrons sector, usually open only at weekends and in holidays. Tree skiing off-piste only with a guide.

Links to Sestriere, Sansicario and Montgenèvre

From the top of Rocce Nere you drop into the Vallone, where lifts head up to Monte Fraiteve (about 2,700 m). From the Fraiteve you ski down to Sestriere or, on the Olympic run, to Sansicario. From Sansicario the circuit continues to Cesana, Claviere and Montgenèvre. It can be done in a day, but start early and keep an eye on the last lifts home; to ski in France you need the Vialattea Internazionale pass.

Lift passes 2026/27

Official online prices for the Vialattea pass (all the Italian resorts): adult day pass €52 in low season, €58.50 in high season and €60 in peak season; afternoon pass from 1 pm from €38.50; six days from €261. The Vialattea Internazionale day pass, including Montgenèvre, costs €69. Low season: 5–23 December, 7–22 January and 15 March – 11 April; high season: 23 January – 14 March; peak: 24 December – 6 January. Six- to fifteen-day passes include one day at Montgenèvre and one at Bardonecchia, handy for a week’s holiday. Prices may be adjusted, so check before you buy.

The 2006 Olympics

At the Turin 2006 Winter Olympics, Sauze d’Oulx hosted all the freestyle skiing events in a purpose-built stadium at Jouvenceaux: women’s moguls on 11 February, men’s on the 15th, and aerials from 20 to 23 February, in front of up to 7,900 spectators. The alpine races were held at Sestriere and Sansicario.

Ski schools, beginners and snowshoeing

Lessons almost always start at Sportinia, which has nursery slopes with a magic carpet, bars and restaurants; beginners can ride the chairlift both up and down. Sauze has several ski and snowboard schools, many with English-speaking instructors. Non-skiers can take the chairlift up for lunch at Sportinia, or snowshoe through the Gran Bosco towards Monfol on walks from 45 minutes to over two hours.

Bardonecchia: a separate ski area

Bardonecchia is about 20 km away but is not part of the Milky Way: it has 100 km of pistes and its own lift pass. In 2025/26 a free shuttle for pass holders ran from Jouvenceaux to Campo Smith in about 40 minutes, Thursday to Sunday; check whether it runs again in 2026/27.

Summer runs from late June to early September. In 2026 the Sportinia chairlift ran daily from 27 June to 30 August and the Rocce Nere chair from 1 to 23 August; the 2027 dates come out in spring. Tickets and times on the official Sauze d’Oulx tourism website.

Bike park and mountain biking

The bike park starts at Rocce Nere, 2,420 metres, and drops more than 1,000 metres through meadows and larch woods on around a dozen trails, from the blue Easy Clotes to the black Sportinia Express (2.7 km, 525 m descent). Helmets are compulsory. For cross-country and e-bikes there are waymarked loops: Montagne Seu from Monfol (18 km, about 500 m of climbing, easy) or Sauze – Lago Laune (22 km, over 1,000 m). Bikes, e-bikes and body armour can be hired in the village.

The Assietta road

This is the best-known military dirt road in the Western Alps: about 35 km between Pian dell’Alpe and Sestriere, almost all above 2,000 metres, along the ridge between the Susa and Chisone valleys. From Sauze you reach it via Sportinia and Col Basset. It is open from 1 July to 31 October, snow permitting; in July and August, between Col Basset and Pian dell’Alpe, it is closed to motor vehicles on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9 am to 5 pm, which makes those the days for cyclists and walkers. On 19 July 1747 the Piedmontese stopped the French army here, and a re-enactment takes place every July. Details on the Assietta road website.

Hikes with times and climbs

• Lago Laune – Ferro di Cavallo: 1.1 km, 30 minutes, 120 m of ascent. Easy, good with children.
• Tachier – Malafosse Alta: 3.1 km, 1 h 15, 270 m. Easy, in the forest.
• Clotes – Sportinia: 5.2 km, 2 h 15, 605 m up. Come back down by chairlift.
• Richardette – Monte Genevris: 4 km, 3 hours, 820 m to 2,535 m. Moderate, views over the whole valley.
• Testa dell’Assietta via the Strada dei Cannoni: from Richardette, 10 km, 3 h 30, 765 m, to about 2,560 m, through the Gran Bosco. Not technical, but long.

Recommended map: IGC 104 Bardonecchia – Sauze d’Oulx (1:25,000), sold in the village.

The cooking is that of the upper Susa Valley, halfway between Piedmont and the Dauphiné. The local speciality is the mountain potato, protected by a municipal De.C.O. label. In August people make gofres, waffles cooked in iron plates and filled with sweet or savoury fillings. At Sportinia and along the pistes there are mountain restaurants for lunch on skis.

• Oulx (5–6 km): the station town, with an old centre, the 14th-century Dauphin Tower and a Wednesday market.
• Salbertrand (about 12 km): headquarters of the Gran Bosco park, with a visitor centre and nature trails.
• Exilles (about 18 km): the fortress guarding the valley road.
• Susa (about 35 km): the Arch of Augustus and a Roman and medieval town centre.
• Sacra di San Michele (about 60 km): the abbey on Monte Pirchiriano, a symbol of Piedmont.
• Turin (just over an hour by train): museums, cafés and shopping for a day off the slopes.
• Bardonecchia (about 20 km): old town, Forte Bramafam and a separate ski area.
• Sestriere (about 30 km by road, linked on skis): the pass at 2,035 metres built for skiing.
• Montgenèvre (about 24 km): the French resort just over the border from Claviere.
• Briançon (about 40 minutes): Vauban’s fortified town, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Sauze is compact and the ski bus links every hamlet to the three lift stations. Pick your area according to how you want to spend your evenings and how far you are happy to carry your skis.

• Old village and Via Assietta: restaurants, bars and après-ski on your doorstep. Hotels and apartments; noisier on winter weekends.
• Near Clotes and Piazzale Prariond: for skiers who want to be first on the lift and families with children in ski school at Sportinia.
• Jouvenceaux: a quiet hamlet with its own lift and the painted chapel; good for couples and families, mostly apartments and residences.
• Richardette, Gran Villard and Tachier: higher up and greener, close to the Gran Bosco. For summer hikers and anyone after peace and quiet; you’ll need the ski bus or a car.
• Sportinia: a few places to stay on the mountain itself. Ski-in, ski-out, but in the evening you stay up there.
• Oulx (5–6 km): cheaper and handy if you arrive by train, with bus 285 up to Sauze.

For a week’s ski holiday an apartment or residence usually works best; for a short break, a hotel in the centre. Book early for Christmas, New Year and February half-term.

By car

From Turin take the A32 Turin–Bardonecchia motorway to the Oulx exit, then drive up to Sauze in about ten minutes: around 85 km and an hour and a quarter in total. Driving from the UK, you come through France and cross into Italy via the Fréjus tunnel or the Montgenèvre pass from Briançon. Winter tyres or snow chains are required in winter.

By train

The station is Oulx-Cesana-Claviere-Sestriere, on the Turin–Modane line. TGV and Frecciarossa trains between Paris and Milan stop at Oulx, so from London you can take the Eurostar to Paris and change onto a direct train to Oulx. From Turin Porta Nuova, SFM3 regional trains take just over an hour. Timetables on Trenitalia.

By bus

From Oulx station, Arriva bus line 285 runs up to Sauze d’Oulx; timetables change with the season, so check before you travel. In the village the ski bus has three lines (from Gran Villard, Richardette and Jouvenceaux) to the Sportinia chairlift, with single, day and weekly tickets. Several taxi firms operate from Sauze and Oulx, and private transfers from Turin airport are easy to book.

By plane

The nearest airport is Turin Caselle, about 100 km away: allow around an hour and a half for the transfer. Several UK airlines fly to Turin, with extra flights and charters in winter. Milan Malpensa, Geneva and Lyon are further, a few hours by road. Without a car, go from Caselle to Turin Porta Nuova and take the train to Oulx.

Parking

There is no through traffic in the old village: leave the car at your accommodation or near the lift stations (Clotes, Prariond-Sportinia and Jouvenceaux) and use the ski bus. The tourist office is at Viale Genevris 7, on the road into the village next to the petrol station; staff speak English and have maps, bus timetables and parking information.

SAUZE D’OULX Meteo