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Voykit pocket guide · Italy
Courmayeur
Go for 2 nights if you ski or ride the Skyway; 1 night is enough if you only want the village and a view of Mont Blanc.
Courmayeur sits at 1,224 m at the head of the Aosta Valley, under Mont Blanc. It is a ski and mountaineering town, not a sightseeing city: one pedestrian street, two cable-cars from town, and the Monte Bianco Skyway up to 3,462 m. Winter is for skiing, late June to September for hiking. Two nights covers the village and one high-altitude trip; skiers stay a week.
- Country
- Italy
- Best months
- Jan–Mar (ski), late Jun–Sep (hiking)
- Avoid
- Nov (Skyway maintenance, quiet), late Feb Italian half-term if you want a cheap room
- Stay
- 2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- EUR
- Money
- Currency is the euro (EUR, €). Cards and contactless are widely accepted in cities; small cafés, markets and rural places may prefer cash.
- Daily spend
- Budget €70–110 excl. bed · Mid €110–180 excl. bed · High €180+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- TIM, Vodafone, WindTre and Iliad sell prepaid SIMs in shops and at airports; a passport and an Italian tax code (codice fiscale, issued in-store) are needed.
- Emergency
- All emergencies (EU-wide) 112 · Police 113 · Fire 115 · Ambulance 118
- Plugs
- Types C, F, L · 230 V · 50 Hz · Italian type L plugs have three pins in a row; most sockets also take two-pin Europlugs (C), and bivalent sockets take Schuko (F).
- Tipping
- Bar: Leave €0.10–0.20 of change on the counter if you like.; Restaurant: Coperto or service may already be on the bill; leave €1–2 a person or round up for good service.; Taxi: Round up to the next euro.; Hotel porter or housekeeping: €1–2 per bag or per night.; Tour guide: €5–10 per person for a half day.
- Water
- Tap water is safe unless signed otherwise; Rome's nasoni fountains run all day. Restaurants serve bottled water (naturale or frizzante) unless you ask for tap (acqua del rubinetto).
- Toilets
- Few public toilets; use bars (buy a coffee), museums and stations, where some charge €1.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee at a bar | €1.20–2 |
| Plate of pasta or polenta in the village | €12–20 |
| Walk-in dinner at a hotel restaurant | €50–60 |
| Beer or glass of local wine | €5–8 |
| Aperitivo with free snacks (from about 16:00)Aperitivo with free snacks (from about 4:00 PM) | €8–12 |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | €15–30 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- GVA · Geneva
- About 100 km (62 mi) via the Mont Blanc Tunnel; the closest airport with global reach.About 62 mi (100 km) via the Mont Blanc Tunnel; the closest airport with global reach.
- TRN · Turin Caselle
- About 150 km (93 mi) south; the airport most tour operators use.About 93 mi (150 km) south; the airport most tour operators use.
- MXP · Milan Malpensa
- About 220 km (137 mi); good European connections but a long transfer.About 137 mi (220 km); good European connections but a long transfer.
- LIN · Milan Linate
- About 220 km (137 mi); check onward bus or car options before booking.About 137 mi (220 km); check onward bus or car options before booking.
Typical fares
- Skyway return, adult
- €49; closed in November
- Courmayeur cable-car return, adult
- €16
- Mont Blanc tunnel, car
- €45 single, €56 return within 7 days
- Bus Courmayeur → Chamonix
- about 45 min, six times a day
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
The centre is walkable and car-free along Via Roma. Savda buses run a circuit of Courmayeur up to La Palud about every 30 minutes, and Aosta–Courmayeur about every 30 minutes (about 1 h). A car helps for La Thuile, Val Ferret and the tunnel to Chamonix.
See and do
Known for
- Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco)
- Monte Bianco Skyway cable-car
- Skiing above Plan Checrouit
- Alpine guiding history
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Chamonix (France) | Savda bus through the Mont Blanc Tunnel, about 45 min, six times a day | About 1 h |
| La Thuile | Direct Savda bus, three morning and three late-afternoon runs | About 45 min |
| Aosta | Savda bus, about every 30 min, about 1 h | About 1 h |
| Val Ferret and Val Veny | Local bus or car from La Palud / Entreves | 20–40 min |
Sleep
- Via Roma and the pedestrian centre
- The 1 km (0.6 mi) car-free core between Hotel Courmayeur and the town hall; walk to bars, shops and the main cable-car.The 0.6 mi (1 km) car-free core between Hotel Courmayeur and the town hall; walk to bars, shops and the main cable-car.
- Around the main cable-car (Via Volpi)
- About 500 m southwest of Hotel Courmayeur; best if you ski every day and carry gear.
- Dolonne
- North end of the village, served by the smaller Dolonne cable-car; quieter, still walkable to the centre.
- La Palud / Entreves
- Up the SS26, at the foot of the Skyway and Val Veny; a car or bus ride from the village.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | Buongiornobwon-JOR-no |
| Thank you | GrazieGRAH-tsyeh |
| How much is it? | Quanto costa?KWAN-to KOS-ta |
| The bill, please | Il conto, per favoreeel KON-to per fa-VO-re |
| Where is the cable-car? | Dov'è la funivia?do-VEH la fu-nee-VEE-a |
| Help! | Aiuto!a-YOO-to |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Say buongiorno (until mid-afternoon) or buonasera on entering shops and bars; avoid: Walking in and pointing without a greeting
- Cheek kisses: Two kisses, right cheek first, among friends; follow their lead; avoid: Kissing strangers or in business settings
- Dress: Smart-casual in cities; covered shoulders and knees in churches; avoid: Beachwear, bare chests and flip-flops away from the beach
- Queues: At delis and pharmacies take a number (numerino); avoid: Assuming the crowd at a bar counter is chaos — pay at the till first where asked
- Restaurants: Wait to be seated and ask for the bill; avoid: Splitting a bill item by item with a large group
- Conversation: Food, football and family are safe openers; avoid: Mafia jokes and north–south stereotypes
- Dinner at a home: Bring pastries, wine or flowers (not chrysanthemums, which are for funerals); avoid: Refusing seconds too firmly
Scams and watch-outs
- Off-piste avalanche risk is real: three people died on an off-piste route into Val Veny in March 2017. Go with a guide.
- The Skyway is routinely closed in November for annual maintenance: check dates before you book.
- In peak ski season hotels can be fully booked by package tours, especially Italian half-term in late February.
- The Mont Blanc tunnel toll is charged per car; check the current rate before you drive to Chamonix.
- The Skyway ticket does not include Chamonix ski lifts and is not a practical route into that ski area.
Courmayeur is a small, safe resort town; the real risks are mountain ones. Off-piste avalanche deaths happen, so hire a guide, check the bulletin and never ski closed runs.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Courmayeur yet. Suggested stay: 2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco)
- Monte Bianco Skyway cable-car
- Skiing above Plan Checrouit
- Alpine guiding history
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Comune di Courmayeur (official): www.comune.courmayeur.ao.it/
- Skyway Monte Bianco (official): www.montebianco.com/en/
- Wikivoyage: Courmayeur, revision 5046421 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5046421
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Courmayeur
A questo indirizzo, per favore
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Courmayeur; most countries keep embassies in Rome and consulates in Milan or Turin. Check your own country's list before you travel.
French is widely understood here; the Aosta Valley is bilingual Italian–French.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/courmayeur). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.