3-day e-bike trip in the Aosta Valley: 140 km from the Great St Bernard to the Matterhorn

The trip starts with a bus ride up to the Great St Bernard Pass. At over 2'400 m, the hospice has watched over the crossing for a thousand years: monks, pilgrims, traders and armies filed through long before us, and the place has kept something solemn about it. By the time the bikes are out, the assist levels checked and the briefing done, your eyes are already dropping down towards Italy.

First act: a flowing singletrack suspended above the valley, with the high peaks of the Aosta Valley as a backdrop. The kind of descent that sets the tone for three days. We then climb back up to a wild, untouched alpine pasture, a complete contrast with what came before: nothing but herds, a few stone roofs and silence. Then a long balcony traverse, time to scan the landscape all around, before the lunch break facing the massifs, a picnic for you and a recharge for the batteries.

One last uplift, then the reward: a descent on playful trails down to Aosta. The Roman town unfolds street by street, the Arch of Augustus at the end of the road, and the mood switches to Italian in an instant. From there, a transfer up to a charming mountain hotel, quiet and with a view: bikes parked, time to breathe, and off to the table for an Aosta Valley tasting, fontina, ham, polenta and a glass of local red. The rest can wait for tomorrow.

New day, new mood. We start with a balcony traverse on the sunny side of the valley, heading for Saint-Vincent. The route rolls by itself, and there's every reason to look up from the bars: opposite you, the Italian side of the Matterhorn, the one few people know, wilder and sharper than the Swiss postcard.

The trails are flowing, tailor-made for e-bikes: you link corner after corner without ever forcing it, you climb where others push, and off you go again. In the afternoon, the scenery changes between the Cervinia valley and Châtillon, another playground, other textures underfoot, as if you had changed region in a single day.

Late afternoon, the hotel. The luggage, moved by bus while you were riding, is already there: no backpack to carry, just the pleasure of finding your things and putting your feet up. In the evening, a typical meal, and the feeling of having seen two valleys in one day.

For the last day, the programme stays just as generous: two bus drops, two different playgrounds, and new routes to explore. The guide fine-tunes the line according to the group's wishes, the shape of the day and the conditions, always in that spirit of varied singletracks, Aosta Valley panoramas and flow you'll have found from the first kilometre to the last.

Then back towards Aosta, with a final stop to wander: alpine cheeses, cured meats, local produce, enough to take a little of the valley home. It's often there, between two stalls, that the trip gets relived and the next one starts being planned.

Ready to taste La Bella Vita by e-bike? Small group, limited places: book yours and come discover the Aosta Valley from the trails.