Georgia Boscawen discovers the draw for non-skiers in the famously foodie Italian resort of Courmayeur.
Any keen skier will agree that it’s not easy to peel yourself away from the slopes in favour of another Alpine pursuit – especially when there’s a snow report for a light dusting of powder and midday sun. But for a select few resorts, the non-skiing option is well worth exploring.
While many resorts offer activities – from paragliding in Zermatt to dog sledding in Megève – skiing is the real draw. But, in the case of Courmayeur, an Italian ski resort located in the heart of the Italian Alps, non-ski options are good enough to entice even the keenest of skiers from the slopes.
“You can see the Matterhorn from here,” says Mariachiara Caneparo, marketing manager of Courmayeur, as she gestures to the peak in the distance. “It’s actually 60 kilometres away but you can pretty much see every resort from here – we’re 3,400 metres up.”
Indeed, high on Mont Blanc, the Skyway cableway is one of the spine-tingling experiences for which Courmayeur is renowned. It took just a few minutes to get here in a revolving glass cable car, but now we’re at Italy’s highest point. We stop for lunch in the glass-bottomed restaurant at the top station with a glass of Spumante produced in a cave a few hundred metres below.
It’s more than just a view – Skyway is also home to a wine cellar and even a white grand piano (the highest piano in Europe, I’m informed). It’s a sky-high experience worth skipping the perfect skiing conditions for.
“Courmayeur is famous for its food,” says Caneparo. “We have amazing fine dining here, but traditional food is also very special, with all the polenta, cheese and rich stews you can imagine.”
Having driven up the mountain from the five-star Le Massif Hotel & Lodge in town, Baita Ermitage is the perfect spot for discovering these gastronomic delights. It’s everything one would hope to find in a cosy, Alpine family-run restaurant – yellow walls lined with shelves of wine bottles and a roaring fire, not to mention the excellent food and drink.
On the fine-dining side, Courmayeur has become such a foodie hotspot that Heston Blumenthal chose it for a series of feasting events called Mountain Gourmet Ski Experience – where Michelin-starred chefs cook up al fresco suppers.
The event will return in 2025, but elsewhere in the resort gastronomic offerings are exceptional and predominantly accessible by foot, including the restaurant Pierre Alexis 1877, which serves elegant dishes that highlight local flavours and Emin Haziri at Bistrot Royal, a fine-dining spot with an elaborate tasting menu. Cadran Solaire is another romantic Alpine-style restaurant in the centre of Courmayeur with higgledy-piggledy stone walls and local dishes.
The mountain is a commanding spectacle even from pedestrian level. At Val Ferret, which is Courmayeur’s realm of cross-country skiing, fat biking, snow biking and snowshoeing, the path is empty on another blue-sky day, and I can hear only the crunch of our snowshoes.
For an hour with a gentle incline, I’ve passed barely any people, just powder-dusted spruces, small, isolated restaurants and a tiny church called Notre Dame de Guérison. Hiking here in both the summer and winter months is a huge draw and the trails stretch for miles for walkers with a range of abilities. Never did I think that snowshoeing in a resort could offer the grand views and challenge that it does here (especially for a speed freak).
As we wander through the charming, car-free town, the twinkling lights and convivial atmosphere instil that classic magic of Alpine towns. Salopettes-clad punters spill out of the local bars onto the cobbles as most of the Après takes place in town so non-skiers can get involved too.
Still the list of potential activities goes on, with spas to visit, ice skating, mountaineering on Mont Blanc, the Alpine Botanical Garden Saussurea (Europe’s highest Alpine garden at 2,173 metres), dog sledding and yet more restaurants. Under normal circumstances, I would consider not skiing in a ski resort a shame, but here in Courmayeur, it seems like an opportunity to make the most of this charming town.
First published in the December 2024 issue of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.