If you want to know the local community, its history and traditions, this is the right place.

Gressoney has a rich historical and cultural heritage, where you will make friends with the Walser, a population of Germanic origin who settled in the upper Lys Valley from the 12th century onwards.

What makes this community a strong attraction for curious tourists is its connection with nature and hospitality. Therefore, when you stay in our facilities or restaurants, let yourself be involved by the “Made in Walser” warmth: you will be welcomed with open arms feeling like at home.

Walser culture offers a lot of activities: in Gressoney-Saint-Jean you can find the Walser Kulturzentrum, a cultural centre for promotion and preservation of the Walser tradition, which has been organizing exhibitions, conferences and events related to local culture since 1982. For instance, you can learn the local dialect and take part in folkloric events, including the famous St. John’s Day Procession, held between 23rd and 24th June, where it is possible to rediscover the local community and its traditional clothing; the specialised Walser Library is available to anyone. And that’s not all!

Walser tradition is reflected in their culinary art as well: among the various local dishes and drinks you can taste the Toma di Gressoney, a kind of cheese recognized as a Slow Food Presidium and a Traditional Agri-food Product of the Aosta Valley, therefore a 100% natural product.

You will be fascinated by the simple yet extraordinary rural architecture. The Walser are masters of house building, craftsmanship and woodworking, the latter is a basic element that nature provides, thanks also to the vast presence of surrounding woods. 

Would you like to let your imagination run wild and make a “Live like a local” experience?

Then visit the homonym Ecomuseum, located in Gressoney-La-Trinité, in its three buildings.

The rural house will make you feel the emotion of living like a Walser. Breathe in the atmosphere of living in a ‘Walser house’, its construction in stone and larch wood and the areas into which it is divided: the human habitation part and the stable.

The museum house exhibits local clothing, photographic documentation and an exposition entitled “In the Kingdom of Heights”, dedicated to the history of Alpine huts and mountaineering.

The baita di Binò (Binò hut) is a mountain pasture barn, whose structure is a fusion of human architecture and natural rock that serves as a roof, with a room set aside for storing and processing milk. The hut can be easily reached on foot.

Other cultural attractions include the Beck-Peccoz Regional Museum of Alpine Fauna, where you can admire paintings, portraits and other exhibitions on Alpin fauna and flora belonging to the homonym family; the Savoy Castle and Queen Margaret’s rooms are the crowning glory of your holiday; the village of Chemp, with its stone houses, simple rural buildings and a tiny immaculate chapel; the villages of Alpenzù Piccolo and Alpenzù grande (Alpenzù “small” and “large”), where you can go hiking during the summer.

You have all the ingredients to be a good Walser, now it’s up to you to take action.