Courmayeur sits at the foot of the Mont Blanc massif, and the mountains are the main event. In winter there is skiing across both sides of the valley, accessed by cable car from the village; in summer the same infrastructure opens up high-altitude walking routes with extraordinary views of the Mont Blanc glacier system. The town itself is one of the more handsome Alpine resorts in Italy — a compact historic centre of stone buildings and arcaded streets, busy at weekends but never entirely given over to ski-chalet blandness.
The Skyway Monte Bianco cable car is the signature experience: rotating gondolas rise from the village to 3,466 metres in twenty minutes. The two valleys flanking the massif — Val Veny and Val Ferret — are the best hiking terrain. The Tour du Mont Blanc long-distance path passes through both, and sections of it make excellent day walks. For something completely different, the Alpine Botanical Garden Saussurea at Plan Checrouit is a rewarding stop on the way back from the heights.