Grand St Bernard Pass

The Grand St Bernard Pass at 2,473 metres is the oldest documented Alpine crossing — used since the Bronze Age and mentioned by Julius Caesar. The road from Martigny climbs 40 km through vineyards, then pine forests, then bare rock to the hospice at the top, still operated by Augustinian monks and still home to the Saint Bernard dogs that gave the breed its name. The views from the pass are spectacular.

The road is open from late May to October; outside those months, the tunnel beneath the pass (toll-road) keeps the route to Italy open year-round. The hospice museum covers the pass's history across three millennia. On the Italian side, the descent to Aosta takes about an hour. If you have time, the Fenêtre d'Arpette walk from near the pass is among the most dramatic ridge walks in the western Alps.

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A story
Napoleon crossed the Grand St Bernard Pass with his army of 40,000 men in May 1800, on the way to his victory at Marengo. The crossing was one of the most dramatic military operations of the Napoleonic Wars — men, horses, and artillery hauled over an Alpine pass at 2,473 metres in early spring, with snow still covering the route. The monks at the hospice provisioned the army as it struggled through.