The Italian & French Alps

Tour Code: ITA07

An 8-day holiday focusing on the alpine plants, birds, mammals and butterflies of Italy's Gran Paradiso National Park and the adjoining Vanoise National Park in France.

8 days from
£1,995
Land only price from
£1,795
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Highlights

Summary

Summary

Italy’s Gran Paradiso National Park and the adjoining Vanoise National Park in France together form the largest protected area in Western Europe. On this 2-centre holiday we’ll enjoy daily natural history walks amongst the beautiful Alpine valleys, forests and high peaks of these two spectacular national parks, focusing on their flora, birdlife, butterflies and mammals. We will be based first in the small Italian town of Cogne, surrounded by green meadows and glacier-covered mountains high above the Aosta Valley, and then in France for our last four nights, close to one of the finest sites for Alpine flowers, Mount Cenis.

  • A perfect Alpine destination for the all-round naturalist
  • Birds, flowers & butterflies galore
  • Enjoy glorious Alpine scenery & delicious picnics in flower-filled meadows
  • Alpine flowers in profusion
  • Mountain walks on good trails
  • Look out for Ibex, Marmots & Chamois
  • Birds of prey including Lammergeiers
  • A wealth of butterfly species, including Alpine specialities

Grading

Day walks only, some on steep ground. All walks are optional.

As early as 1856 the Gran Paradiso mountains in the Italian Alps were afforded protection as a wildlife reserve by Italy’s King Vittorio Emmanuel II to protect their herds of Ibex. By 1922 the reserve had become Italy’s first national park, and today it covers 720 square kilometres. On the creation of the adjoining Vanoise National Park by the French in 1963, the largest protected area in Western Europe was formed. On this 2- centre holiday we aim to enjoy daily natural history walks amongst the beautiful Alpine valleys, forests and high peaks of this spectacular region, focusing on their alpine flora, birdlife, butterflies and, of course, such mammals as Ibex, Chamois and Alpine Marmots. The area’s geology is also very varied, one of the reasons for the outstanding flora which includes such special ‘alpines’ as the pink-flowered Aethionema thomasianum, an endemic of the Aosta Alps growing on calcareous screes; Astragalus alepocurus, the central Alpine milk vetch found in the high alpine meadows; Campanula alpestris (Largeflowered Bellflower), to be found on limestone rocks and screes, and Saxifraga biflora, a compact saxifrage with red flowers favouring acid rocks. Many other alpine species of saxifrages, sedums, vetches, composites, campanulas and of course various gentians and orchids also occur here.

We will be based for our first three nights in Cogne, a small and friendly Italian town in the Val di Cogne, high above the Aosta Valley and surrounded by gentle green meadows and towering, glacier-covered mountains. The region is both Italian and French speaking, though each valley tends to have its own dialect, and the area is noted for its Valdostane cuisine, which includes plenty of Chamois, venison, excellent local cheeses and Valle d’Aosta wines. We will then cross the border to spend our last four nights at Lanslevillard, a French village near Mount Cenis, one of the finest sites for Alpine flowers. From both these bases we will explore the trails of the Gran Paradiso and Vanoise National Parks, and enjoy the exceptional variety of birds, plants and butterflies of the region.

On one day we will walk from Valnontey, a small village in the Gran Paradiso, along the beautiful valley of the Torrent Valnontey, towards the impressive glaciers that cap the park. A wayside botanical garden introduces us to many of the alpine plants that we hope to find during the week. In the delightful forests of beech, larch, spruce and Arolla Pine above, we will look for Firecrests, Coal Tits, Serins, Citril Finches, Crossbills and, with luck, Bonelli’s Warblers and the elusive Black Woodpecker, before we reach the alpine meadows above the treeline where Choughs, Alpine Choughs, Lammergeiers, Golden Eagles and other birds of prey may all be seen overhead, and Wheatears, Ring Ouzels, Dippers, Black Redstarts, Rock Buntings and Water Pipits all breed. On other days we will explore further valleys and also the meadows and screes of the Col de Petit St. Bernard where we look for Alpine and Small White Orchid, the various prostrate willows such as Salix breviserrata, S. reticulata, S. serpyllifolia and S. herbacea, Alpenrose and Creeping Azalea. Typically, at the high point of each day’s walk, we will break the day with a leisurely and delicious picnic lunch; a time to appreciate the abundance of alpine flowers and the clouds of attendant butterflies, and scan the slopes around us for views of Ibex and Chamois … and noisy Alpine Marmots. We will also look out for Peregrine, Golden Eagle and Lammergeier, as well as two specialities of the highest slopes, Snowfinch and Alpine Accentor.

Next we cross into France to spend our last four nights in the Vanoise National Park. France’s first national park lies in the Haute Savoie, just to the south of lordly Mont Blanc, and also holds an impressive diversity of wildlife. Chamois, Alpine Ibex and Alpine Marmots are all found here, whilst amongst 125 species of breeding birds are Lammergeier and the enigmatic Wallcreeper. It is, however, the flora that is most spectacular and, in the alpine meadows, we will look for such plant specialities as Mount Cenis Restharrow (Ononis cristata), Edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum), Erigeron uniflorus, and both Primula pedemontana and Primula hirsuta. Alpine specialities of the screes and rocks include Blunt-leaved Rock Jasmine (Androsace obtusifolia), Hairy Rock Jasmine (Androsace pubescens), Androsace helvetica, Phyteuma globulariifolium, the Glacier Buttercup (Ranunculus glacialis), Petrocallis pyrenaica and Mount Cenis Bellflower (Campanula cenisia).

To complete our week we will visit the area of Mount Cenis, renowned for its alpine flora. Amongst the species we will look for here are the two mountain pansies, Viola calcarata and Viola cenisi; the yellowflowered Erysimum rhaeticum and pinkflowered Androsace adfinis subsp. puberula are found in the rocky crevices, whilst the screes hold Mount Baldo Anemone (Anemone baldensis). Other plants we will look for are Alpine Pasque Flower (Pulsatillas alpina), many species of gentian, including the diminutive Snow Gentian (G. nivalis), various campanulas and rampions, the handsome False White Helleborine (Veratrum album), and Frog and Alpine Orchids.

DETAILED INFORMATION
Itinerary

Outline Itinerary

Day 1
Fly Turin and transfer to Cogne
Day 2/3
Botanical and birdwatching walks in the Gran Paradiso National Park, from Cogne
Day 4/7
Botanical and birdwatching walks in the Vanoise National Park, from Lanslevillard
Day 8
Transfer to Turin and fly London
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What's Included

What's Included?

  • Flights
  • Accommodation: A two-centre holiday based in comfortable, family-run hotels; all rooms have private facilities.
  • Food:

    All food included in the price.

Reviews
Dates & Prices

Dates & Prices

2025

Departures Availability Cost
Thu 26th Jun – Thu 3rd Jul FULL £1,995
Flights:
Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.
Flights are included in the tour cost
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
£1,795
Single Room Supplement:
Single Room Supplement.
£195

2026

Departures Availability Cost
Thu 25th Jun – Thu 2nd Jul SPACES £1,995
Book Tour Show Details
Flights:
Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.
Flights are included in the tour cost
Land only cost:
The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.
£1,795
Single Room Supplement:
Single Room Supplement.
£195

Prefer to Travel in a Private Group?

For any interested natural history club or society, we can arrange for a private departure of this tour.

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Why Naturetrek?

Why Naturetrek?

At Naturetrek we craft expertly-guided group and tailor-made wildlife holidays and cruises to all seven continents. On one of our holidays, you can be assured that our passionate team will enable you to experience and enjoy the best of the world's wildlife and natural spectacles in as comfortable and rewarding a manner as possible, caring as best we can for the environment in the process. We are proud to provide:

  • The widest choice of wildlife holidays worldwide
  • Tours managed and led by naturalists, for naturalists
  • Outstanding value and exceptional customer service

Furthermore, as a Naturetrek client, our office team are always to on hand to help you – so if you have any queries about your holiday, whether before or after you have booked, we will be delighted to answer them on the phone. Please just give our team a call!

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Writing Competition: Heaven Can Wait
Writing Competition: Heaven Can Wait

Below is Ian Bonds writing competition entry based on his trip to the Italian and French Alps (28th June 2022).