If you want to discover a different, unusual Aosta Valley, this is the right itinerary. A route almost hidden, far from the the best-known tourist destinations, that goes back up the hillside course of Dora ending up at Planaval Basin. The full exposure to the South makes it particularly pleasant in spring and autumn. Some advice: Take a good look around…It’s worth it, because the landscape is truly magnificent. At Saint-Nicolas park the bike and take four steps to the panoramic viewpoint, striking terrace overlooking the central valley: Here the view ranges from Aosta to Arvier, among vineyards and farmlands; looking up, it seems we can touch the ice of Grivola and Rutor and, straight ahead, four valleys expand fully, the Cogne Valley, the Valsavarenche, the Rhêmes Valley and the Valgrisenche. And extraordinary vantage point, that made Saint-Nicolas a particularly valued tourist center. A point of interest: This is also the birthplace of Abbott Cerlogne, the first codifier of the Aosta Valley language; it’s no accident that today the “René Willien” Study Center is here, engaged in defending and spreading the local dialect.