Val d'Entremont

From Martigny, the St-Bernard Express climbs to Sembrancher and then Orsières in half an hour. From Orsières station, postal buses carry on to Bourg-Saint-Pierre, and in summer all the way to the Great St Bernard Pass. By car, leave the A9 at Martigny and follow the pass road; the toll tunnel stays open all year, while the pass road itself only opens from June to October depending on snow.

Good to know: check whether the pass is open before you set off, as the dates shift every year. Out of season, the tunnel takes you into Italy without going over the top.

Orsières and Bourg-Saint-Pierre are compact villages, easy to cross on foot, with shaded squares for a break. Up at the pass, forget the pushchair: the ground is stony and the wind constant, so a baby carrier is essential. Pack one more layer than you would down in the valley, as the difference between Martigny and the summit easily reaches fifteen degrees, even in July.

The Great St Bernard Pass makes an excellent day trip. You will find the lake still frozen in early summer, the hospice founded in the eleventh century, and the museum telling the story of the travellers, the monks and the famous St Bernard dogs bred there. On the way up, the Toules reservoir and its shoreline make an obvious picnic stop, with plenty of room for children to run about before the last climb.