Vallée du Trient

Everything starts at Martigny station, on the Simplon line. The Mont-Blanc Express serves Vernayaz, Salvan, Les Marécottes, Le Trétien and Le Châtelard before crossing into France at Vallorcine. Trient is reached by postal bus over the Col de la Forclaz, open year-round. By car, leave the A9 at Martigny and climb the Salvan road, narrow and full of hairpins.

Good to know: the Mont-Blanc Express runs along a cliff face and skirts the drop for several kilometres. Sit on the valley side, the ride matters as much as the destination.

The Pissevache waterfall at Vernayaz is one of the rare dramatic falls you can reach with a pushchair: five flat minutes from the car park, with spray at the end. The Trient gorges, by contrast, need a baby carrier, as the walkways are narrow and damp. At Les Marécottes, the alpine zoo brings mountain animals within close view and ends with a swim in a pool carved out of the granite.

From Le Châtelard, VerticAlp Emosson strings together one of the steepest funiculars in the world, a small panoramic train and a final lift up to the dam. The Col de la Forclaz above Trient is the start of the Trient irrigation channel walk, almost flat, with the glacier straight ahead for walkers from about six years old. The pass itself is served by postal bus from Martigny all year round, so you can ride up and walk back down.