Planning a ski trip to Cogne? Browse our collection of visitor-generated reviews that rank the mountain and ski town on a scale of one to five stars in the following categories: Overall Rating, All-Mountain Terrain, Nightlife, Terrain Park and Family Friendly. See how Cogne stacks up to others in terms of skiing and après, and read up on pros, cons and comments from fellow skiers and snowboarders. Don't forget to submit your own Cogne review! Scroll to the bottom of this page to let other travelers know about your ski area experience.
Skier & Snowboarder-Submitted Reviews for Cogne
Total (2.5)
A ski resort's overall star rating displayed here is not calculated based on a simple average but takes several factors, including the age of a review, into account.
Cogne and it's 4 adjacent valleys are set in a stupendous, away-from-it-all setting. Towering 4000m peaks around, glaciers, superb wildlife as you are in a National Park. It's the only place I have skied in the Alps where you see chamois on the pistes and eagles soaring.
The main village has a very authentic feel, full of excellent and reasonable places to eat and shop. Parking is easy and practical, especially down by the river with lifts up to the church area.
The other villages are also stunning, Lillaz is in an amazing location, do not miss walking up the Urtier or Valeille valleys, winter or summer. No cars, nobody, frozen waterfalls, high altitude pastures in summer; stunning.
On the other side of Cogne go to Valnontey and walk (very flat) to the foot of the Gran Paradiso glaciers. Do not miss Grauson or Arpisson in summer. The view from Gimillan is the one to not miss. Lunch at the Belvedere terrace is wonderful in sunny weather.
ski:
downhill has a (very) beginner slope in the heart of the village, along children playground. Great sunny place with stunning setting.
Main area lift is at the top end of the village. About 10kms of pistes, of red to red+ grading, north facing, in the trees, 700m drop, three lifts. Excellent in good conditions, no queues ever. Worth a visit for a couple of days, limited for more. There has been talk for a link with Pila for ever. maybe one day...that would be perfect as Cogne has the luxurious hotel infrastructure and is THE place to stay around.
Takes 40mins drive to get to Pila Gondola in Aosta, and 1h to La Thuile which is the best area around within an hour.
Cross-country skiing: they are hosting the 2019 World Cup which is a pretty good résumé!
Awesome terrain, long loops up to 80kms, never far from civilisation but a wild feeling nevertheless. Excellent centralarea right in the village for less adventurous. Trees, 200m drops max,and stunning scenery taking in those empty side valleys mentioned above. Fantastic.
Overall Cogne is a family, sporty resort for lovers of big outdoors. Not a 100% skiing destination, but offers an excellent varied mix of activities and beauty, summer and winter.
Italian and French the 2 local languages. English is spoken.
Good food and fine wines from Piemont. No ugly buildings.
I have been there 15 years in a row and will return!
Oliver Sylvain
Cogne is a charming place. Stunning scenery. Big on wildlife, you see chamois and ibex, and eagles in the sky, foxes and marmottes. You can eat very well there, and the locals make a strong effort to give you an authentic experience. No big buildings, super cosy small hotels, old barns and farms along the walks. Home made food, ice creams etc...
it benefits from 4 unspoilt adjacent valleys where stunning walks are endless. You literally step out into the wilderness of the National Park from your doorstep. You can hike up to 4000m if you are a strong walker, close to glaciers, ancient forests and untouched beauty everywhere. Absolutely fantastic, without any crowd whatsoever. More often than not you'll be on your own.
In winter, it has these massive famous crosscountry ski loops in the valleys but you can also walk along,there are no roads there, plus world famous ice falls to climb,and a nursery ski slope for very little children and beginners smack in the middle of the town. Just a bit higher, requiring 10mns walk is the small downhill ski resort. One cable car, and two chairlifts take you up to 2250m. North facing, tree-lined, steep ski. Really only for intermediates. It's not long, with 700m drop and 5 or 6 pistes but the ski is of excellent quality, the scenery is superb, the grooming is good, and there is never anyone up there. Zero queues, one bar, one lovely restaurant in the forest. It is perfect for a few days. We spent a lot of time there with children and it was ideal in the sense that you cannot lose them and everybody ends up back at the bottom.
And if you get bored, or children get older, Pila is 35mins drive away. Excellent resort with stupendous views, but a bit crowded due to its situation (you can get the gondolas right from the bottom in Aosta. For more space and cruising , La Thuile/La Rosiere is the best in the region by a mile, one hour away from Cogne. Superb. Cervinia/Zermatt is the biggest highest snow-sure resort but it is almost 2hrs drive away from Cogne. I wouldn't bother with Courmayeur who has great views and err nothing else. Poor ski and horrendously expensive.
Cogne is the friendliest, cutest loveliest place around, but you have to compromise on downhill ski in winter. In summer it's the best.
Cogne's downhill skiing is for the locals more than anything however it is a great site for cross country skiing. The downhill ski area is serviced by a short gondola and a couple chair lifts and if you're lucky enough to be there when fresh powder falls it's fun for the day. The too few runs do require an intermediate skill level and there is one short run just off the gondola that maybe a little technical for intermediates. The cross country ski field starts at town centre and is easily accessible. A small children's ski area is serviced by a bunny tow and there are plenty of ski instructors available. The great thing about Cogne is that it's the gateway to the Gran Paradiso, one of Italy's great alpine national parks. The glacier and moutain peaks are clearly visible from the town centre.
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