Saussurea Alpine Botanical Garden
Resort: Courmayeur
Open from 21 June to 21 September from 9 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. with extended openings in July and August according to cable car closing times.
Full price 3 €
Reduced 2 € (under 15, over 65, groups of more than 10 people)
Free (children under 10)
The ticket is included in the Skyway Mont Blanc ticket.
Guided tours can be booked at a cost of 3 € per person.
The garden staff is always available for information and clarification.
The Saussurea alpine botanical garden was opened in 1987 near the mid-point station of Skyway Monte Bianco, as a tourist attraction, but then gradually gained scientific interest, owing to the subsequent introduction of the Pavillon du Mont Fréty protected area, within Espace Mont Blanc. At 2,173 metres above sea level, the garden is the highest in Europe, and gets its name from the flower “Saussurea alpina”, the Alpine Saw-wort, named after the Geneva scientists Horace Bénédict de Saussure, who was one of the promoters of the first ascent of Mont Blanc in 1786.
Saussurea covers an area of 7,000 m2. and is divided into two sections:
- in the first, all species are cultivated in artificial rock gardens, divided according to geographical origin;
- in the second, the original alpine pasture was left, and in some sections the typical environments of mountain areas have been created with many spontaneous species.
Blossoming usually begins in July, and some years it is still possible to see flowered species, especially exotic ones, at the end of September. On the whole, the garden is host to around 800 species, many of which come from other gardens and universities in Europe and beyond.
The garden can be reached via Skyway Monte Bianco (first station - Pavillon).
See also
Note - this information is not directly connected to the Cammino Balteo path but it is part of the Aosta Valley tourist offer.