Aosta with kids: all you need to know to visit this pretty mountain town as a family

Family travel guide to help you plan a visit to Aosta with kids: why visit, where to stay, best things to do.

The town of Aosta is a pretty, off the beaten track, pleasant mountain town in the north-west of Italy, at the heart of the beautiful mountain region by the same name: Val d’Aosta.

Originally built in ancient Roman times, Aosta is a small center with beautiful Roman ruins and pretty streets.

More urban and further away from Mont Blanc than nearby Courmayeur, Aosta gets less tourism than its famous neighbor and has significantly lower prices too, yet it is worth visiting: the city itself is lovely and it works as a good base to explore the area.

We have visited Aosta with the kids last time in the winter, when we used it as a base to enjoy the snow in Pila, Aosta’s ski station with a nice snow park for kids, and enjoyed our stay very much.

My heart is still on the Dolomites, if I am to be fully honest, but we really liked the town of Aosta, adored the Roman ruins, and found Pila a very handy option for getting to the snow without the need for a car.

In this travel guide, I share all out tips to visit Aosta with kids!

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Why visit Aosta with kids

We enjoyed Aosta and would recommend a visit if:

You want to reach the snow from Turin but do not have a car

You want a snow park for kids, where non skiers can have a taste of the snow

You want to see the beautiful Roman ruins of Aosta, a fantastic examples of Roman architecture outside of Rome’s immediate surroundings.

We found Aosta to be a pleasant place to be for a couple of days or a fantastic stop if road tripping between Italy and France (this is how we visited the first time!)

Need to know: Aosta is a small town. If you are planning to stay more than a couple of days I recommend you get a car and drive from Turin or Milan, so you can access the rest of this beautiful region, as this would give more entertainment options. You can check car rental options and prices on DiscoverCars

Best kid-friendly things to do in Aosta town

The best things to do in Aosta with kids depend on the season.

In summer, the top things are:

Visit Aosta city center and see the Roman ruins: the archaeological area is small yet impressive, so kids can easily feel the awe of the place without getting overwhelmed or bored.

No guided tour is needed for ruins: you can get tickets there and then and explore in your own time.

Good to know! You can download a budget friendly audioguide to the city here, which give all the info you may want to familiarize with the city and its history without having to commit to specif times or someone else’s pace. Not a must as Aosta is easy to visit on your own but an easy way to learn some background about it.

Get the cable car to Pila for the Pila Adventure Park, with adventure trails and treetop trails for kids from 1,3mt height Info >> https://pila.it/parco-avventura/

Enjoy the town playgrounds: there several small playgrounds in the city with climbing frames, slides etc

Hike the Tsatelet Natural Reserve, easy to reach from the city and a lvoely natural setting with kids playgrunds and play areas. https://www.lovevda.it/en/database/7/one-day-excursions/aosta/hiking-to-lo-tsatelet-natural-reserve/1025

Go ice skating in Aosta Palaghiaccio http://www.artoniceaosta.it/Palaghiaccio_di_Aosta/Benvenuto.html

In winter, you can:

Enjoy Aosta’s warm and cozy interiors with a slice of cake and hot chocolate in one of the many local cafes

Visit Aosta city center Roman ruins: they are easy to access even in winter as they are right in the town. You do not need to book ahead and can just get tickets there and then, no tour needed.

Take the cable car to Pila, where you can go snow shoeing, enjoy the baby snow park, take a ski lesson.

Pila was the reason for our winter trip and we were pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to reach the snow from Aosta.

The city is connected to Pila by a cable car which bring you up in 18 minutes and can take 4/5 people per carriage. The bottom station is walking distance from the train station and there is a well equipped shop just at the basis of it where you can rent skis and buy essentials such as sunglasses or sun screen, should you have forgotten them.

Up in Pila you find several informal food places, the baby snowpark, shops to rent snowshoes and ski school.

Need to know: Pisa is popular at weekends so if you want to secure a skiing class, it is best to book.

Ice skate in the Palaghiaccio, http://www.artoniceaosta.it/Palaghiaccio_di_Aosta/Benvenuto.html

Visit Aosta’s Chrismas market, Marché Vert Noël: the market happens in beautiful , Piazza Chanoux, 1, and has pretty stalls with craft and food. Official info and schedule: https://www.lovevda.it/it/banca-dati/2/artigianato-fiere-mercatini/aosta/mercatino-di-natale-marche-vert-noel/22493

Family hotel in Aosta

We stayed in a lovely family hotel in Aosta city called Omama. The hotel has lovely family rooms and funky, super colorful decor that is fun for kids and adults.

The breakfast is generous and buffet-style, served in a large room where you can get a family table or a larger one to share with other guests.

The hotel has restaurants in front, it is walking distance from the Aosta train station, the base station of the cable car to Pila and Aosta city center where you find more restaurants, shops, cafes and services.

Family friendly restaurants in Aosta

You can bring kids pretty much anywhere in Aosta, but two addresses you may particularly enjoy are

Il Vicolo – reaxed, informal and cozy local restaurant in Aosta city center, very good value for money. The four of us had different dishes and both the pasta ones and meat dishes were excellent. Address: Via Sant’Anselmo 49, 11100 Aosta

La Bottegaccia – cosy restaurant with a warm and rustic interior yet well presented, delicious platters of cheese and cured meats, plus lovely wine suggestions for the adults! Address: Via Sant’Anselmo, 90, 11100 Aosta AO, Italy

How to get to Aosta without a car

Aosta is well connected to Milan and Turin by train and since the station is right in the city center, is easy to visit without a car.

Our itinerary included one night in Aosta and two nights in Turin, which allowed us to see Aosta town, ski in Pila, and visit Turin’s highlights and top museums. A lovely, off the beaten track weekend trip idea!