From immemorial time Orsières has lived in the shadow of the Great St. Bernard pass, nestled at 2473 meters. The Via Francigena that connected Canterbury to Rome passes right here. Once in the village, some spend the night on one of the mattresses of the Gîte Accueil Saint Bernard, the welcome center for hikers open all year round, next to the Saint-Nicolas church. Those looking for more comfort are warmly welcomed by the comfortable hotels and B & Bs in the village. So the next day, fresh and polished, they continue their journey towards Liddes and Bourg Saint Pierre, the last stage towards the final stretch of the Gran San Bernardo, the highest point of the Francigena.
To discover the riches of Orsières, we invite you to start the route from the bridge of Bourgeal, made of magnificent local granite stones. The old town along the Dranse River, with the Saint-Nicolas church, the bell tower and the houses along the main street, is surrounded by old barns. The Châtelard bridge, on the other hand, also made of granite, leads to the district of the same name on the left bank of the river. Today on these roads the modern pilgrims of the Via Francigena walk, perhaps unaware of following in the footsteps left by the imposing army of Napoleon Bonaparte passing through Orsières between 16 and 20 May 1800. Crossing the Dranse River again, the Remise du Grand-Saint-Bernard is clearly visible, the large building built in 1840 located at the southern end of the town. Turning left, past the school, you will arrive at the Entremont et Nature Association where you can visit the current exhibitions. The road then descends towards the church of Saint-Nicolas or gives a view of excellently preserved old granaries. Turning to the right instead, you arrive in Rue Centrale. Very suggestive rue de la Commune, where the architecture has preserved the character of the old village, and the former Hôtel des Alpes, a building under artistic protection whose history is an integral part of the country. Finally, the itinerary leads back to the Saint-Nicolas church, the heart of Orsières.
The church of San Nicolas, a temple with very pure lines built at the end of the 19th century on two previous artifacts (12th and 15th centuries), with a diagonal bell tower of the 11th century lightened by mullioned windows and three-light windows where mysterious heads and zoomorphic reliefs appear, among the most belle of Valais, is the ancient spiritual lighthouse of the city. Once inside, the faithful are immediately enveloped by the mysticism that exudes from the polychrome stained glass windows created in the 1960s by Paul Monnier. The octagonal baptismal font (1691) with the heads of angels, plant motifs and the two images of Christ and St. John the Baptist and the pulpit (1735) with the figure of Samson supporting its weight deserve attention, perhaps the work of Jean Baptiste Bozzo.
Maurice Tornay was born in the nearby hamlet of La Rosière. The martyr priest, a missionary in China in the 1940s, proclaimed blessed in 1993 by Pope John Paul II, was killed because he preached the Catholic religion in Tibet. the blessed future did what everyone was doing: he grazed the flock at 1700 meters above sea level and looked after a small vineyard on the hills of Fully. In addition to work, however, little Maurice retired from time to time to meditate in the woods. And every week he faced rugged mule tracks, a sort of interior Via Francigena, to go to confession right in the church of Orsières. La Rosière, his native village, hasn't changed much since then: old houses, quiet streets, centenary wooden barns where crops and hay were once accumulated for the animals, the seventeenth-century Baroque altar in the Chapel of Saint-Anne. A well-marked path has taken its name, Bienheureux Maurice Tornay, a sort of inner path along which we pray and meditate. It starts from the center of Orsières, near the church, where a permanent exhibition traces the life of the Blessed One and after an hour and thirty minutes of walking marked by didactic panels, arrives at La Rosière.
Champex-Lac, a magical place, surrounded by mountain scenery so immaculate that it is defined as a small Swiss Canada.You will find a lake of turquoise waters, fir forests, wooden chalets, low, boundless skies. It is here, at an altitude of 1500 m, that you can take regenerating walks.
Today the dogs are bred in Martigny but the placid four-legged ones not infrequently pull sleds crowded with children near the lake of Champex. In summer, however, they are led on a leash at a slow pace, in the woods, while the lake glitters beyond the trees and the peaks of the Grand Combin stand out in the distance.
The garden was established in 1927 by the wealthy industrialist Jean Marcel Aubert. It houses more than 4000 plants, not only belonging to the local mountain territory but also to the alpine flora of Europe and other continents. You walk like in a fairy tale, among rhododendrons, camellias and wild roses, along wonderful paths between rocks, bridges and ponds.
On the other side of the lake, at an altitude of 1450 m, there is one of the most incredible artifacts of military engineering, the Fort d'Artillerie de Champex-Lac, a sort of underground fortress, entirely dug into the rock between October 1941 and December 1942. In an unreal atmosphere you can see the casemates, the cannons, the lodgings, the engine room, the water tank, the ammunition depots, the old machinery, the operating room and the infirmary.
In the ideal microclimate of Orsières, mild and dry, herbs and medicinal plants sprout. They are used for the production of excellent iced tea, different types of herbal teas, spices and natural cosmetics. In addition, expert local producers live in the area and produce various gastronomic excellences: mountain honey, rye bread baked in the common oven, local Hérens meat, sausages, game pate, dried meat, raw ham and, of course, the famous raclette cheese. produced by the dairy at the northern entrance of the town. The fondue, the fried soup and the St. Bernard cake should also be tasted.
The small hamlet of La Fouly in whose mountain pastures genuine cheeses are still produced using traditional methods, is nestled among pristine landscapes, overlooking the Dolent, Tour Noir and the ArNeuve glacier. Of course, being along the Tour du Mont Blanc route, it is also a sort of Mecca for passionate hikers: there are treks of varying length and difficulty. Even a path suspended between the trees where children feel like little Indiana Jones.
