Bardonecchia

Bardonecchia, or just Bardo among friends, is a town and comune in Piedmont in the upper Susa Valley. It is an important centre for winter sports with two ski areas: Colomion-Les Arnauds-Melezet and Jafferau. Bardonecchia is located in the center of a sunny valley, a starting point for enjoying the ski slopes in winter and the bike park in summer.

Bardonecchia is the last town in Italy before the border with France. It has a rich history, wonderful climate, and stunning views of the surrounding mountains.

Finds found on site indicate that the area was inhabited by populations of Celtic origin even before the period of Roman occupation of Gaul. Bardonecchia is mentioned for the first time in a document concerning the foundation of the Novalesa Abbey in 726. The construction of the Frejus railway tunnel to connect Turin to France railway tunnel gave Bardonecchia the status of a border town. This caused the population increase due to the presence of law enforcement agencies (railway police and others, Carabinieri, Guardia di Finanza), and customs officials, transport agencies, and railway personnel.

In February 2006 Bardonecchia was one of the venues of the XX Winter Olympic Games, for which it hosted the snowboarding competitions; it was also home to one of the three Olympic villages. In January 2007 it hosted the alpine skiing and snowboarding competitions of the 2007 Turin Winter Universiade.

• Official website (Italian and English)

Approximately 85 km west of Turin, Bardonecchia is notable as the only ski resort that can be reached directly from Turin by train, making it a popular weekend getaway. Weekdays outside the holiday season are much quieter.

• 45.0766676.711 Bardonecchia Station. Train station serviced by both Italian long distance trains and regular commuter trains to Turin. To get to Torino Porta Nuova generally takes about an hour and a half and costs €8.20. In the summer and winter peak seasons, there is one daily Frecciarossa high-speed service direct from Rome and Milan on F Sa Su only.  (updated Jul 2026)

Bardonecchia is served by the A32 Turin-Bardonecchia motorway through the Frejus road tunnel.

• 45.0712716.7108831 Bramafam Fort (Forte Bramafam), Strada Nazionale Al Castello 2. Open every day in August, and Sundays in Jun Jul Sep Oct. Ancient castle, from which the 19th-century fort inherited its name. Used as a fortification to defend the square whose cannons pointed both towards the entrance of the railway tunnel and towards the road coming from the narrow valley, it is now used as a museum.  (updated Jul 2024)

Bardonecchia is a major ski destination with more than 100 km of slopes across two areas, both of which are equipped with artificial snow systems . In addition to these there is an Olympic Half Pipe, a snow park, a boardercross, 17 km of cross-country ski trails and 10 km of marked trails for snowshoes.

Tickets valid for all slopes are available from Bardonecchia Ski. Peak season day passes start from €49/day for adults.

• Colomion-Les Arnauds-Melezet ski area has 15 ski lifts; highest point reached 2,400 m above sea level from the Vallon Cros ski lift. The main access point from Bardonecchia is 45.0708446.6952561 Campo Smith on the southern edge of town, the starting point of the Smith 4 ski lift and home to ski-in/out apartments, rental shops, baby lifts for beginners, etc.

• Jafferau ski area has six ski lifts; the highest point reached is at 2,700 m above sea level. This ski area can be reached via the 45.0816.71332 Telecabina Jafferau (Frejusia) gondola to the east of train station.