The MBFF team members are 🇮🇹 big fans of Italy for holidays! As a destination from the 💦 Arve Valley, it is easy to get there through the 🚇 Mont-Blanc Tunnel and we can also book hotels and apartments last minute! Italians simply LOVE children (and not just well-behaving children; ALL children!), the food is very family-friendly (and delicious!), and there is endless nature, history and culture to explore.
We have had great fun in recent years ⛷ skiing in Courmayeur, exploring the 🏰 castles of the Aosta Valley (as well as Aosta itself!) and heading further afield towards 💦 Lago di Viverone, Lago di Orta, Lago Maggiore, Lago di Como, Piemonte, Liguria and Tuscany.
For many years, as we were heading down the 🏞 Aosta Valley, we would see an 🏰 impressive and imposing fortress, and wonder about its history . . . and finally I got around to research it. And how glad I am that I did!
We had been admiring the 🏰 Forte di Bard.
And we have never looked back! The 🏰 Forte di Bard now figures firmly on our ” places to visit this year ” list!
History of the Forte di Bard
The current 🏰 Forte di Bard was originally built by the House of Savoy in the early 1800s as a military stronghold and it has remained largely intact since its construction!
Formed by three defence stations that are positioned at different levels on the rock, the stronghold hoped to repel any army advances like that of 🇫🇷 Napoléon’s siege of 1800 (he actually succeeded in razing to the ground the original stronghold!).
A century later, the fortress eventually became army property, fell into disuse by 1975 and was then acquired by the Autonomous Region of Valle d’Aosta in 1900.
Fast forward a few decades, and a regeneration project was then conceived; opened in 2006, today visitors can enjoy:
- 🖼 incredible exhibition spaces;
- 🖼 permanent museums;
- ☕️ hospitality on-site;
. . . and all within the complex of an old fortress! The 🏰 Forte di Bard, together with the pretty medieval village of Bard, has become one of the 🖼 principal cultural centres of the Western Alps.
A family visit to the Forte di Bard
What is there to visit at the 🏰 Forte di Bard?
As well as just wandering around the fortress and exploring all the nooks and crannies, admiring the views and enjoying riding the funiculars, there are 🖼 temporary exhibitions and museums to visit at this extraordinary complex!
MUSEUMS:
🏔 The Museum of the Alps – this museum, located in the Opera Carlo Alberto (at the very top of the fortified rock!), is divided into four sections and will take you on an interactive journey through the Alps. Each section is narrated by a specialist: a naturalist, a geographer, an anthropologist and a meteorologist / ⇒ see here for more information;
🏔 Children’s Museum of the Alps (Le Alpi dei Ragazzi) – used mostly by schools, but also open to the public on 🗓 Sundays and holidays, this is an interactive museum dedicated to youngsters . . . they can even make a virtual climb of Mont-Blanc here! / ⇒ see here for more information;
🏰 Prison Museum – this permanent exhibition area in the Opera Carlo Alberto is now open to the public and the tiny prison cells provide the route through the exhibition (you can shut your kids in a cell, it’s great!). Visitors can learn about the military history of the Forte di Bard, the protagonists in this history and the architectural evolution of the fortress too / ⇒ see here for more information;
🏰 ll Ferdinando: Museo delle Fortificazioni e delle Frontiere – located in the Opera Ferdinando, on the first floor of the fortress, this museum highlights the evolution of defensive techniques, sieges and frontiers in the Alps. The museum is divided into three sections: the Museum of the Fortress and its Fortifications, 🏔 The Fortified Alps (1871 to 1846) and The Alps, a boundary? and hosts 🖼 temporary exhibitions btions;
TEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS
The 🖼 temporary exhibitions change regularly . . .
[ ⇒ see here for 🖼 current temporary exhibitions ]
📷 « Wildlife Photographer of the Year » – the Forte di Bard hosts the Natural History Museum’s « Wildlife Photographer of the Year » exhibition every year, and this year it will run until September 2020 (extended this year due to closure in March and April). The MBFF boys are big wildlife lovers, so we try to squeeze in a visit every year!
ANNUAL EVENTS
- 🗡 « Napoleonica » – an event that takes place in early September; the fort and the village of Bard re-enact Napoléon Bonaparte’s famous siege of May 1800, during the Second Italian Campaign / ⇒ see here for more information;
- « Le Marché au Fort » – the Valdostan food market takes place in October;
- 🎄 Christmas – in early December, there is a Christmas market in the village of Bard! / ⇒ see here for more information;
- 🎞 « The Avengers, the Age of Ultron » – the 🏰 Forte di Bard was used as one of the main locations for sequences in this Marvel film! / ⇒ see here for more information;
[ . . . and to see the agenda for other events, see here ]
Getting around the Forte di Bard
The 🏰 Forte di Bard is huge, but thankfully the regeneration project was tremendously well thought-out and so getting around is very easy. There are funiculars running up the exterior walls of the fortress and an inner lift too. All of this can be accessed directly from the car park.
Alternatively, you can walk up through the pretty village of Bard.
We usually choose to walk (or run) back down to the car park, to release a bit of ” young boy energy ” . . . you will be rewarded on this downhill journey with marvellous views, modern sculptures and even 🧗♂️ a small climbing wall!
Eating options at the Forte di Bard
There is a very good and affordable cafeteria at the top of the 🏰 Forte di Bard called ☕️ Caffetteria di Gola (located in the old gunpowder room) and a restaurant, la Polveriera (used for corporate events). Be sure to arrive early to the Caffetteria di Gola with small, hungry children, as it does get busy at the weekend.
The villages of Bard and Hone also have restaurants.
Hotel Cavour et des Officiers
A 🏨 hotel set right at the very top of this majestic fortress – WOW !
Our friends treated themselves to a night at this very special hotel located within the fortress, and they said the howling wind that night added to the experience! We followed suit, and treated the family to a night at this hotel a few years ago (an article to come on this very, very special experience!), to break our journey home from Tuscany! /
[ ⇒ see here for more details about the hotel ]
Bookshop & Giftshop
There is a 📚 wonderful bookshop & giftshop at the 🏰 Forte di Bard, where you can pick up books, postcards and magnets, etc . . .
Practical Information
🗓 opening hours
🏰 Forte di Bard complex:
Tuesday to Friday: 10h to 18h;
weekends: 10h to 19h;
CLOSED on Mondays and 25th December;
OPEN every day between 26th December and 6th January;
🏔 Museum of the Alps:
Tuesday to Saturday: from 10h to 18h;
Sunday and holidays: from 10h to 19h;
🏔 Il Ferdinando, Museo delle Fortificazioni e delle Frontiere:
Tuesday to Saturday: from 10h to 18h;
Sundays and holidays: from 11h to 19h;
🏰 Prison Museum:
Tuesday to Saturday: from 11h to 18h;
Sundays and holidays: from 11h to 19h;
🏔 Children’s Museum of the Alps (Le Alpi dei Ragazzi):
During the week, this museum is reserved for groups with a booking / tel: + 39 0125 833817 / Sundays and on holidays: from 11h to 19h;
💶 price
🏔 Museum of the Alps:
adults: 8€ & children: 4€;
🏔 Children’s Museum of the Alps (Le Alpi dei Ragazzi):
adults: 6€ / children (6 to 18 years): 4€ / families: reduced price for 2 adults with at least 2 children (maximum 18 years) / FREE for children under 6 years and for the disabled;
📷 « Wildlife Photographer of the Year » exhibition:
adults: 8€ & children (6 to 18 years): 5€ / FREE for children under 6 years;
🖼 temporary exhibitions:
adults: 8,50€ & children: 4€;
🏰 The Prisons Museum:
adults: 4€ & seniors (over 65s) and students: 3€;
🏰 Il Ferdinando: Museo delle Fortificazioni e delle Frontiere (Opera Ferdinando)
adults: 9€ & children (6 to 18 years): 5€;
🅿️ parking: there is a paying car park right at the foot of Forte di Bard, but if you don’t mind a short walk, then there is the FREE Lieron car parkalong the SS26 (brilliant photo opportunities along the way!). We have tried both options!
🚗 getting there: see here for more details about how to get to the Forte di Bard;
website & FB page address: Forte di Bar d, 1020 Bard (AO), Valle d'Aosta, Italy tel: +39 0125 833811
Mont Blanc Family Fun 
6 thoughts on “Forte di Bard (ITALY)”