Saint-Maurice to Martigny

Highlights

• Martigny Roman amphitheatre
• Fondation Pierre Gianadda
• Rhone Valley views

Stage conditions

Practical notes

Getting there and away

Saint-Maurice is on the Simplon line with hourly InterRegio trains between Geneva Airport and Brig, RegioExpress and RegionAlps Regio services. Martigny, 16 km up the valley, is a junction: SBB InterRegio (half-hourly Geneva Airport–Brig), RegioExpress trains, the Regio between Monthey and Brig, the Mont-Blanc Express to Vallorcine and Chamonix run by Transports de Martigny et Régions, and the Martigny–Orsières line run by RegionAlps, which is your onward route towards the pass. The Pays du Saint-Bernard gives Geneva Airport as 155 km and Turin as 150 km away.

What the season does

Best months are April to October. This is the flattest Swiss day, marked full shade and abundant water on the Rhône valley floor, so it copes with summer better than the lakeside stages. Martigny is where the route turns south into the Dranse valley, so from here your timing is governed by the pass: the hospice says the road opens from early June to mid-October depending on snow, and the stage data narrows that to July to September. Arrive in Martigny with that window in mind.

Safety on this stage

An easy 16 km with 319 m of ascent, mostly on riverside and farm lanes. Hazards are traffic where the route touches the cantonal road and the busy junction at Martigny, and cyclists on the Rhône path. The valley wind can be strong in the afternoon. This is the last easy day before four days of climbing, so use it to check gear: warm layers, waterproof and poles for the pass, and your ID for the border ahead.

Water and food

Water is marked abundant. Saint-Maurice, Evionnaz, Vernayaz and Martigny all have public fountains on the municipal supply, safe unless signed otherwise, and cafés where you can sit. The river path between villages is shaded but without services. Martigny is a proper town with supermarkets: stock up here on food for the Dranse valley, where villages are smaller and shops fewer, and on anything you need for the two days above Orsières.

Where pilgrims sleep

Our directory has no listing yet at Martigny. The Swiss Via Francigena association's list is long here: pilgrim beds at the Paroisse catholique and the Paroisse protestante, the TCS campsite, the Martigny youth hostel, and hotels from the Hôtel-Restaurant du Stand and Hôtel de la Poste to Alpes & Rhône, Vatel and Campanile, plus chambres d'hôtes in Martigny-Bourg. Carry your credential for the parish addresses and book ahead in July and August, when the town fills with pass-bound walkers.

Sources: Wikipedia — St-Maurice railway station · Wikipedia — Martigny railway station · Pays du Saint-Bernard — Location and access · Hospice du Grand-Saint-Bernard — Staying at the pass · Via Francigena Suisse — Hébergements sur la Via Francigena suisse (PDF) · Umweltcheck — Drinking fountains in Switzerland

Common questions

Walk this stage

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