2 Best Sights in Valais, Switzerland

Breasting the formidable barrier of the Alps at 8,101 feet, this pass is the oldest and most famous of the great Alpine crossings, and the first to join Rome and Byzantium to the wilds of the north. Used for centuries before the birth of Christ, it has witnessed an endless stream of emperors, knights, and simple travelers. Napoléon took an army of 40,000 across it en route to Marengo, where he defeated the Austrians in 1800.

In operation since the Middle Ages, the monk-run L'Hospice du Grand St-Bernard has played host to kings, princes, and writers like Charles Dickens. Within these walls you'll find cozy, inexpensive guest rooms and a stone dining hall where you can revive yourself with bowls of warm soup, slabs of creamy Bagnes cheese, honey-sweetened tea, and carafes of red Dôle wine produced in the Valais. The facility includes an excellent museum with exhibits about the history of the pass and the devoted monks of the Order of St. Augustine, who live here. Displays of church treasures—chalices, crosses, and altar clothes in gold, silver, and jewels—are on view in another wing. The bones in the crypt add a macabre touch. The fresco-bedecked baroque church remains open for daily prayers.