Martigny

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Introduction

Martigny is a city in the southwest of Switzerland and is the second biggest city in the canton of Wallis. It is located along the Rhone at an elevation of almost 500 meters above sea level. It has about 15,000 inhabitants and the city has a beautiful location at the foot of high mountain ranges and is the base for further travelling south towards the Italian border over the Grand St. Bernard Pass and towards Chamonix in France over the Col de la Forclaz.

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

• The Amphitheatre constructed in 2nd to 4th century AD is a symbol of the old town. Built in a simple style, it could hold upto 5000 spectators who came to see the violent games played there.
• Batiaz Bridge, made of wood was first built in 1349, but was swept away in subsequent floods. This was rebuilt by a local carpenter in 1823
• Trient Gorge is a deep gorge cut into the rocks with a 187 metre high bridge of concrete. Another gorge named Durnand Gorge is just south of the town and can be accessed by 1 km long path with tunnels, steps and bridges.
• Town Hall Stained Glass window was created by Edmond Bille in 1948 and is the largest stained glass window in Switzerland.
• Museum Fondation Pierre Gianadda houses archaeological finds, paintings, music, sculptors and vintage cars and is a must visit for any art enthusiast.
• St. Bernard Museum is dedicated to the St. Bernard pass and dogs. There is even a St. Bernard dog hospital!
• Fondation Tissieres stages exhibition on geosciences and constructive tourism. The reconstruction of a mine can also be viewed in the basement.
• Evionnaz Labyrinth is one of the biggest in the world with over 18,000 plants and featuring other attractions.
• Leonardo da Vinci exhibition

Events and Festivals

Weather

Martigny has summers from June to September with temperatures around 24 or 25 degrees Celcius during the day on average. Temperatures ranges from 35 to below 15 though, so be prepared for hot weather or even cool rainy weather in the middle of summer. Winter is from December to February with mostly temperatures above zero during the day, although in the mountains it usually freezes and snows.

Getting There

By Plane

The closest airports with a significant number of flights throughout Europe are the Euro Airport near Basel and the Geneva Airport.
The Euro Airport Mulhouse/Freiburg/Basel has most flights with many lowcostairlines serving the area, including flights to Turkey, other southern Europe destinations as well as many cities throughout the west and central parts of the continent.
The Geneva Cointrin Airport has more flights, including lots of flights to places outside Europe. It also has many flights with lowcostairlines like Easyjet.

By Train

There are trains in eastern direction towards Sion and the Rhone Valley and west towards Lausanne and Geneva. A local train goes north to Le Chable, with connections to Verbier.
Check the Swiss Railways for more information.

From Chamonix-Mont Blanc train station the Mont Blanc Express narrow-gauge train travels between Saintt-Gervais-le Fayet, 23 kilometres west of Chamonix, to Martigny, stopping en route in Les Houches, Chamonix and Argentière. There are nine to 12 return trips a day taking roughly 40 minutes.

By Car

Martigny can be reacheb along highway number 9 from Lausanne/Lake Geneva. It continues down the Rhone Valley towards Sion, Leuk and Brig.
South and southwest are mountain roads toward Italy and France (towards Chamonix over the Col de Montets).

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