Martigny Youth Hostel – the ideal accommodation for groups

This year, we were look­ing for a suit­able des­ti­na­tion and group accom­mo­da­tion for a leg­endary club out­ing. Our Sportvere­in Ried-Brig opt­ed for a youth hos­tel. Mar­tigny Youth Hos­tel opened its doors at the end of Feb­ru­ary 2025. You can tell from the mod­ern fur­nish­ings and the oth­er guests. Imme­di­ate­ly upon arrival, we get to know oth­er trav­ellers who are just as curi­ous and are here for the first time. As coach­es of var­i­ous sports groups, we look for­ward to spend­ing an active week­end togeth­er in Mar­tigny.

Nach dem Eincheck­en und dem Bezug unser­er 4‑Bett-Zim­mer erkun­den wir die gemütliche Gasse, in der sich die geschicht­strächtige Unterkun­ft befind­et. Die Strasse mit den bun­ten Häuschen ist gesät mit tra­di­tionellen Handw­erk­slä­den, Cafés und Restau­rants. Am Abend lassen wir uns von der Hos­tel Man­agerin Anouk mit frischen herzhaften und süssen Crêpes ver­wöh­nen. Das Aben­dessen, so erzählt Anouk, wird nur auf Wun­sch und Vor­reser­va­tion für Grup­pen und Schulen ange­boten.

Anschliessend gibt es auf der gemütlichen Jugi-Ter­rasse bei angenehmen Som­mertem­per­a­turen noch ein paar Run­den Brän­di Dog, bevor wir uns auf eine ruhige Nacht freuen.

Hikes, vineyards and Valais raclette

Hik­ing tour through the Tren­to Gorge

After a deli­cious break­fast buf­fet, we set off for our three-hour hike from Ver­nayaz. The route takes us to view­points, through the impres­sive Tren­to Gorge and back at a relaxed pace through a wood­land to Mar­tigny. We enjoy our packed lunch­es from the youth hos­tel right by the Dranse, the riv­er that mean­ders through nature and the small town.

Off to the Valais vine­yards

We want to find out more about the well-known Valais wine region. Thanks to Karin, our pas­sion­ate tour guide, we learn all about the his­to­ry of the grapevines, the local wine-grow­ing prac­tices, the pro­duc­tion process as well as the way of life of the wine­grow­ers. Of course, a small tast­ing at the end is a must😊. The tour can be booked eas­i­ly via Mar­tigny Tourism.

Raclette du Valais

The next high­light awaits us in the mid­dle of the vine­yards and with an insane­ly great view of the entire Tren­to Val­ley. We made a reser­va­tion at Plan-Cerisi­er, which was rec­om­mend­ed to us. It’s Sat­ur­day evening and the restau­rant is very full. We’re served deli­cious Valais raclette and enjoy count­less por­tions. The tra­di­tion­al menu is round­ed off with an apri­cot sor­bet. What a great day!

Guid­ed tour of his­toric Mar­tigny

On today’s agen­da is a guid­ed tour of Mar­tigny. Over the course of almost two hours, we learn lots of excit­ing infor­ma­tion about the super inter­est­ing his­to­ry of the city. We vis­it places that we would prob­a­bly nev­er have dis­cov­ered on our own. Var­i­ous exca­va­tions and the Fon­da­tion Pierre Gianad­da tell many anec­dotes and make the past come alive before our eyes. Our over­all impres­sion: The Romans also seem to have felt very at home in the region.

Our high­light: The Mithraeum

An under­ground tem­ple in the heart of the Roman town of Mar­tigny: the Mithraeum. Hid­den under a mod­ern build­ing, it tells the sto­ries of mys­te­ri­ous rit­u­als and ancient gods. We can almost feel the ancient past and the mys­ti­cal atmos­phere of this spe­cial place.

The amphithe­atre

The amphithe­atre on the out­skirts of the city is not only an impres­sive exam­ple of ancient archi­tec­ture, but now a live­ly venue for open-air cin­e­ma, con­certs and tra­di­tion­al cow fights. We set­tle down here, enjoy our lunch and let our­selves be enchant­ed by the past.

Now it’s time to say good­bye. For every­one in our group, one thing is cer­tain: we will be back. The region around Mar­tigny is so var­ied and beau­ti­ful. With moun­tains, his­to­ry, cul­ture, fine food and wine, the region has every­thing you need for an unfor­get­table trip.

About the author

As a qual­i­ty spe­cial­ist, Jojo likes to push bound­aries both pro­fes­sion­al­ly and in his hob­bies. For him, noth­ing com­pares to the joy and shin­ing eyes when he achieves his per­son­al goals and dreams or even sur­pass­es them – a great reward for his day-to-day work. He reg­u­lar­ly finds peace and tran­quil­li­ty in nature. He enjoys climb­ing, hik­ing, swim­ming, canyon­ing or paraglid­ing with good friends. A good, cosy meal is also always wel­come.