Ten reasons to spend your holidays at our new Martigny Youth Hostel

Just in time for the «Car­naval du Bourg», Mar­tigny Youth Hos­tel opened its doors on 28 Feb­ru­ary 2025. A new open­ing is always an expe­ri­ence! And so we head­ed straight to the Valais and will reveal ten rea­sons why you should def­i­nite­ly spend your next hol­i­day at our youth hos­tel.

1. Observe people from the lounge

One true high­light of the youth hos­tel is the styl­ish lounge, which is the per­fect place to relax with its mod­ern design and arm­chairs in earth tones. The spa­cious win­dows give you a per­fect view of Rue du Bourg and allow you to observe the hus­tle and bus­tle of the street. The win­dows can be opened wide, allow­ing fresh air to flow into the room.

2. Discovery tour through the Quartier du Vieux Bourg

Almost like an unwrit­ten law, you are inevitably drawn out­side. The charm­ing alley on the doorstep, with its var­i­ous bou­tiques, gal­leries, bak­eries, cafes and bars, invites you to take a stroll. An aper­i­tif in one of the cafes gives you some insight into life in Mar­tigny. The «Quarti­er du vieux Bourg» is the old­est inhab­it­ed part of the city and is full of sto­ries from times past.

3. Restaurant tip: Mezzeshop

«Shar­ing is car­ing» – this goes for both food and insid­er tips. The Mezzeshop, just five min­utes from our hos­tel, is a gourmet par­adise. At lunchtime, you can help your­self from the buf­fet for CHF 27. The mezze are fresh­ly pre­pared, and your plate will be emp­ty in no time. While you’re there, make sure to try the «Fatay­er bel sbénegh». These are tri­an­gu­lar dumplings filled with spinach and pine nuts.

4. Plan-Cerisier walk

For an out­ing to the coun­try­side, we rec­om­mend a vis­it to the ham­let of Plan-Cerisi­er. This pro­tect­ed place, which is part of the Inven­to­ry of Swiss Her­itage Sites, exudes a spe­cial sense of calm and seren­i­ty. As you stroll through the exten­sive vine­yards, past charm­ing hous­es with stone roofs, you can also enjoy the breath­tak­ing view of Mar­tigny and the sur­round­ing moun­tains.

5. Roman amphitheatre

The Roman amphithe­atre in Mar­tigny is a true land­mark of the city. It can accom­mo­date up to 5,000 spec­ta­tors and today is best known for var­i­ous events such as the Open Air Cin­e­ma. When there’s no event going on, be sure to stand in the mid­dle of the amphithe­atre and sing your favourite song – the reverb will make you the star of your own show!

6. Visit to the Fondation Pierre Gianadda

The Fon­da­tion Pierre Gianad­da is a cul­tur­al gem. Engi­neer and art patron Léonard Gianad­da found­ed it to com­mem­o­rate his late broth­er Pierre. The cul­tur­al cen­tre has a vari­ety of exhi­bi­tions, includ­ing a sculp­ture park and a col­lec­tion of his­toric vin­tage cars. A per­fect place to spend a relax­ing day, espe­cial­ly when the weath­er isn’t coop­er­at­ing.

7. Boulangerie Les Délices

The Boulan­gerie Les Délices is the per­fect place for a snack between meals. Here, you will not only find fresh baked goods, but also nib­bles such as soups, tarts and sal­ads. For dessert, you can choose from a wide selec­tion of del­i­ca­cies. Very bud­get-friend­ly and incred­i­bly tasty!

8. Chateau de la Bâtiaz

A short but worth­while climb takes you to the Château de la Bâti­az. The cas­tle tow­ers over the city and is firm­ly anchored in the town­scape of Mar­tigny. From here, you have a spec­tac­u­lar view of the city and the sur­round­ing val­ley. Pro tip: Take your dessert from the boulan­gerie and enjoy a relax­ing after­noon on the hill.

9. Visit to the Morand distillery

The Dis­til­lerie Morand is a true Mec­ca for lovers of fine spir­its and aro­mat­ic syrups. The prod­ucts made from Valais Williams pears and Luizet apri­cots are par­tic­u­lar­ly well known. In the bou­tique, you can dis­cov­er a vari­ety of prod­ucts, with the colour­ful syrups in the large glass bot­tles attract­ing quite the atten­tion. One high­light: At the back of the store, you can sam­ple the dif­fer­ent flavours for free. And in sum­mer, the syrup foun­tain out­side the door invites you to try some­thing new.

10. Jazz concerts in summer

Sum­mer in Mar­tigny is one of a kind. When the warm months begin, the city shines with Mediter­ranean flair. Worth men­tion­ing are the «Jeud­is Jazzy» jazz con­certs, which take place every Thurs­day and fill the city’s streets with music and life.