The 2026 edition of “Plaisirs de Culture en Vallée d’Aoste” runs from 19 to 27 September, under the theme “Patrimonio a rischio. Rinnovare, resistere, reinventare”. The region promotes the festival as part of the European Heritage Days.

Fondation Grand Paradis is taking part with the trail “Ciò che resta”: Castello di Introd, which survived two fires and was rebuilt, and Châtel-Argent in Villeneuve, a ruin that remains landscape. Director Luisa Vuillermoz describes heritage as a living form, not motionless matter.

Guided visits at Introd, “L’armonia della trasformazione continua”, are on Saturday 19, Sunday 20 and Sunday 27 September at 14:30. At Châtel-Argent, “Il valore culturale delle rovine” is on Saturday 26 September, also at 14:30. The meeting point is the wooden chalet at the Villeneuve car park; in bad weather the ruin visit is cancelled.

The tours last about two hours and cost €5 with the reduced Fondation Pass. Booking is compulsory on grand-paradis.it, with limited places. The festival’s general programme does not guarantee entry without a reservation.

The regional calendar is wider than these four dates: dozens of initiatives at castles, museums and sites, with free or reduced entry, in several municipalities. Each site has its own time, tour language and access rules.

Practical information should come from the organiser, not from the festival title. Alpine weather and site capacity can change the timetable from one day to the next.

Image: Castello di Introd / Wikimedia Commons. A winter view of the monument, not a Plaisirs de Culture group. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Per “Ciò che resta” – Plaisirs de Culture 2026 | Fondation Grand Paradis; Cultura | Regione autonoma Valle d'Aosta.