Aosta

Aosta is a real working alpine capital, not a resort: a compact Roman city of around 34,000 on the valley floor at 583 m, ringed by the highest peaks in the Alps.

Its old core is a genuine surprise. The Arch of Augustus still stands at the eastern gate, a Roman theatre holds summer concerts under open sky, the original city walls run three sides of the centre, and an underground cryptoporticus from the first century BC runs beneath the piazza. All of it is walkable from anywhere in town.