🇮🇹 Hiking Near Turin – The Affordable Dolomites Alternative

You can also title it: #Milan #Turin Summer #Hiking Spot · Perfect Summer Escape A stunning route – our destination was Lac Vert 💚 (A breathtaking lake with colors reminiscent of Jiuzhaigou!) Along the way, you’ll see what I call the "budget version of the Dolomites" – and yes, I just made that up, so take it with a grain of salt 😉 The first half of the hike is in 🇮🇹 #Italy, the second half in 🇫🇷 #France It felt surreal – people greeting us with both "Ciao" and "Bonjour" along the trail 😄 This route is super convenient for students like me without a car 🚶‍♀️🎒 📌 Tip 1: Bring €10 in cash. You can buy water or cold drinks at the mountain bar 🍹– there's no signal and no WiFi, so card payments aren’t possible. 📌 Tip 2: Right after leaving Bardonecchia train station, grab a 1.5L water bottle from the Carrefour by the station. You’ll sweat a LOT 💦, and 500ml won’t be enough. There’s free mountain spring water 💧 further up – icy cold and sweet – but no refill spots early on. 📌 Tip 3: Bring your own snacks – a McDonald’s burger 🍔, biscuits, or bread. There’s nowhere to buy food up there. 👩🏻‍🌾 My route that day: Took the 11:15 AM train from Torino Porta Nuova → Bardonecchia (€8.9 💶) Walked from the station to Hotel La Betulla Hopped on Linea 3 bus (free in this town!) to the final stop – saved about 3.5km of walking 🚌 You could also take Linea A to the end (€5 💶), but it runs only once an hour. We skipped it since the timing didn’t work – plus taking it would’ve made the hike too short! From there, we hiked 2-3km uphill along the road 🏔️. Follow signs for "Long ruisseau de la Vallée Étroite." After about 1.5 hours, you’ll reach a stream and wide meadows – a perfect picnic spot 🧺! People were camping and grilling here. A bit further, you’ll spot cute stone-and-wood huts and a bar 🛖 with 🇮🇹🇫🇷🇪🇺 flags flying. Just 30 more minutes → Lac Vert! #Europe #StudyInItaly #HikingTrails #TravelSmart #NatureEscape #AlpsAdventure