Martigny Webcam – See La Batiaz Castle by Day and Night

The Martigny Webcam looks across to La Batiaz castle, the medieval round tower that stands on a rocky spur above the La Batiaz district of Martigny, in the Swiss canton of Valais. The keep and the lower walls beside it sit low in the middle of the frame. To the left, a slope of vineyard terraces and trees climbs away from the castle rock, and on the right a steep, rocky mountainside rises out of the picture. Sky fills the top half, so the weather sets the mood: thin morning haze, flat grey cloud, or clean blue by early afternoon. After dark the castle is floodlit and the camera switches to black and white, leaving the pale tower glowing against an unlit hillside.

About Martigny and La Batiaz Castle

Martigny lies on the floor of the Rhone valley at 471 meters (1,545 feet), at the point where the river turns ninety degrees to the north. The Dranse, which drains the southern Valais Alps, runs through the town and joins the Rhone there. The municipality had 18,291 residents at the end of 2020, on an area of 24.97 square kilometers (9.64 square miles), and it sits about 33 kilometers (21 miles) south-southeast of Montreux.

Rome got here early. Servius Galba conquered the settlement of Octodurus in 57 BC, and under the emperor Claudius, between AD 41 and 47, it became Forum Claudii Vallensium. Temples, houses and baths from that town can still be seen, along with a Roman amphitheatre that was restored in 1978 and now hosts cow fights in early autumn.

The castle on camera is younger. The bishops of Sion are thought to have built the first castle on the rock in the 13th century, and Count Peter II of Savoy added the round tower between 1260 and 1268. The site guarded the route to the Great St Bernard pass, passed from Savoy to the bishops and back again, and was taken by Valais forces during the Burgundian Wars. Men loyal to Georges Supersaxo burned it in 1518, during his power struggle with Matthieu Schiner, and it was never rebuilt. The ruin was restored in 1980 and now keeps replicas of six medieval siege engines, among them a trebuchet, a mangonel and a bombard.

Weather and Climate in Martigny

The closest long-term MeteoSwiss normals come from Sion, about 27 kilometers (17 miles) up the valley at 482 meters (1,581 feet), and they describe a dry, sunny valley. January averages highs of 5 C (41 F) and lows of minus 3 C (27 F), while July reaches 27.4 C (81 F) by day and falls to 14.5 C (58 F) at night. Only about 583 millimeters (23 inches) of precipitation falls in an average year, and the sun shines for around 2,158 hours.

Spring and autumn are mild, with April highs near 17.6 C (64 F), October highs near 16.9 C (62 F), and nights of 5 to 6 C (41 to 43 F) in both months. On camera, autumn shows first in the trees around the castle rock and on the vineyard slope, which turn from green to yellow and orange. Winter can bring snow down to the valley floor, dusting the terraces and the rocky slopes behind the tower. Mornings can start hazy, as they did in mid-October, before the sky clears to blue around midday. Night views are monochrome all year, with the floodlit castle as the only bright point in the frame.

Things to Do Near Martigny

La Batiaz castle opens to visitors in summer, with the siege engines on show, a tavern, and a view over Martigny from the top of the tower. It can be reached on foot or by a free shuttle. The district below it is reached over the Pont de la Batiaz, a roofed wooden bridge across the Dranse that the Martigny tourist office describes as the last wooden bridge in Valais still open to vehicles. For a longer walk, the Terraced Vineyard Trail is a signed route through the vineyard terraces around the town.

In the town itself, the Fondation Pierre Gianadda was built around the remains of a Roman temple and combines a Gallo-Roman museum, a car museum and three painting exhibitions a year. Barryland, on Rue du Levant, is a museum devoted to the St Bernard dogs of the Great St Bernard pass, with live dogs as part of the visit. The Barry Foundation in Martigny took over breeding them in 2005. For a day out, narrow-gauge trains run from Martigny to Chamonix in France in about an hour and a half, and the road south over the Great St Bernard pass leads to Aosta in Italy.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Martigny located?

Martigny is in the canton of Valais in southwestern Switzerland, on the floor of the Rhone valley at 471 meters (1,545 feet), where the river bends north. It lies about 27 kilometers (17 miles) down the valley from Sion.

What can you see on the Martigny Webcam?

La Batiaz castle on its rocky spur, with the round keep built between 1260 and 1268 standing above the lower walls. Vineyard terraces and trees climb the slope on the left, a steep, rocky mountainside rises on the right, and the sky above them shows the day’s weather.

Does the Martigny webcam show Place Centrale, the station or the motorway?

No. The camera is trained on La Batiaz castle and the slopes around it, so Place Centrale, the train station, the motorway and the rest of the town center are all out of frame.

Is Martigny in France or Switzerland?

Martigny is in Switzerland, in the canton of Valais, and French is the language spoken in the town. France is close, though: Chamonix is about an hour and a half away by narrow-gauge train.

What is the weather like in Martigny?

Dry and sunny for the Alps. At the MeteoSwiss station in Sion, January days average 5 C (41 F) and July days 27.4 C (81 F), with about 583 millimeters (23 inches) of precipitation a year.

Why is the Martigny Webcam black and white at night?

After dark the camera switches to black and white, a common low-light mode for security-style cameras. The castle is floodlit, so the tower stays clearly visible while the hillside around it goes dark. Full color returns once the morning light is strong enough.

Can you visit La Batiaz castle?

Yes. The castle opens in summer, with replica siege engines, a tavern and a view from the top of the tower. It can be reached on foot or by a free shuttle.

How far is Martigny from Chamonix?

About an hour and a half by narrow-gauge train, which runs from Martigny over the border into France.

Source: Webcam Martigny