Gryon, Switzerland to Northern Italy, day trip (or one night)
Jul 28th, 2011, 06:49 AM
#1
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Gryon, Switzerland to Northern Italy, day trip (or one night)
We will be staying at a friend's holiday apartment in Gryon, Switzerland the middle of September. She has a car and is willing to drive us around to just about anything we'd like. We're working on a variety of things we'd like to do, but this post is specifically about visiting Italy.
One of the things we're discussing is a day-trip into Italy. My friend says Torino is probably a couple of hours drive away, and we could go there if we like. That's one possibility, as is not going quite that far and stopping in a smaller locale a bit closer, and spending the day exploring. We are also discussing driving down and spending the night at a small B&B (our treat to our friend), and having most of two days to explore some corner of Northern Italy. So I'm posting here in the hope of narrowing down our options a bit.
A bit about us: we're not in great physical shape, but we do like short/easy hikes and walks through natural beauty. We are very very fond of natural beauty and wonders. We like science, some industry, cottage industry, history, agriculture, and food a whole lot. We are not especially interested in art, but we do enjoy local crafts. We prefer buying directly from local sources, where possible, and contributing to local economies. We're interested in being exposed to local culture and possibly seeing some things we'd never get to see in Vermont (where we're from), or seeing how they do things differently. We aren't especially fond of huge crowds of people, and we aren't "night life" people. We are not at all religious and what little interest we find in cathedrals is primarily from an historical or architectural perspective (for instance, last year we visited York Minster and I loved it for its historical significance and was delighted to think of the people buried there and their importance, as well, but the religious stuff didn't do much for me). We don't speak Italian (or anything other than English) but we will be bringing along either translation software, or a book or two, and we are game to try making ourselves understood and trying to understand the locals. We don't drink wine, but I wouldn't mind trying Italian wine at least once, or taking some sort of vineyard tour or something like that (I know that the Piedmont is a wine region). Cheesemaking is also interesting, and meat curing, all sorts of food production interest us (well, me anyway
).
So do you have any thoughts or suggestions for locales I could narrow my activity or B&B search to so I'm not just looking at everything in the Piedmont? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
One of the things we're discussing is a day-trip into Italy. My friend says Torino is probably a couple of hours drive away, and we could go there if we like. That's one possibility, as is not going quite that far and stopping in a smaller locale a bit closer, and spending the day exploring. We are also discussing driving down and spending the night at a small B&B (our treat to our friend), and having most of two days to explore some corner of Northern Italy. So I'm posting here in the hope of narrowing down our options a bit.
A bit about us: we're not in great physical shape, but we do like short/easy hikes and walks through natural beauty. We are very very fond of natural beauty and wonders. We like science, some industry, cottage industry, history, agriculture, and food a whole lot. We are not especially interested in art, but we do enjoy local crafts. We prefer buying directly from local sources, where possible, and contributing to local economies. We're interested in being exposed to local culture and possibly seeing some things we'd never get to see in Vermont (where we're from), or seeing how they do things differently. We aren't especially fond of huge crowds of people, and we aren't "night life" people. We are not at all religious and what little interest we find in cathedrals is primarily from an historical or architectural perspective (for instance, last year we visited York Minster and I loved it for its historical significance and was delighted to think of the people buried there and their importance, as well, but the religious stuff didn't do much for me). We don't speak Italian (or anything other than English) but we will be bringing along either translation software, or a book or two, and we are game to try making ourselves understood and trying to understand the locals. We don't drink wine, but I wouldn't mind trying Italian wine at least once, or taking some sort of vineyard tour or something like that (I know that the Piedmont is a wine region). Cheesemaking is also interesting, and meat curing, all sorts of food production interest us (well, me anyway
).So do you have any thoughts or suggestions for locales I could narrow my activity or B&B search to so I'm not just looking at everything in the Piedmont? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
Jul 28th, 2011, 04:53 PM
#3
Asti (or smaller Alba) would be a great destination for food, wine, countryside scenery and, at that time of the year, truffles.
About the same driving distance from Gryon is Lake Maggiore with drop-dead views of the lake, the Borromeo Islands and the Alps.
Tough choice, but for such a short stay I'd probably pick Lake Maggiore.
About the same driving distance from Gryon is Lake Maggiore with drop-dead views of the lake, the Borromeo Islands and the Alps.
Tough choice, but for such a short stay I'd probably pick Lake Maggiore.
Aug 1st, 2011, 01:17 PM
#5
On the road to Torino is Aosta. I haven't been in this area in many years, but I remember it as being very scenic. Castles, Roman ruins, mountains...
http://www.regione.vda.it/turismo/sc.../default_e.asp
Between Gryon and Aosta is this area:
http://www.regione.vda.it/turismo/sc.../default_e.asp
http://www.regione.vda.it/turismo/sc.../default_e.asp
Between Gryon and Aosta is this area:
http://www.regione.vda.it/turismo/sc.../default_e.asp
