Hello all,
I've just read some very interesting trip reports and am now super excited for my next trip in September. What we want? Wine, wine, good food, wine, great scenery, some mountain hiking followed by more wine.
We found plane tickets to and from Nice at an excellent price, so here is our plan for now, and some questions.

Sept. 3-4-5-6 in Nice
Rent a car
Sept. 7-8-9-10-11 in the Langhe/Piedmont wine country (I found a lovely house in Rodello near Alba, right in the vineyards)
Sept. 12-13-14-15-16 Aoste region, hiking in the Alps
Sept. 17-18-19-20 Torino
Sept. 21 Return car in Nice (hotel near airport)

And now the questions:
1) We chose to come and go from Nice because the fare is good, but most of all because the car rental prices are incredibly high for a pick-up in Nice and a return in Turin. Am I missing something? Or should we take the train to Turin and rent a car from there?
2) We don't like to rush when we are on a trip. Is our allocation of days OK?
3) Should we substract days from other areas add one of the lakes to the mix (Orta, Maggiore or?)

Thanks for your precious input!

I agree---get the car in Nice.
The drive via Cuneo is quite nice on your way to Alba.

JOJONANA:

Your instincts are correct regarding the rented car. What Bob didn't explain is that there is always a stiff dropoff charge when renting in one country and returning in another.
It's only a 3 hour drive from Nice to Alba.

If you like wine, you'll love Piemonte. We've been there several times. Here are links to pages about our 2 most recent trips which included Piemonte.

http://www.travel.stv77.com/piemonte/piemonte.html
http://www.travel.stv77.com/genoa2013/genoa2013.html

The old town in San Remo is great, as is the market hall there. The Italian Riviera is a feast for the senses and could be worth a daytrip or a stop on the way through (I prefer staying in San Remo to staying in Nice myself; the sights and sounds seem more vivid and concentrated to me, but I'm sure you will have a great time in Nice and the surroundings!). Here's piccies of my last trip to Nice and over the border to San Remo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/douglas...632061012447/#

Excellent! We'll stick to the plan for a Nice-Nice flight then.

Thanks for the LOVELY photos and trip reports. Can't wait to sip a glass (or two) of barolo Under the September sun!

For the Alba/Asti region, is it Worth it to split between two accomodations, i.e. stay 4 days near Alba, then 3 days closer to Asti? I really love the house I found on airbnb (in Rodello), but I would also like to experience an agriturismo!