Piedmont trip feedback
 

Just returned from over two weeks in Piedmont. We started out in Paris for 4 days – which was absolutely wonderful! Took the train from Paris to Turin and stayed there for 2 nights – at the Victoria Hotel. Had a wonderful birthday dinner at Del Cambio.

Rented a car and drove to Alba, where we stayed for 5 nights at a terrific agriturismo, La Meridiana Ca’ Reine, and we drove all over Piedmont visiting wonderful wine towns like Barolo, Barbaresco, Neive, Cuneo, and on and on. The food and wine of Piedmont are truly memorable.

We then drove to Gavi where we stayed at another fabulous hotel, L’Ostelliere, which has a great restaurant attached. From Gavi we visited more memorable wine towns and took the train into Genoa for the day.

We ended up in Milan for 2 days. We went to the opera at La Scala and saw “The Last Supper” – and developed a new appreciation for Milan, which I would re-visit in a New York minute. I’d love to share more details if anyone is interested.

Dona

we will be 4 nights in piedmont in early july. We also hope to spend a day in genoa on the way from CT to Piedmont. Any suggestions of highlights? We'll be staying at Villa La Favorita, which i think is next door to La Meridiana, correct? We don't want to eat fancy places that require reservations, would like to wander the towns and wineries of piedmont. Would love to hear your highlights! (our concern for genoa is being there in a car with luggage. not only do we have to find a place to park, but also check our luggage somewhere)

one more interest: Turin, as we hope to make a day trip there. We have heard of the "chocopass" at the tourist office that you can buy and take to various places for different types of chocolate baked goods, candy, hot chocolate. Also, to take the elevator to the top of that film museum/famous bldg (can't think of the name right now). other suggestions for day trip to Torino?

Hello Dona, I can imagine your trip was fantastic. Piedmont is paradise IMHO! The food and wine and scenery. I have yet to visit Turin for some reason, but it is on my list..that and Siena.

I too love Milan and always enjoy reading about other visitors that do too.

If you have time I would love to hear more about your time in Milan. Best wishes and I hope you get to return to Italy just as soon as possible.

Dona, Sounds like a heavenly trip to me. Along with many others I am sure, I would love to read any further details you care to discuss....this region is near the top of my travel list so anything about places to eat and particularly attractive and/or interesting towns would be welcome. Let us know how you snagged your La Scala tickets and what you saw there, too. How did you find Turin?

Thanks for posting!

Alison,

I think Villa La Favorita is very close to Ca' Reine. In fact, I found it online today and it looks wonderful. One tip - it took us an hour to find the hotel. Both inns are in Altavilla - this means the "high town" above Alba. When you come into Alba, you come over a bridge and can go straight which will bring you to Piazza Savona, or go left. If you go straight, you will be making a mistake but, don't worry - just make a u-turn around the piazza. When you come over the bridge, you will make a left onto the road that basically goes around Alba. Follow it around, past 2 (I think) traffic circles. Eventually, you will come to a traffic circle that has a wine glass of flowers (yes, that's right) in the center with an Agip gas station on the opposite side. Go around the circle and, with the Agip on your right, make a right up the hill. It took us hours to figure this out - I hope it helps you. (The map that Villa La Favorita has on the website looks like a very good map...)

Anyway, getting back to your questions, Alba is one of my favorite towns. It's lively and has a wonderful feel. and great gelato!!

Some of my favorite towns are La Morra, Neive (which is tiny but wonderful), Barbaresco (where you can smell the wine in the street), Barolo, Monforte D'Alba. There are some cute towns on the sea, Albisola Superiore, and Camoglie on the east side of Genoa - a really beautiful town with no cars and feels like the Cinque Terre. Cuneo is also an interesting town - with arcaded streets. We were not very impressed with Asti or Bra.

Rather than drive into Genoa, it was suggested to me that we take the train from Novi Ligure - it's only a 30 minute train ride and you can park your car at the station. (There did seem to be a lot of parking in Genoa, however, along the water near the acquarium. I think most of it is "parking lots" where your car should be safe...) We went to the acquarium in Genoa which was interesting. I liked Genoa, my friend was not as impressed. I really liked the juxtaposition of the old town and the new town above.

One day is a good amount of time for Turin. The Piazza san Carlo is truly the center of town and impressive. So, may I say, is the chocolate. We had gelato with a pitcher of hot fudge (cioccolato caldo) that we poured over the top - I can still taste it! We took the elevator to the top of the Mole Antonelliana. We waited 2 hours to get to the top since the elevator only takes about 9 people at a time - and there was an additional line to wait on even after you get inside the museum. The view is wonderful if you don't mind the wait. If you can live without it, I recommend the inside of the museum itself. It is a cinema museum with lots of interesting things - all very Italian, e.g., you get to watch films lying on a chaise lounge and one room has seats that are all toilet seats (strange, I know...). We never got out to the old Fiat factory which now is an interesting complex of hotels, stores, with a running track on the roof.

Hope this helps - let me know it you have other questions...

Dona

You asked about snagging the La Scala tickets - actually I got them online. Unfortunately, I can't find the website although try the La Scala website first. But my story is not wonderful. I live in New York and attend the Metropolitan Opera a lot. La Scala, although it has been recently refurbished, is built in the old European style with boxes all around. Unfortunately, if you're not sitting in the first 2 seats, you can barely see the state. They also have 4 simultaneous translation screens in each box. Also unfortunately, they are all across the front of the box and there is only room for 2 seats. We ended up leaving at the first intermission. I'm glad I went - it was exciting. And the clothes on the Milanese were fabulous (I hate to be shallow...) But for $100 per seat, it was an expensive evening to "hear" the opera. But I did come way with a fabulous appreciation of the Met!

Dona

I wanted to go to Piedmont because it is one of the few regions I hadn't been to. While the food and wine were FABULOUS, I was a bit disappointed in the scenery. The vineyards are beautiful - but right next door there are factories. This is great for Italy, since this area clearly is upscale, but not as great for the beauty of the landscape. I'm glad I went AND it will not be the first place I'll return to.

Alison mentioned Turin's cinema museum: it's the Mole Antonelliana. It's not to be missed on a clear day. I enjoyed the museum itself too -- but some friends gave it mixed reviews. It is very cool, however, to grab the reclining chairts in the atrium and watch snippets of great films on the big screens. Plus the international movie posters are wonderful.

You can't miss with the ChocoPass.

This is a world class food town. Our favorite traditional was Cera una Volta, very close to the Porto Nuova train station. A very fun and fairly casual place was La Cantinella across the Po from downtown, where the specialty was steak brought out raw, sliced and grilled tableside (by you) on a sizzling soapstone. Also get the octpus-potato starter -- amazing. We found good bicerin everywhere, but El Bicerin and Cafe Torino downtown were historic and special.

I have the photographs but not the names of restaurants up in the mountains of Piedmont..beautiful views and scenerly along with fantastic food and wines. Wish I had kept all my notes which I threw away just a few months before I discovered Fodors.

We are at Belvedere in La Morra, and Antica Corona Reale - da Renzo in Cervere, near Cuneo. Both were fantastic ( I have pictures of all the food) but both were expensive.

Dona, thanks so much for the piedmont info! We already have tickets for Lucia at La Scala as well as tix for the Last Supper. We will only have 1.5 days in Milan and one of them is a Monday when the museums are closed. So, plan to go to roof of Duomo and do some shopping, altho not much of a shopper. Really appreciate your taking the time to give those detailed directions for Alba -- i had already printed out the map to the hotel and will add your info!!

Dona... really enjoyed your report... since we've done essentially that same trip (ex Genoa). And I was especially happy to know that the Belvedere rest. is still there in La Morra.... one of our happiest memories. As far as LaScala... I totally agree. Tho we were fortunate to get the first two seats in a box I noticed those behind us left early. And....another agreement... as a long time Met regular I think we often take our riches for granted!

LaBellaDona,

Thanks for the report. We're planning a brief trip (4-5 nights) in Piedmont this fall for some winetasting. We've been only once previously and only for two nights-visiting Barbaresco, Alba, and Barolo. Any specific recommendations for wineries and restaurants? Any other towns not to be missed?

Many thanks!

I've only been to Torino in Piemonte, but I'd like to add a few things:

The name of the famous cafe mentioned previously is Caffe Il Bicerin, and it is not really "downtown" (although it is in the historic center) but in the Piazza della Consolata, which is probably the single most charming piazza in Torino.

The toilet seats in the Museo Nazionale del Cinema are in one of many screening rooms where one enters into the life of various genres of cinema. To watch clips from romance movies, one lays on a heart shaped bed and sees the scense from famous movies projected on the ceiling. In another room devoted to docudramas, there is a living room with two television sets: one shows actual documentary footage of things like the Kennedy assasination or the life of Ghandi while the other TV shows Oliver Stone's J.F.K. or Richard Attenborough's biopic Ghandi. One sits on toilet seats to watch clips from Surrealistic films made by Dali and Bunuel, etc.

Personally I think there is much more to Torino than can be enjoyed in a day. I think this a good website for an overview:

http://www.extratorino.it/ENG/index.php

Actually, if you're going to correct my post it's ``al Bicerin'' ...

Downtown might be a matter of degree, but according to Turin tourism officials anything inside Regina Margerita and VEII is downtown. The area, which includes parts of the historic center, isn't all that big so it seems a strange nit to pick.

LaBellaDona,

So happy you enjoyed your trip to our beautiful Piemonte!! I am not sure where you saw the factories near the vineyards. I can suggest for your next trip to come a bit closer to the Langhe Monferrato border and then into the Monferrato and you will be blown away by the beauty.

I am happy you took time to go to Gavi and think that the vineyards in that area are of a different character than those in the Langhe. Also the mountains of the Appinnine and the Alps ring the area so majestically.

Genoa is very underrated in general.

An interesting part of the Monferrato is the area which borders on the Langhe on one side and on Liguria on the other. The feel of Liguria mixes with the farmhouse countryside of PIemonte. the towns are quite lovely, like my own beloved Acqui Terme.

Diana

Sorry, repete, I wasn't trying to nitpick and I regret my typo. It is Al Bicerin. My only point in saying that the Piazza della Consolata is not downtown was to say it is not obviously close to the major attractions of the centro storico, but a bit removed.

LoriS,

You might want to consider the following towns/areas/wineries while planning your itinerary for Piedmont...I am focusing here more on the Monferrato than the Langhe but including some Langhe/Monferrato border areas:

Asti, Nizza Monferrato, Acqui Terme, the Bormida Valley, Bubbio, Dogliani, La Morra, Calamandrana, Canelli.

Monferrato Wineries: La Barbatella (Nizza Monferrato) Noceto Michelotti (Castel Boglione), Scarpa (NizzaMOnferrato), La Guardia (Ovada), La Scolca (Gavi), Viotti (Castel Rocchero), Ubaldo (Moirano), Araldica (Castel Boglione).

La Bella Donna,

thank you for your detailed report on your recent visit to Piedmont, although I am puzzled about where you saw vineyards next to factories, as most of the beautiful vineyards are in the hills, and although it is true that Piedmont has many small factories they are generally located in the valleys and close to towns. when I work my vineyard its so hard not to space out on the fantastic panoramic views of the hills, valleys and distant snow capped mountains!

For the lady who asked about places to visit and eat, go to Barberesco, its a small town with a wonderful view and don't miss the enoteca in the church, as well as the big Prodotore dei Barberesco Coop winery next to the tower, then take a drive up to Mango in the heart of the classic Moscato country, wonderful restaurant in the castle, as well as the Moscato enoteca, and you must try Moscato d'Asti, the cinderella sister of (n)Asti Spumante! From Mango you should take the drive down to Santa Stephano, its a spectactular drive down into the Belbo valley with terraced vineyards hanging on the cliffs (no factories here), you can bypass Santa Stephano, which although its a nice little town, is the centre of the Spumante industry (the factories here are wineries)and head up to nearby Canelli with it's "cathedrals of wine" huge tunnels carved for miles in the limestone hill where the wine is stored.

But there is so much to do! Oh BTW a chocopass entitles you to 48 hours public transport in Turin with a book of coupons for one chocolate from different chocolaterieres, but IMO its better to get a Turinocard if you stay in town, which entitles you to free entry into all galleries and museums as well as public transport. I have books of unused coupons from our guests, its hard to use them all, and better to find them as you go along.

Ciao and benvenuti

Just back from Torino a few weeks ago. The ChocoPass did NOT entitle you to free public transport. The Torino Museum card covered transport, as well as all museums in Torino and the surrounding provinces, the Mole Antonella elevator, the tramway to Superga on the hillside overlooking town, a short boat ride on the Po River, parking, and PLUS a discount on the ChocoPass.

our example:

We got 72-hour Torino Museum cards for 18 euros each. They do go by the actual hours, so with careful planning 72 hours can be used for parts of four different days.

We purchased 48-hour ChocoPasses, again based on actual hours so we spread use over three days. The cost would nromally be 15 euros each for 48 hours, but our cost was 12 euros, a 3 euro discount with our Torino cards.

The ChocoPass booklets give you an idea about what each chocolatier will offer you. Usually it was 3-5 individual chocolates, sometinmes you chose, sometimes they just gave them to you. One palce gave us a small gelato. Another gave us that great thick hot chocolate. Our last stop was at the famous Al Bicerin, where we had a generous slice of cake topped with plenty of whipped cream and a piece of dar chocolate on top. The ChocoPass booklet itself was very handy--it had a good, sturdy map that folded easily into the back cover which helped with finding our way around town.

Another great stop in Torino--the Egyptian Museum.

This info. has been great! We will be in Piedmont for 5 nights arriving this Sat. (staying with Diana in Acqui Terme!!)

Planning a daytrip to Torino, thanks for all the detailed info. on museums and chocopass. I did look up the Egyptian Museum and National Cinema Museum and for those of you doing Torino in a daytrip just note that they are both closed on Mondays.

Ellenem, thanks for the update on Choco-pass, once upon a while it did include transport like to Torino-pass, I suppose they changed it after the Olympics. I have never used them, but as said have many unused coupons from my guests, time dated alas.

However my comment would now be that without the travel, I wouldn't get a choco-pass, its really a tourist gimmick, get a Torino pass, the list of chocolatiers are readilt available on-line at turimotorino.org or from any tourist info point, and unless you are a dedicated choco-hound, I defy anyone to get the full value of all the coupons, but its a nice souvenir to bring home!

Sweet dreams!

I assure you we got the full value of the ChocoPass!

A few more facts about our trip. We had a lovely lunch in Torino at Solferino, on the Piazza Solferino. It was one of the few restaurants open on Sunday when we arrived and we enjoyed it very much. The chocolate shop. Stratta, on Piazza San Carlo is not to be missed. I would have liked to visit the Egyptian Museum if we had more time in Torino.

Some of the other towns we visited included Cherasco, which was cute but we arrived at lunch time and everything was very quiet; Santo Stefano Belbo, where the beautiful Relais San Maurizio sits on a mountain-top; Our Lady of Graces, a wildly painted chapel outside of La Morra; Saluzzo, the old town is high and the new town is below.

Outside of Gavi, in Serravalle, are the designer outlets – very crowded on weekends but all of the top Italian designers are there.

question about chocopass: could my partner and i just get ONE choco-pass and share all the goodies?? Sounds like there is way too much for one person and we'd be getting the 24-hour pass to use during a day trip to Torino. Thanks for all the other info as well!

Nessundorma,
Yes, it is a bit off the main drag and certainly is worth a visit. Sometime I wonder how many of the Garibaldi strollers are missing this gem of a square and the great shop found there. You're absolutely right about the charm in that piazza.

Yes, you can share the pass, though keep in mind that some places might offer you one cup of hot chocolate or one gelato, not an assortment of chocolates. A one-day pass cost 10 euros and had 10 coupons.

You would have to be fast on your feet to use that many coupons in one day. For our two-day pass, each coupon featured one or two chocolate shops, so for some coupons you had to choose to go to one shop versus another. Usually the two shops were near one another or were branches of the same company. We didn't get to use some of our coupons--mostly because those shops were further from the center and not convenient for us.

For your day trip when you plan to do other things, I would probably do as Sampaguita suggests--check the web site and plot the most convenient shops to visit on your own. There are a good number of themwithin 10-15 minutes walk of one another in the center.

Dona-
Thanks for the great trip report. I'm headed to Torino for work/pleasure on my own in 2 weeks. I'm interested in going to the smaller towns surrounding Torino as day trips. Is it necessary to rent a car or can I take the train? Any feedback would be appreciated.. Thanks!

Hi Laya,

I'm not really a good source for the train since I prefer to drive myself around. The whole area is really pretty small - so the towns that I visited from Alba you can visit from Torino, e.g., Alba, Barolo, La Morra, Neive, Santo Stefano Belbo, Cuneo, Monforte d'Alba, etc. In addition, you can head up into the mountains, where the Olympics were held this year, e.g., Bardonecchia.

Dona

If you're interested in towns visited by the Olympics, Bardonecchia is an easy train ride from Turin, through nice countryside once you get a ways out of the city. A nice selection of dining options -- nothing I found spectacular but plenty of good places. Same goes for Pinerolo, which hosted curling.

So nice to see the Monferrato mentioned. We rent a flat near Fontanile (half way between Nizza Monferrato and Aqui Terme) every summer and love the area. So low key and genuine. Nizza is a market town where businesses that support the wine industry are based. It is not a tourist destination and we have never seen another american tourist there, just the occasional German or Swiss. There are, however, some very good restaurants. Due Lanterne is not to be missed! Aqui has been a spa town since roman times and is charming. Many shops and restaurants, and an internet cafe! There are numerous excellent wineries in the area, many of which offer tastings. Don't miss Cascina Garitina; their wines are earning scores of low 90s. Torino is an easy day trip by train: Nizza to Asti, then change for train to Torino. BTW I think it is seriously underrated and well worth a visit. Genova and the coast are an hour and a half or two hour drive away. If you go, try to find time to see the aquarium. This is a great area to visit if you are tired of bumping elbows with hoards of other american tourists, but probably not the best choice if you want to see great art, spectacular churches, or world famous sites.

We will be in Piemonte in September and I am curious about what you used for road maps. We are going to rent a car and would like to visit several of the towns you and others have mentioned, as well as spending a day in Torino. We will be staying just outside of Nizza Monferrato.

Any advice on maps and other information...places to eat, things to see, possible walking or hiking areas...would be greatly appreciated.

Oh, and would anyone know if there are places to ballroom/partner dance in Torino?

Thanks!

Nizza in Sept - Lucky You! The truffle market will be on in Aste and the Palio too. The Monferrato map we use is called "Across the Hills of Aqui Terme-Canelli-Nizza Monferrato." It is one of the Wine and Gastromony Routes published by Rhem. One side has a detailed map of the area and the other had lists of places to stay and wineries and restaurants. Available at any tourist office for free, though we got ours from the place we stay - La Granica in Fontanile. We also carry a Euro Cart map of Piemonte published by Studio F.M. B. Bologna. We got ours at Barnes and Noble and it is useful for gross navigating but does not show the smaller local routes. I recommend that you stop at a regional enoteca or local tourist office and grab every map they offer. I do want to add a note about driving in Piemonte - the distances do notlook far, but the roads are winding. Driving from Nizza to say Cuneo takes a long time. Where are you staying near Nizza?

Hi GoingtoItaly,

if you are staying at any of the foreigner-owned B&B's in Piedmont, we are usually very good about providing our guests with maps and good advice on where to go. The tourist information agencies all have maps too, there is a good one "tra colline Acqui T-Canelli-Nizza M" which covers the area between all 3 towns with details of restaurants etc on the back, and Regione Piedmont has a good one of Provincia d'Asti, likewise Alba tourist consorzio has one which covers the whole area from Torino to AcquiT. And Turin has many information points with good city maps thanks to the olympics. For large road maps d'Agostino has maps of Piedmont-Liguria-Val d'Aosta, you can buy at any bookstore in the area.

We will be in Piemonte in September and I am curious about what you used for road maps. We are going to rent a car and would like to visit several of the towns you and others have mentioned, as well as spending a day in Torino. We will be staying just outside of Nizza Monferrato.

The whole are is stacked full of wonderful trattorie, its no wonder the Slow Food Movement was born here in Piedmont. Another good place to eat in Nizza town is La Rotonda restaurant, next to the pool on the road to Asti just going out of town, great food and English speaking waitress, and also don't miss a drink on the bar on Pzza Garibaldi (next to the cinema) owned by a Scottish-Italian family.

And lastly try Sabor Latino on Via Stradella 10 in Turin for Latin dancing.

Enjoy and ask your hots about getting you Palio tickets if you are here on the 3rd Sunday, don't miss the events leading up to the Palio including the 10-day Douja d'Or wine festival. Sadly its a bit early for white truffles, although some restaurants will have them on the menu, best time is November (when Asti has its truffle market).

Wow, equitraveler and sampaguita thank you both so much for your replies! Equii, we will be staying at Cascina Christiana from September 13th thru the 17th, according to the website it is in the hillsdie 2km from Nizza.

Sampaguita, thank you for your information, can you tell me more about the Douja D'or? I will contact the owners of Cascina Christiana and see what they recommend about tickets to the Palio. That is the day we are scheduled to leave Piemonte and drive up to Lago Maggiore but there's no real hurry to get there for a certain time! Is the Palio a day long event? Also, are there accomodations for parking in Asti for the Palio?

Thanks again for all the great information!

Hi Goingtoitaly
Are you renting an apt at Cascina Christiana? If so, let me know and i will send info on finding the supermercato,the bennetts, green grocers, etc in Nizza and Aqui.

Hi equitraveler,

We are renting a room, not an apartment, but I would still be interested in some of that information. It could be fun to check out the local grocers, etc., perhaps we could get some fresh fruit for snacking!

we adored cascina christiana.
hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

can't imagine getting a nicer room anywhere.

i posted here about this place long ago and have never seen anyone else go there.
i am so glad someone else has found it!

p.s. the wine they make there is very good, according to my husband and our travel partners.

we also bought at another nearby winery. i have all this in a posted report, but i doubt i can find it.

do not miss due linterna restaurant mentioned.
excellent.

beware returning at night on theses roads. we got so lost one evening coming back from somewhere.. thought we would never find our place. we were trying to take an apparent "short cut" instead of backtracking to main highway.

bad idea.

The Palio is an all day event, you must not miss te medieval parade which starts at 2pm and winds through the old walled city to the Piazza Alfiero, where the Palio is held. There are 3 heats and the final, but with all the false starts and flag-throwing display in-between heats, the final doesn't finish until around 6.

Maggiore is only a 90 minute drive from Asti on the autostrada, so you could do both, however be warned that parking is not easy in Asti on that day, you will probably have to walk a way to get in, better to park on Cso Allesandria leading towards the correct autostrada exit for a quick getaway.

The Douja is on all week, starts around 6 in the evening and features about 400 wines being poured from Piedmont, Italy and always a guest country, along with guest chefs preparing dinners (must book), learned discussions, jazz bands at night, a great night to come would be the Thursday and watch the Palio di Sbandieratore (flag throwers)in the old medieval Pza San Secondo, a real local event, which has not been doe up for tourists. Long drive home though after Douja d'Or to Nizza and to Peter and Christina's house.