Guide to Turin and Piemonte

Guide to Turin and Piemonte (58)

Our recommendations if you are planning a vacation or visit to Alba, Asti, Turin and the rest of Piemonte.

  • Cooking Classes in Turin

    These 2 cooking classes taken place in a professionally equipped food laboratory in Turin, the regional capital of Piemote or Piedmont, and will help you appreciate the classic recipes of the territory.

    All the lessons last 3 hours and you will learn about pizza, bread, focaccia, pasta and pasta sa...

  • Piemonte Cooking Programs

    The region of Piemonte isn't just wine, truffles and chocolate. It offers a unique collection of dishes and recipes refelcting its history and traditions.

    From stuffed vegetables to 'vitello tonnato' and 'bagna caoda'. Fresh pasta like 'tajarin' and 'ravioli del plin' to refined meat courses such a...

  • Asti Cooking Vacations, Villa Gaia

    The following cooking vacation package put together by Villa Gaia is a perfect short break to discover the zone of Asti and Alba, and taste some great food and fine wine.

    Here we highlight the 3 days and 2 nights proposal, but note that a four day three night offer is also available. Both require a...

  • Italy Five Lakes Tour

    The Italian glacial lakes are set among the magnificent mountains of Northern Italy, a landscape that takes your breath away.

    Giuseppe Verdi. Henri Stendhal, George Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and William Wordsworth were all captivated by the deep blue waters, alpine peaks and flourishing flora.

    D...

  • Lake Maggiore and Gattinara Winery Tour

    Tasting Tour proposes a day trip with local tour guide to discover the beautiful shores of Lake Maggiore in Piemonte.

    First stop is Stresa, a charming village caught between the mountains and the lake with its beautiful XIX century mansions and gardens.

    Meet your tour guide in Stresa and depart wi...

  • Half Day Piemonte Tour by Tasting Tours

    Local incoming travel planner, Tasting Tours, will help you discover the best corners of the famous truffle zone of Alba and equally famous wine capital of Asti.

    In between you will discover the culinary secrets of the gastronomic heart of Piemonte from Barolo to Barbaresco and further afield.

    Vie...

  • Bramafam, Boutique Tour Operator, Piemonte

    Discover ancient Piemonte culture, lifestyle, history and food with Bramafam, a boutique tour operator specializing in personalized travel services and event organization in Piemonte and the rest of Italy through local partnerships.

    Your journey starts in Saluzzo, described by Annalisa as one of th...

  • Bramafam Holidays and Events Organisation, Piemonte

    Bramafam Holidays & Events is a boutique travel company based in Saluzzo, Cuneo, specialized in promoting the very best of Piemonte and the rest of Italy.

    In particular, tailor made tours to discover the lifestyle, art, culture and enogastronomy of the regions through personalized travel and origin...

  • Grand Barbaresco Wine Tour

    Tasting Tours based in Asti propose this Grand Barbaresco wine tour to discover three producers located in the 3 villages of the Barbaresco region where only 1,200 acres are planted (the area is much smaller than the Barolo district).

    Made from the same nebbiolo grape which gives Barolo, Barbares...

  • Grand Barolo Wine Tours

    This special wine tour in Piemonte by Tasting Tours takes the visitor to some of the best barolo producing wineries in the region. Piedmont is a wine region rich in history yet there are viticulture and enology methods have only taken root over the past two decades.

    Nebbiolo is the great grape of t...

  • Wine, Cheese and Chocolate Tours

    An opportunity to discover the three essential and most genuine gourmet products of Piemonte; cheese, wine and chocolate.

    The tour starts with a sightseeing tour of the Barolo production area with a stop at Grinzane Cavour to admire the imposing XIII century castle, La Morra with the scenic “belved...

  • Barolo and Barbaresco Wine Tour

    This day long guided wine tour of Barolo and Barbaresco is being proposed by Tasting Tours of Asti. Meet your English-speaking guide in your hotel and depart for the Langhe area in the southern part of Piedmont, famous for white truffles and some of the most sought-after red wines in Italy, i.e. Ba...

  • Wine and Truffle Tours near Asti

    Tasting Tours of Asti will help you discover close up the wine and truffles of Asti and Monferrato in Piemonte where the hills produce the third great jewel of the local wine-making scenario, Barbera d'Asti, and the unique black and white truffles (black truffles from February to September, white tr...

  • Villa Gaia B&B, Asti Monferrato

    Villa Gaia is a delightful place to stop during a visit to the vineyards and wine territory of Asti and central Piemonte.

    Villa Gaia is situated along the “Asti Greenways” routes which allows visitors to discover the rolling hills of this corner of Piemonte on two wheels.

    Mountain bikes are ...

PIEMONTE TRAVEL INFORMATION AND TOURISM SUGGESTIONS

Lake Maggiore and the smaller Lake D'Orta are the premier visitor destinations in Piemonte and they include the towns of Stresa, Baveno and Lesa.

Alba and Asti come next for the truffles and wine of course, but are in fact part of a larger enogastronomic zone which links these two cities with much more picturesque localities such as La Morra, Bra, Barolo, Barbaresco and Monforte d'Alba all the way to the Monferrato.

Torino or Turin took the opportunity of the Winter Olympics in 2006 to reinvent its post industrial image and is more than worth a short break.

West towards the Alps and the main ski resorts are overlooked historical gems such as the Sacra of San Michele in Avigliana.

The rest of the region remains to be discovered. For example Dogliani and Murazzano are fabulous cheese making zones in the south towards the Liguria border.

And just before that border is Montezemolo and the precipitous motorway to the coast. Not for the faint hearted.

With perhaps a special mention to Ivrea and its annual orange throwing festival, the Upper Po Valley and Biella, the Manchester of Italy!

Consult our latest and last updated Piemonte travel articles below, or access them from the links right divided by recipes, food, wine, itineraries, tours and trip suggestions

  • Mountain Bike Routes

    Published in Piemonte Itineraries
    We recently received an email from the CENTRO POINT A.M.I. Bike of the Upper Po Valley who specialize in Piemonte mountain bike holidays. These guys form part of the 'scuola nazionale maestri di mountain bike' or 'the national school for mountain bike experts'. The email outlined various routes for discovering this area near the source of the River Po and we highlight a few here.
    Last modified on 23 November 2010

Slow Food Foundation

Published in Piemonte Food
Now a world wide organisation the head offices of Slow Food are located in Bra near the famous city of Turin in Piemonte. Silvia Aprato of Tasting Tours based in Asti explains for us the origins of the Slow Food Foundation.
Last modified on 23 November 2010

Barolo Corkscrew Museum

Published in Piemonte Food
When, how and where was the corkscrew invented? A question you may not have asked before. They may now be putting prosecco in plastic drink containers, but how can you not want open a bottle of good wine without that familiar 'pop!
Last modified on 23 November 2010

Grapes of Cuneo

Published in Piemonte Food
As almost complete beginners to the discipline of enology we have often wondered what difference each grape variety makes to the end product. We have to admit that after price, location, the picture on the label and whether we're eating fish or not, the choice between 'nebbiolo' and 'pelaverga' leaves us somewhat perplexed.
Last modified on 23 November 2010

Quintessenza

Published in Piemonte Food
'Quintessenza' is the name of an event in Savigliano, province of Cuneo, aimed at promoting those ingredients that help make all the other wonderful typical products of Italy so delicious. In short, herbs and spices which capture all our senses in the kitchen. Who can imagine 'Abbacchio al forno' without rosemary and, of course, the after meal liqueurs wouldn't exist.
Last modified on 23 November 2010

Piemonte Food History

Published in Piemonte Food
You'll be disappointed if you are looking for the classic “cucina italiana” in Piemonte. If the regional cuisine has to be labelled, it comes from the “civiltà del maiale”, rather than the "civiltà dell’olivo”. In short, this means that the climate does not allow the cultivation of olives and so the local cuisine uses animal products such as butter, lard and 'strutto' or pork fat.
Last modified on 23 November 2010

Optima Roero

Published in Piemonte Food
Optima Roero is the name of an annual food and agricultural market or fair which takes place in Canale in the province of Cuneo. It is usually part of November's 'Sapori d'Autunno' and the event will be chance to promote the typical products of the area and, above all, the quality of the produce from one of Italy's most prestigious food areas.
Last modified on 23 November 2010