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Rows of vines across the rolling hills around Barolo, Piedmont

Sample journey · 7–9 days

Piedmont in autumn: truffle mist and the hills of Barolo

Turin, Alba, Barolo & La Morra, the Roero, Monferrato & Lake Orta

Photo: Sebastian / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

Piedmont is the Italy many people discover only on a second or third visit. There's no sea and none of the great tourist magnets, but there is Turin with its Baroque arcades and cafés and, to the south, the hills of the Langhe, the Roero and Monferrato, listed together by UNESCO as a wine landscape. In autumn, from late September to November, the region changes: nebbiolo grapes are picked in the vineyards, white truffles appear in Alba's markets, and every hilltop village with its castle or bell tower seems to rise out of the mist.

This journey lasts about a week and spends most of it in the Langhe: a morning in the woods with a truffle hunter and his dog, afternoons around Barolo, La Morra and Barbaresco, where winemakers talk about their own vineyards, and evenings by the fire with tajarin pasta. Then the lesser-known Roero and Monferrato with its underground wine cellars, and to finish, quiet Lake Orta before the flight from Milan. It's a journey for couples for whom food and wine are a way of knowing a place, and the stays, from a restored farmhouse among the vines to an exceptional hotel in a castle, are chosen with the same care.

The route

The journey

  1. Turin
  2. Alba
  3. Barolo & La Morra
  4. Barbaresco
  5. The Roero
  6. Monferrato
  7. Lake Orta
  8. Milan
  1. The Po in Turin by the Murazzi embankment, with the basilica of Superga on its hill in the distance

    01Days 1–3 · Turin

    Arcades, cafés and vermouth

    Two nights in Turin, the former capital of the House of Savoy, whose centre has kilometres of arcades for walking even in the rain. The first morning is for the Egyptian Museum, one of the most important in the world, with a guide who helps you choose what to see in a few hours. In the afternoon, historic cafés serving bicerin, coffee, hot chocolate and cream in a single glass, and in the evening vermouth, which was born in this very city, and an aperitivo with small plates. On day two, the Porta Palazzo market, one of the largest open-air markets in Europe, the lift up the Mole Antonelliana with its cinema museum, and sunset by the Po as the basilica of Superga glows on its hill in the distance. On the third morning, an hour or an hour and a half south into the Langhe.

  2. A truffle hunter holding his dog in the woods near Alba, in the Langhe

    02Days 3–5 · Alba

    A morning with a truffle hunter

    Four nights in the Langhe, on a farm among the vines or in a small hotel in a hilltop village. The first day is Alba, a small town of medieval towers that in autumn becomes the capital of the white truffle: there's a truffle fair at weekends, and the market smells so distinctive you'd know it with your eyes shut. The next morning, before the mist lifts, you meet a trifolau, a truffle hunter, and his dog. Together you walk through oak and poplar woods in the river valleys until the dog picks up a scent beneath the ground; a find is never guaranteed, but even without one the stories of this craft, and of secret places handed down through the generations, are worth hearing. Then lunch, with truffle shaved thinly over tajarin or an egg, and in the evening a free hour on the terrace as the sun sets behind the hills.

  3. A church tower above the rooftops of La Morra and a wide view across the Langhe hills

    03Days 5–7 · Barolo, La Morra & the Roero

    The winemakers' hills

    A day among the Barolo villages: morning at the viewpoint in La Morra, from which the Langhe look like a sea, the village of Barolo with its castle and wine museum, and in the afternoon one or two small family estates where the winemaker walks you through the vineyard and cellar and explains why each hill gives a different wine. During the harvest, usually in October, you may see the nebbiolo being picked. The next day, Barbaresco and Neive, smaller villages but no less lovely, then across the Tanaro into the Roero. This is lesser-known country: sandy hills, steep cliffs called rocche, chestnut woods and white Arneis. In the evening, a trattoria where the menu is spoken by the cook rather than printed: vitello tonnato, agnolotti del plin and hazelnut cake.

  4. An oversized bench on a green hilltop with a wide view across the Monferrato hills near Cuccaro Monferrato

    04Day 7 · Monferrato

    Cellars beneath the hills

    On day seven, the road north through Monferrato, a hilly region between Asti and Casale. Here villages crown the hilltops, and beneath many houses lie the infernot, tiny cellars cut by hand into soft sandstone where families kept their best bottles. With a local guide or a host you can descend into one and understand why these cellars, too, are part of the UNESCO listing. Lunch comes with Barbera or Grignolino and a broad view across the hills, where the vineyards turn gold and red in autumn and, on a clear day, the Alps show on the horizon. In the afternoon it's about two hours to Lake Orta; this is the longest day, so the drive is broken with stops.

  5. The island of San Giulio, with its basilica's bell tower, in the middle of Lake Orta

    05Days 7–9 · Lake Orta & Milan

    The island of silence

    The last two nights are on Lake Orta, smaller and quieter than its neighbours Maggiore and Como. Orta San Giulio is a village with a cobbled piazza and frescoed houses, and opposite it, in the middle of the lake, lies the island of San Giulio, with the bell tower of its Romanesque basilica and a Benedictine convent. A single path circles the island, the Way of Silence, its signs inviting you to walk slowly and quietly. In the morning, a walk up to the Sacro Monte di Orta, a hill of twenty chapels among the pines, also UNESCO-listed, and in the evening a small boat across the lake at sunset and a last dinner of lake fish. On the final day it's about an hour to Milan Malpensa airport; a night in Milan can be added if you like.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    Truffle hunting

    A misty morning in the woods with a trifolau and his dog, and stories of a craft handed down the generations.

  2. 02

    The winemakers of Barolo and Barbaresco

    Small family estates where the winemaker leads you through vineyard and cellar.

  3. 03

    The infernot of Monferrato

    Wine cellars cut by hand into the sandstone beneath hilltop village houses.

  4. 04

    Lake Orta

    The Way of Silence around San Giulio and the chapels of the Sacro Monte among the pines.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • Even slower

    A fifth night in the Langhe leaves a day with no plan at all: a bike among the vines, a cooking class or simply reading on the terrace.

  • For a honeymoon

    A hotel in a castle or a villa room overlooking the vines, a private tasting and dinner for two on the shore of Lake Orta.

  • In another season

    In spring (April to May) the hills are green and travellers fewer; summer is hot but brings long evenings on terraces. Truffle season and the harvest are autumn only.

  • With Liguria or the lakes

    From the Langhe the Ligurian coast is only a couple of hours away, and from Lake Orta it's natural to continue to Lake Maggiore or Como.

Practical considerations

  • The harvest in the Langhe usually takes place from late September into October, and the white truffle season and Alba's truffle fair run roughly from October to early December. Exact dates vary from year to year, so we check them as we plan.
  • Autumn weather is changeable: mornings are often misty, days can still be warm, and November is cool and damp. Layers and comfortable shoes for the vineyards are worth bringing.
  • The journey is planned with a car or a driver; if you'll be tasting, we recommend a driver. Wineries and restaurants are in high demand in autumn, so we reserve visits well in advance.
  • Truffle hunting is a tradition, not a show: a find is never guaranteed, and the best spots stay the hunter's secret.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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