Piedmont Small Group Tour 2024

We start our exploration of Piedmont with an afternoon discovering the best of Torino (Turin). Our focus is on culture, history…..and chocolate!

Leaving our centrally located hotel on foot, we team up with a Torino local to take in both the highlights of the city as well as some hidden corners. Torino is a very elegant city, with wide boulevards and large piazzas.

While early Roman-era constructions are still visible, the most extravagant and important buildings come from the period when the Savoy family were in control. They ruled over a large area and the first king of a united Italy was based here. We visit the Royal Palace (Palazzo Reale) where we can admire the artistic richness of the state rooms.

While we are getting our fill of the past glories of Torino, we make sure we don’t miss out of current day attractions, namely the specific type of chocolate made here called ‘gianduia’. This is a type of chocolate that includes ground hazelnuts, and we try several examples from a local producer.

In the evening we have dinner together, having our first introduction to the cuisine of Piedmont. Throughout the week meals are in restaurants designed to showcase the region’s cuisine, with the specific venues all carefully selected by us. This is in order to provide a variety of food styles over the duration of the tour. The food says so much about the place that you’re in, as much as any town you can visit – history, culture, geography, it’s all wrapped up in the cuisine.

MEALS INCLUDED:

Dinner (3 courses including wine)

We leave the city today for a trip to one of the most stunning destinations in Italy, the serene island called Isola Bella (one of the Borromean Islands).

On the way we stop in to see a key section of the series of canals that support the significant rice growing area in this part of Piedmont. One of the main dishes here is risotto, made using locally grown varieties of rice.

The section of the canals that we see is a significant engineering achievement, and has floodgates that were constructed in the 1800s and are still in operation today.

Of particular note on the island of Isola Bella is the formal Italianate baroque garden, one of the most important of the style in Italy. There are a series of themed gardens, situated on a series of terraces. As you make your way through the gardens you may well come across some of the island’s white peacocks wandering the grounds.

At one end of the garden you reach the theatre Teatro Massimo, a three level structure lined with statues, and set against the backdrop of the lake.

Inside the 17th century palace you can wander through a series of rooms containing significant artworks and historic tapestries. The palace was home to the Borromeo family, who in fact still own the island.

We also enjoy a lakeside lunch in a restaurant on the island.

MEALS INCLUDED:

Breakfast and Lunch (3 courses including wine)

Today is a day of contrasts, visiting locations that represent very different eras and lifestyles.

In the morning we visit the Stupinigi Palace, on the outskirts of Torino. Driving there we pass by the large Fiat automotive manufacturing site, which was established here in 1900 and continues to play a significant economic role.

On reaching the Stupinigi Palace (Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi) we meet with a specialist expert who will take us through the numerous halls and frescoed galleries.

This palace was a hunting lodge originally, and later became a residence of the Royal House of Savoy.

We continue on to the Abbey of Staffarda (Abbazia di Staffarda). This is a complex of buildings dating back to 1135 that was home to Cistercian monks. The key structures include the main church, cloisters, a covered market area, and farm buildings.

As well as different rooms reserved for monks depending on their status, we see an open room where pilgrims were accommodated. It is particularly interesting to see how this operated as a largely self-sufficient community.

We have lunch in a rural restaurant near the abbey.

Continuing on, we reach our hotel for the rest of our stay in the town of Cherasco. Having viewed a monastery en route, now is your chance to stay in one. Our hotel was originally a monastery, established in the 17th century.

Fortunately it is much more comfortable than the Abbey of Staffarda, having been tastefully renovated as a 4 star hotel.

While around the grounds you will see numerous aspects of times gone by, we don’t forget the needs of the present, with the hotel offering all you would expect during your time here such as wifi, air conditioned rooms, and an excellent restaurant.

MEALS INCLUDED:

Breakfast and Lunch (3 courses including wine)

Piedmont is one of the top culinary destinations in Italy, with some of the finest products originating here. We try many of the dishes specific to this region during our time here, such as tajarin (a type of pasta) and agnolotti (similar to ravioli). And today we go to the source of two key Piedmontese products – hazelnuts and barolo wine.

Before reaching the hazelnut farm we stop in at the town of Monforte d’Alba, looking out from the hilltop theatre over the expansive valley below.

On reaching the farm, we find out about the production of the tonda gentile hazelnut variety. And not only that, we try a whole range of homemade hazelnut products, including biscuits, cakes and hazelnut spread.

Moving on to the winery, which specialises in barolo. Barolo is known as the ‘king of Italian wines’. Being at the source, we can better appreciate the various sub-regions that contribute characteristics to the wines. We taste a range of wines here.

As well as the producer hosted wine-tasting today, throughout the week we try different wines with each of our meals sourced from a range of locations across Piedmont.

MEALS INCLUDED:

Breakfast and Lunch (3 courses including wine)

Today is the weekly market day in Alba, so we mix and mingle with the locals as they stock up on food for the week. Piedmont is home to the Slow Food Movement, and you can see this reflected in some of the products here.

We also have a cheese tasting, trying delicacies such as the soft Robiola and the sheep milk Murazzano.

To work off all that cheese, we go for a stroll along a vineyard path to the town of Barbaresco (distance 2 km/1.3 miles, and for non-walkers we take you directly to Barbaresco).

Walking through the vineyards is a good chance to immerse yourself in the countryside atmosphere, and to get a feel for how this land is cultivated.

The vineyards we walk though happen to be some of the premier terrain of Piedmont, and at the end of our walk we taste the end result – the Barbaresco wine.

We also visit the town’s 11th century tower, looking back over the hamlet and the river below.

Our next stop is a curious artistic creation, the Cappella delle Brunate. This century-old chapel was transformed into a vibrant work of art, considered representative of the merging of tradition and innovation in the region.

This is our final night together, so it’s time for “the last supper”. We enjoy an excellent meal in the town of Cherasco together, where we celebrate all of the finest food that the region has to offer. A fitting end to our time in Piedmont.

MEALS INCLUDED:

Breakfast and Dinner (4 courses including wine)

We leave the town of Cherasco and head back to where we started in Torino. We drop off in Torino at the main train station, hotels and the airport.