Piedmont Small Group Tour 2025

After meeting in Milan, we leave the city to start our exploration of Piedmont with a trip to one of the most stunning destinations in Italy, the serene island called Isola Bella.

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. This is 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.

In the afternoon 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.

In the evening we reach Torino (Turin), our base for the next two nights. After checking in to the hotel, it is time to start discovering this elegant and stately city.

MEALS INCLUDED:
Breakfast and Lunch (including wine)

Today our focus is on discovering the best of Torino, and there are many facets to uncover including 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’. We try an example from a local producer.

We also enjoy an afternoon tea in one of the city’s historic cafes, including trying the local drink the bicerin – a blend of espresso coffee and chocolate.

MEALS INCLUDED:
Breakfast and Dinner (including wine)

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

We start by going to the top of the Mole Antonelliana, the dome that dominates the skyline of Torino.

We then 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 restaurant that is operated by the abbey, and uses products that they grow right there on the property.

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 (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 – barbaresco and barolo wine.

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

We move 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 winetasting today, throughout the week we try different wines with each of our meals sourced from a range of locations across Piedmont. We spend some time looking around the village of Barolo independently.

In the afternoon 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.

MEALS INCLUDED: Breakfast

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 then move on to a hazelnut producer, in what is considered the best zone in Italy. Hazelnuts are a key ingredient in many of the cakes and desserts in Piedmont.

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.

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. We take time to also visit the town of La Morra nearby.

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, Lunch and Dinner (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.