Piedmont Small Group Tour 2026

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), or 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 as a result of the city being the centre of a kingdom.

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.
While we are getting our fill of the past glories of Torino, we make sure we don’t miss out on the gastronomic features. We enjoy a morning tea in one of the city’s historic cafes, including trying the local drink the bicerin – a blend of espresso coffee and chocolate.

We visit the Royal Palace (Palazzo Reale) where we can admire the artistic richness of the state rooms.

Dinner tonight is at a restaurant that showcases the cuisine of Piedmont.

Meals included: Breakfast and Dinner (including wine)

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

We first 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 reach the town of La Morra. Now you are in the Langhe area, with its distinctive rolling hills covered in vineyards and hazelnut trees. Dotted around a villages perched on the hilltops. La Morra is one of these. We stroll through the town centre and have our first glimpse of the area where we spend the next few days.

Continuing on, we reach our hotel for the rest of our stay, in the town of Alba.

Meals included: Breakfast and Lunch (including wine)

To start the day we view the Castle of Serralunga d’Alba, a 14th century fortification built by an aristocratic family to survey their estates. Here we walk up to the base of the castle and see the varied types of cultivation in the fields below us.

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.

The family-run winery that we visit 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 have some free time looking around the village of Barolo.

In the afternoon we visit the town of Barbaresco – another wine town – and go to the top of its 11th century tower, looking back over the hamlet and the river below.

After a break back at the hotel, we see 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.

For dinner, we are in the town of Cherasco dining in a frescoed room.

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

Heading out into the countryside we meet a ‘trifulau’, this is the Piemontese term for a truffle hunter. Along with their dog – the key piece of the whole exercise – we walk through orchards and forests looking for truffles. The dog is highly trained and indicates to us when he has located a truffle. This is a fascinating morning, getting to see the skill of the dog, the truffles themselves, and hearing from the trifulau all about the art of finding truffles.

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. We try a range of homemade hazelnut products, including biscuits, cakes and hazelnut spread. Then follow a walk through their hazelnut trees we stop in for a long lunch in a country house on their property. This is a celebration of the finest food that the region has to offer, and is a fitting end to our time in Piedmont.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch (including wine).

Today is the weekly market day in Alba, and we have time before our departure to 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 leave the town of Alba and head back to Torino. We drop off in Torino at the main train station and the airport.

Meals included: Breakfast