ITINERARY
DAY 1 – ARRIVAL AND ORIENTATION – TURIN
Arrive in Turin and check in to your hotel, located right in the heart of Turin. Meet your local guide (who will be looking after you for the next few days) in the late afternoon for a relaxed “passegiata” or afternoon stroll to orientate you in the city. You will stop for an aperitivi in one of Turin’s most beautiful squares before heading to dinner at a local trattoria for an introduction to Piemontese cuisine (your guide will leave you to dine on your own).
Meals: Pre-dinner drink (aperitivi) at a historic cafe
Overnight: Turin
DAY 2 – CENTRAL TURIN
After breakfast at the hotel, meet your local guide for a 3-hour private walking tour of central Turin to learn about the history, art and architecture that makes Turin unique. For centuries, Turin’s fortune was linked to that of the ruling Savoy family, who, in 1860, became the Royal house of the newly unified Italy. Your tour will include a visit to the Palazzo Reale (royal palace) and a lot of time outside admiring the elegant architecture of the city centre.
The afternoon is “free time” to pursue your interests. There are many fascinating museums in Turin, and we’ll provide a detailed list of other possible activities for you.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Turin
DAY 3 – THE VENARIA REALE
This morning we leave you with free time again, with the recommendation to visit the Porta Palazzo markets, the largest outdoor food markets in Europe! If you are at all interested in food, you won’t be disappointed. Stop at the historic Caffe il Bicerin (where the eponymous drink was invented) and poke your head into the Consolato, a Baroque church that is entirely overwhelming (we’ll let you decide whether you like high Baroque or not!).
After lunch, your local guide will pick you up at the hotel with a car and driver to visit the Venaria Reale on the outskirts of Turin. The Venaria Reale was one of a series of “hunting lodges” built around Turin, each within an easy day’s ride of the next, allowing the Savoy court to progress from one splendid palace to the next. Don’t let the terminology “hunting lodge” mislead you; these palaces were built to impress!
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Turin
DAY 4 – SACRA DI SAN MICHELE
Your local guide will meet you again this morning for a guided visit to the Sacra San Michele, an extraordinary monastery built on a mountain top looking over the Val di Susa. The Sacra was the inspiration for Umberto Eco’s best selling novel, In the Name of the Rose.
Return to Turin around lunchtime, and the rest of the afternoon is free time.
Optional addition: Private chocolate degustation at one of Turin’s chocolatiers
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: Turin
DAY 5 – TO THE LANGHE
This morning you will depart Turin and drive towards the Langhe. First, a stop in Alba, the region’s principal town and an attractive, bustling rural centre. Meet a local guide for a short walking tour of Alba to learn about the history of this small city that dates back to the Romans.
After some free time for lunch (there are lots of options in Alba, from top restaurants to casual bars), your driver will pick you up for the transfer to your hotel in the pretty town of La Morra.
Optional addition: Winery visit – the Langhe is famous for its red wine: Barolo, Barbera, Barbaresco Dolcetto, and you will have the opportunity to try these in coming days, but perhaps a little less known, but equally as fantastic, are the white wines Roero and Roero Arneis. We can arrange for you to visit a cantina that makes these impressive white wines.
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: La Morra
DAY 6 – HAZELNUTS, MEET THE LOCALS, AND THE SCENERY
Today you will drive through some of the wildest and most picturesque scenery in the Langhe as your driver takes you towards Cortremilia to visit a hazelnut farm. The local hazelnut variety, the Tonde Gentile delle Langhe, is an integral part of the gastronomical culture of the area and is the principal ingredient of Nutella.
The hazelnut farmer is also an excellent pastry chef, so you’ll be treated to a delicious lunch with many opportunities to try the farm’s produce.
In the afternoon, your driver will return you to your hotel, where you can sit on the terrace or by the pool or wander through the small town.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Overnight: La Morra
DAY 7 – A CHEESE PRODUCER, BAROLO WINERY AND A PRETTY VILLAGE
Your day today is devoted to the food and wine producers of the Langhe. In the morning, you will visit a producer of Murazzano cheese, made by small independent farmers with milk from a local breed of sheep You’ll have a tasting of a range of their cheeses as well as lunch made by the family.
In the afternoon, you will visit a local cantina (winery) where they produce the renowned Barolo wines for a visit and tasting and stop in the pretty town of Monforte d’Alba.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Overnight: La Morra
DAY 8 – DEPARTURE
The tour finishes today, and we will arrange a transfer back to the centre of Turin or Turin’s airport or train station.
You can also extend your stay in the Langhe or add on another few days on Lake Maggiore or the Italian Riviera (both within easy reach of the Langhe!).
Meals: Breakfast
Overnight: NA
