Discover Piedmont
Turin and around
Asti and around
Rest of Piedmont
The elegant boulevards of Turin show the city’s history as the home of the Italian royal family. Turin was the first capital of modern Italy, before the capital was moved to Rome. The city is packed with elegant café’s, fashionable boutiques, and world-class museums. With the impressive Alps ever present as a stunning backdrop. The industrious Torinese gave the world its first saleable hard chocolate and Italy's most iconic car, the Fiat
Turin
Culture
Fans of culture and history are richly served in Turin with its many museums, palaces, and art-galleries. The Museo Egizio is the top museum of Turin, with one of the largest collections of ancient egyptian artefacts in the world. The iconic Mole Antonelliana houses Italy’s national film museum. The Museo dell’Automobile is a must visit attraction when in Turin. The Pinacoteca Agnelli shows a mix of modern and more classical art. This gallery is located on the rooftop of Lingotto, the former FIAT factory with a famous test track is now a shopping center.
The Royal Palace in the city center can be visited as part of the Musei Reali and shows the luxury and glamour of life at the royal court. The palace is connected with the Capella Della Sindone, an architectural masterpiece that was built to keep the linen cloth in which Christ was buried. Around Turin one can visit the enormous Venaria Reale palace or the lavish hunting palace of Stupinigi.
The Torino+Piemonte card is a great deal for tourists as it includes entry into all the top attractions and comes with unlimited public transport for a small fee.
Food
Italy is known for its great cuisine and Turin is no exception. Make sure to order one of the traditional local pastas “Agnolotti del Plin” or “I Tajarin” at one of the many restaurants.
The city is well-known for its many classical cafés that line the city-center’s streets. Local star is the typical Bicerin, an alternative to a regular coffee. Or sit back for an Aperol Spritz when the day comes to an end.
Visitors to Turin cannot miss a stop at one of its pasticcerie, or pastry-shops. The soft hazelnut-chocolate bars “Gianduie” are the must eat sweets. The Farmacia del Cambio is a bistro with a pasticceria. Located in the heart of Turin, it is one of the best places to start or end your day.
Eataly in Turin located next to the former FIAT factory Lingotto, showcases the richness of Italian food and wine. From olive oil to fresh foccacia all under one roof. With 11.000 square meters it is a true food-heaven.
Shopping
Shopping is the perfect variation in between your cultural visits. Most of the major attractions are located in the walkable city center, at close distance to the shopping districts.
Via Roma starting at Piazza San Carlo is the place to shop for luxury designer brands. Nearby department store Rinascente has seen a re-birth recently offering major Italian and International brands. Via Giuseppe Garibaldi is the typical European shopping street. The streets around Via Garibaldi are dotted with local boutique-like stores, a lot of them specialised in Italian menswear.
The Porta Palazzo market at Piazza La Republica is the largest market of Turin. The streets behind Porta Palazzo host the Balôn flea market every saturday and the Gran Balôn on the second sunday of each month.
Asti and the surrounding Monferrato and Langhe regions offer stunning views of roling mountains, paired with world-class wines and mouthwatering food. The city of Asti itself is most known for its sparkling Moscato wines. Nearby treasures include Barbera and Barolo (red) as well as Arneis and Vermentino (white). The other jewel in Asti’s crown are the white truffles, worth their weight in gold. Beyond the food, this region offers pretty villages on every hilltop, such as Mombaruzzo, Alba and Casala Monferrato. The winding countryroads make for an excellent hiking, biking, or road-trip destination.
Asti and around
Food and Wine
From october to december Alba hosts the international white truffle fair. Showing the best of the local delicacy. Combined with events as cooking-classes and wine-tastings. Casa del Trifulau near Asti organises truffle hunts and tastings
It is a short drive from Alba to the wine towns of the Langhe. The best known is of course Barolo, which gave its name to the grand wine of the region. Learn all about wine in the Barolo Wine museum and book a tasting at Marchesi of just one village further in La Morra bij Rocche Costamagna. Near Asti you will find wineries specialised in sparkling spumante wines. These wines are often stored underground in “catedrali” such as at Cantina Bosca. The winery La Corta Chiusa offers winetastings of both red Barbera’s and white Arneis as well as gourmet food.
Culture
September is Festival month in Asti and the month starts with the spectacular Palio d’Asti. This horse race on the first Sunday of September takes place in the city-center of Asti. The second weekend of september sees the start of the wine festival Douja d’Or followed by the rural Festival delle Sagre.
Acqui Terme is famous for its mineral hot springs and spa. You can visit the source of the mineral water at the Fontana delle Bollente in the city-center.
Casale Monferrato is the former capital of this region and it shows its status with a majestic Cathedral. Pasticceria Krumiri Rossi invented (in 1878) the Krumiri. biscuits shaped like the moustache of king Vittorio Emanuele II. The land around Casale is lined with castles and villas.
Piemont is the second largest region of Italy and one of the most varied regions. The border with France is drawn across some of the highest mountaintops in Europe. On the other side of Piedmont, deep blue lakes form the border with Switzerland and the neighbouring Italian region of Lombardia. Italy’s largest river is the Po and flows through Piemont like an artery.
Rest of Piedmont
Deep blue lakes
Laggo Magiore is the best known of the lakes in Piedmont and rightly so. It combines beautiful nature with fantastic culture and glamourous towns. The best views (and the most expensive hotels) are found in Stresa. Try an Aperol at the rooftop of hotel La Palma. Book a boattrip to Isola Bella, an island turned into a palace with luxurious garden. Smaller Lago d’Orta is less touristic and excellent for relaxing trips. There is even a sandy beach at spiaggia Miami.
The heart of the Po valley is located south of Laggo Magiore, with Biella, Ivrea, and Novara as its largest cities. All three founded in the Roman era. The pilgirmage site Santuario d’Oropa is just north of Biella, its golden statue of Mario attracts thousands of visitors each year. A little further is the Oasi Zegna, a nature reserve founded by Ermenegildo Zegna.
