Piedmont's Hills & Vineyards

This was a wonderful walk, full of interest and beauty, even though the Alps remained hidden by a wall of fog throughout!  It is hilly, but every climb is rewarded by a panorama, the tapestry of vineyards and hazel plantations contrasting with patches of woodland (no nettles!) and the built environment. There are surprises: it was strange to find rowboats near the cemetery at the top of the hill in Bergolo (waiting for the Flood?).  

Having had such a golden opportunity to look closely at the way the vines are managed, we arrived at our La Morra tasting with a list of questions, all answered enthusiastically by the young woman organising our array of samples. There is more to the wine of the area than just Barolo. Red, white, a bewildering selection - we loved Arneis, a local white.

And the food! Carlo Zarri gives local flavours full measure - his cookbook reveals just how few, but carefully chosen, ingredients he needs to create amazingly complex dishes. Hazelnuts as we’ve never experienced them before! It was delicious all the way - Piedmont has thrown its culinary hat into the ring with the Basques (Pyrenees to the Atlantic) and the Andalucians (Treasures of Aracena).

We had 2 days in Turin at the end. It’s a grand city, but our strongest memory will be stepping out of the fabulous Egyptian museum into the weekend plant and flower market that stretches for blocks in all directions.

The welcome dinner in Cortemilia was exceptional and our next favourite meal was at L'Argaj in Castiglione Falletto. The views are out of this world if you have good weather, and we were lucky enough to have dry tracks for walking. Had they been muddy, many parts of the trails would have been very slippery and would have slowed us down considerably. The walking was a challenge in parts but we loved every bit of it.

We were lucky to have a week of full sun, though temperatures were higher than average (28-30 deg C) making it a bit uncomfortable and with more insect bites than expected. The food and wine were excellent and the local hazelnuts, which were being harvested, were delicious. The Marchesi di Barolo wine tasting was a good way to end the holiday.

Of our ten Inntravel trips to date non can surpass this for the combination of amazing scenery, outstanding food/wine and good accommodation.

This trip included peaceful walks through beautiful countryside of hazelnut groves and vineyards, and the accommodations were excellent. People were incredibly helpful and welcoming everywhere. We did the walk in mid-June, and there was quite a bit of hot sun, especially in the vineyards, but on the other hand most hotels had pools, which were delightful. Walking conditions are not difficult, but there is a lot of uphill. Autumn is probably the optimal time for the trip, but I imagine it would be more crowded then. The food was excellent, but be prepared for lots of meat and pasta, not so much salad and vegetables. Wine was spectacular, and the visit to a Barolo winery was exceptionally well done.

This is an interesting holiday passing through beautiful forests, hazel groves anad vineyards on good paths. Travelling in early May we saw many different orchids and other wild flowers, heard the cuckoo non-stop and enjoyed some super meals. Included meals perhaps a bit heavy on the veal and tuna mayo offerings. Packed lunches were generous and tasty.  

The scenery is fantastic here, really verdant and beautiful with the mountains in the background. My only tips for future customers are those relating to the swimming pools and cafes in small villages.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: As with much of southern Europe, outdoor pools are usually open June to September, with exact dates dependent on weather conditions. In this region, cafes are generally open throughout the season but it is not uncommon for them to close for several hours each afternoon.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: Mr Robertson did both our Lakes & Julian Alps holiday with an add-on in Ljubljana, then our Piedmont's Hills & Vineyards followed by a stay in Turin.

The beauty of the walk in Slovenia. The friendliness  and helpfulness of the hoteliers with special mention of Apartment Rozle. 

Enjoyed the Piedmont area of Italy. Take care if there has been rain - the heavy clay soils of the vineyards stick to footwear and slopes up or down become very slippery. Walking along country roads to get to destinations is not so bad in those conditions!

See comments above.

The panoramic views were as stunning, and the food as excellent, as suggested.  The difference between the first part, where the landscapes were wilder and the main produce hazelnuts, and the second, where the vineyards ran over the tops of the rolling hills (except where there were hilltop villages) with hazel groves in the valleys, made a good contrast.

We would highly recommend this trip. While we were perhaps a bit early in the season as we had rain about every other day, the scenery was beautiful and the walks were rated appropriately.

Our stay at Hotel-Ristorante San Carlo was wonderful. Carlo and his wife could not have made us more welcome. Of course the food was fabulous as Carlo is an internationally-known chef. Breakfast was delightful and our picnic lunch was as expected from a gourmet! We did the walk up to Bergolo and it was absolutely devoid of people. The art displays are wonderful and there is a festival there in September. The one restaurant, l’Bunet, appeared to be closed. We knocked on the door and the owner opened up for us, calling in the cooks from their houses. We were the only ones in the restaurant and had a fabulous meal. He too is a well-known chef and sent his regards to Carlo. 

The Albergo da Maurizio was a welcome sight after a walk in the rain. Dinner was great as would be expected from another noted chef and sommelier. It was surprising then that the picnic lunch was not up to standard. Cravanzana is very small, everything was closed so there isn’t much to see after a quick walk through the village. Perhaps you would consider another village stop-over, or a transfer.

It rained the day we walked to Castiglione Falletto. When we arrived wet and muddy at the Albergo Le Torri. They were so gracious showing us where we could clean our shoes and then put them in the boiler room to dry. They also offered us the use of their washer and dryer to rid our clothes of mud and grime. After we refreshed we went to La Terrazza for a glass of wine. A locally owned “bar” run by a lovely Italian woman was such fun. We then dined at La Locanda and were the only ones in the restaurant. The roasted artichokes are to die for! The second night we had dinner at La Torri. Again a lovely restaurant with stellar service. We also recommend the “wine tasting” at Cantina Comunale. Unbelievable, but do make a reservation.

Overcast and cool when we walked to the Hotel Villa Becaris but once we got there the hotel was a flashback to a gentler time. The rooms are luxuriously decorated in the “old style”. Bathrooms were full of amenities and towels were thick. Staff was very helpful and the breakfast room provides a vast selection and a view of the entire valley below. We ate dinner one evening at Le Case Della’s Saracca which is situated just down from the hotel in a wine cave. Interesting interior, delicious food and staff is friendly. Walking to Barolo we visited the Marchesi di Barolo Wine Cellar then had lunch at Rossi Barolo a cafe on the Main Street. Large wine selection and seating both upstairs street-level and downstairs.

This is a beautiful part of Italy that is still fresh and unspoiled. People are friendly and were surprised to see walkers from the U.S. as opposed to the U.K. We laughed at ourselves, ate and drank some of the best wine from the region and will continue to provide Inntravel’s name and website to our friends and colleagues. 

We loved the area and the combination of beautiful countryside, delicious food and excellent wines made for a great holiday. The villages / towns we stayed in were also picturesque (Cortemilia less so). We had perfect weather for a walking holiday, sunny but not too hot (late Sept / early Oct). We also enjoyed a number of wine tastings: the Cantina Comunale in La Morra (excellent), the comunale in Castiglione and another in Novello (in addition to the organised one at the Marchesi di Barolo).

Another very good Inntravel walk - lovely scenery of vineyards, hazelnut groves, hilltop villages etc. Would recommend La Locanda for dinner in Castiglione Falletto - excellent meal, slightly quirky owner but speaks good English. We spent few hours in Asti en route (left bags at toursit office) and would recommend staying in Turin - we had 3 nights, lots to see.

We had a super time on this trip, fabulous walking, views, food, accommodation and wine. My only comment is you do need to be very fit to enjoy the hills.

We were lucky enough to be in Piedmont during the grape harvest - what a spectacle it has been for us. All the hotels were very friendly and we didn't feel that we were missing out for not having gone for the upgrade options.

My favourite hotel was Hotel le Torri where we were allocated room number 5 with amazing views across the vineyards.

For eating out, thoroughly recommend the hotel restaurant at Hotel le Torri (sitting on the terrace as the sun went down) and La Locanda del Centro in Castiglione Falletto.

For eating out in Monforte d'Alba, wouldn't hesitate to recommend Osteria dei Catari.

The walks themselves are all very varied and scenic but there are some very steep climb sections in every walk which may not suit everybody.

As for the organisation by Inntravel, well this was just outstanding service and great value. I won't hesitate to book again with Inntravel and will recommend to others. 

Overall a fantastic holiday in two very picturesque and totally different regions of Northern Italy. The contrast of the dramatic coastal scenery of the Cinque Terre and the vineyards and hazelnut groves of the Piedmont area is amazing. Certainly Piedmont is the region for fantastic gastronomic food!

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our walks Along The Ligurian Coast and Piedmont’s Hills & Vineyards

A great holiday in a beautiful part of Italy that we hadn’t visited before. The walks were varied and easily manageable even in 28/29 degrees, although we did skip the 19k walk from Castiglione Falletto. We were lucky with the weather and had seven days of sunshine so the swimming pools at San Carlo and Casa Sobrero were a treat. The food and wine were fantastic and the service was helpful and friendly even with our limited Italian. We particularly enjoyed a meal at Le Tori, such a lovely setting and a tour of the wine cellars even though we weren’t staying there. We came across a very friendly shooting party near Cravanzana on the first day of the wild boar season, they were well organised and happy to chat. The walk to Barolo and winery visit on our final day was perfect and we had a delicious lunch in a local bar. We’d love to do it all over again.

Wonderful views in a sumptuous landscape. Wished we had more time to explore castles and museums in this beautiful place.

L'Bunet retaurant in Bergolo was excellent - great food and wine.
Ristorante Albergo del Mercato Da Maurizio - simple, clean & comfortable accomodation - great food. Cravanzana is beautiful!
Hotel le Torri - fantastic - the couple who run the hotel are exceptional
Hotel Villa Beccaris - undersold really - it is beautiful and well worth the extra cost
Stop for cheese and wine at Vinoteca Centro Storico in Serralunga d'Alba - such friendly people and great wine & cheese
Osteria Cavour at 21 Piazza Cavour in Genova - amazing food and great value
Eataly at Porto Antico is worth looking round - a fantastic Italian food experience
La Cantinetta in Barolo - we had an amazing lunch with great wine in Piazza in Monforte d'Alba - good value
If you plan to eat-out in a restaurant for Sunday lunch - book well in advance! Italians eat-out en masse for Sunday lunch!

The holiday in Piedmont's Hills and Valleys was a delight. We were rather glad that we came here in early September as the hazelnut harvest was in full swing which was fascinating. It was also the very start of collecting the grapes in the area and our included wine tasting was made even more interesting with the addition of tractors bringing in the harvest direct from vineyard to winery. The walking was exactly as predicted with possibly a few more ascents than we imagined from a 1-2 Graded walk. A combination of these two walks was a wonderful contrast to each other and the first was a good preparation week for the more challenging week to follow.

Piedmont's Magical Valley was exactly as predicted. This was a grade 3 walk which we were told was one of Inntravel's most challenging walks. These walks were outstanding, the scenery, accommodation and food as well as the locals welcome made it one of our favourite walking weeks of all time. The unspoilt region was truly awesome, a word so frequently used but on this occasion no other word will accurately describe the nature of the place. The only criticism was that the timings of the walks were difficult as they were fast and there was a challenge to meet the Sherpabus as walkers usually do like to stop and take photographs along the way too. 

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customer combined our walking holidays Piedmont’s Hills & Vineyards and Piedmont's Magical Valley

The introductory day's walking to Bergolo was pleasant though marred by having to retrace one's steps for much of the return journey. The hamlet was a good picnic stop, so quiet and peaceful as if in another world, with the local bar offering local draught beer, so welcome on a sweltering hot day. The walk to Barolo and back also pleasant. We also enjoyed the walk (picnic excepted) from Cavour to Castiggione Faletto via Serralunga d'Alba, the latter providing a great break with its interesting buildings and restaurants for refreshment. Quite apart from the hotel (the only hotel), we found Cravanzana also disappointing. It is a very small village with classic Italian townscape (I am a retired architect/town planner) but the buildings were in a poor state of repair and everything was closed, churches included; and this was on a Thursday. It was as dead as a dodo, except for our hotel and (a saving grace) the local hazelnut plantation which was busy harvesting its produce so we went to chat with the owner and family who were only too happy to show us around and explain how the harvest was gathered. I would ask you to consider, if it is possible, an alternative walking stop to Cravanzana itself and the stop over accommodation which added nothing to the holiday. The highlight location is, without a doubt, Castiglione Falletto, not only because of the lovely village, but also due to the marvellous staff and management at the Hotel de Torri. We chose our full day here (a Saturday) as a break from walking and enjoyed exploring the buildings, the food on offer at locations in the village, chatting to the locals and just rebooting (literally) for our next day's trek to Monforte d'Alba.

We enjoyed the way the itinerary took us first through a landscape dominated by hazelnuts and then to some of Italy's most famous vineyards. The castle at Grinzane Cavour is amazing and its wine museum worth a visit. While you are in the village for the wine tasting, there's another interesting wine museum in the castle in Barolo as well as the only corkscrew museum we have so far encountered. The gastronomic side of the holiday did not disappoint. The included dinners were all excellent and the restaurants each had their own character. In Cortemilia, Carlo's creative dishes managed to incorporate hazelnuts into practically every course, the tasting menu at da Maurizio was more traditional and quite delicious, whilst La Moda in Montforte was more sophisticated but not stuffy. All of them have wines to die for. At the other end of the scale we can thoroughly recommend a snack or a drink at Da Renza in Castiglione Falletto and the excellent pizza at In Piazza in the main square. One piece of advice about the walking: because of unusually abundant rains before we arrived, some of the paths were deep in mud. In these circumstances it is worth heeding Inntravel advice and being ready to adjust the route so as to avoid some of the tracks through the vineyards and take roads instead.

The La Locanda restaurant in Castiglione was FABULOUS - we thought it was the best meal of the whole week. Really would recommend it to your travellers. The Ristorante Le Torri was ok but not fabulous and quite expensive.

The In Piazza restaurant in Monforte was great - really good atmosphere and excellent and good value food. The Ristorante Moda was very nice - and the garden was beautiful.

We really enjoyed this holiday, lovely area, friendly hotels and fantastic food and wine

Superb walking in wonderful scenery (and we went in April before the vines had started to leaf), with great views of the Alps and wonderful visits to castles. The brochure and website photos don't really do the quality of the landscape and the vistas justice. These were some of the best itineraries we've experienced with you.

The restaurants' wines are very expensive and the inlcuded meals a bit too nouvelle cuisine for walkers (but we bought good cheap local wine in supermarkets instead and bought  corkscrew in the hardware store near to the hotel in Cortemilia). However, the included wine-tasting in Barolo was a highlight.

Highly enjoyable holiday, and very well put together by inntravel. We had wonderful weather (26 degrees all week) and the changing colour of the countryside/vines was spectacular. Highlight for food was the final night restaurant Mod in Montfort d’Alba. Superb cuisine and ambience and staff were very friendly. 

A thoroughly enjoyable holiday - thank you.

There were a number of quite steep ascents which some of the party found challenging. We would suggest that your description of the walks should include the daily rise and fall so at least we would have been prepared.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: The majority of our walking holiday notes now include an elevation profile as well as total ascent & descent for each walk. This will be rolled out across all holidays in due course.