Day trips from Barolo?

[Kenny]

Hi,

My wife and I will be spending 5 days in Piedmont in late April, staying in Barolo.

Can anyone suggest interesting day trips (including a good lunch) within an hour or so from there.

Thanks in advance,

Kenny

[Peter Rodgers]

The food possibilities are endless and virtually everywhere you go (other than the main highway from Asti to Alba), the countryside will be breathtaking. To get the best of both, consider a drive from Barolo to the southeast, which takes you, among other places, to Monforte d'Alba. Be sure to have lunch at Trattoria della Posta. Or if you want to take in the Barbaresco vinyards, head northeast to the town of Barbaresco or to nearby Neive. I would recommend lunch at La Luna nel Pozzo in Neive. Lastly, for one of the most authentic of the traditional restaurant destinations, try driving north to Rochetta Tanaro and lunch at I Bologna. Details on all but I Bologna can be found in the Michelin Red Guide for Italy or on the Michelin website. I you want to make a reservation at I Bologna, the number will come up on a Google search or send me a reply and I can track it down. By the way, of the major towns, Alba is the best. Wonderful food stores and wine stores, as well as a great gastromic book store -- most found on the main walking street.

[marcus]

I would add Enoteca in Canale, but the dining options are truly limitless, this is the great strength of the area, and you should get the Gambero Rosso restaurant guide. We spent a week in the village of Barolo, and turistically, the overall Langhe Roero area is somewhat challenged. The wine country is attactive, but not really the most beautiful, and the villages are quaint, but quite modern as well. Alba is a nice town worth a couple of hours. I would suggest a day in Turin, which has an excellent Egyptian museum and an excellent art museum as well, both in the same building, as well as an architecturally interesting center. If you are able to take things easy and as you find them, you should have a relaxing and enjoyable vacation.

[theakston]

I was staying in Barolo myself last fall. Aside from Alba (for the truffle fair) We enjoyed trips to Monteforte d'alba, Serra lunga, Dogliani and nearby the little village of Piozzo - worth visiting for the excellent brewpub - Baladin:

Baladin brewpub

You may want to call and check the opening times - we were there on a Sunday afternoon. The rest of the week it is evenings only I think. Try the Nora and the Super - they are excellent. The brewmaster Teo is a charming and enthusiastic host. I guess not many people leave Barolo with a case of beer!

We tended to save our appettites for evening meals for the most part. We took our rec's for dining from this site and they all proved to be excellent:

In Barolo we dined at Borgo Antico, a short drive to La morra for Il Belvedere

Then just the other side of Monteforte is the not-to-be-missed Trattoria della Posta.

None of these are very far from Barolo. The scenery in the Barolo region is beautiful (when you can see it through the fog) Serra Lunga is not to be missed, and there are lots of other villages along the road that are also very pretty whose names escape me at the moment - I must go look at my map.

[Boris_A]

staying in Barolo.  Can anyone suggest interesting day trips (including a good lunch) within an hour or so

If you want to leave well-known tourist routes and if you are interested in beautyful landscapes, I'd suggest to drive westwards into the "Langa Astigiana" mountains an to the Bormida valley (about 40-50 miles). It's a very nice landscape with a lot of completely mixed agricultural production (not only wine, but goat cheese, hazelnut, cherry, corn, whatever).

3 years ago, I was in Piedmonte with friends from Washington state, and that was the part they liked most. So did I.

Two very good, traditional restaurants for lunch are "Posta da Camulin" in Cossano Belbo or "Madonna di Neive" in Cessole.

[ecr]

I second the recommendation for lunch at Madonna della Neive in Cessole. The view fr. the dining room is lovely, fantastic wine list.

You are within day-tripping distance of Cuneo to the southwest, a bustling little hilltop town with a large arcaded piazza and arcaded main street, Via Roma (reminiscent of Turin), as well as some interesting little back streets. For some reason it rarely pops up on the tourist itinerary (presumably bec it's out of the wine region). The lady in the tourist info office there is a goldmine of info on any and everything to see in Cuneo province.

At any rate, lunch at Cuneo's Osteria della Chiocciola, and shopping the enoteca's wine selection afterward, is worth the trip alone. tel 0171 66277, closed Sunday. Stylish but not snobbish, and if raw artichoke salad, carne cruda, or risotto with asparagus are on the menu, order them! Never a disappointment in 6 meals there.

To the northwest, the restored 12th century abbey at Staffarda is definately worth a visit, esp if you can manage to be there when there are few other visitors (not wknds). It's rather eery, with a beautiful, simple chapel. You can make a day of it by stopping en route in Saluzzo to visit the castle (some amazing pastries in Saluzzo), and/or in Savigliano. Sav. and the upper parts of Saluzzo are lovely and good for wandering. Not far south of Saluzzo is Verzuolo --- several years ago we had a memorable lunch there at Trattoria Societa, tel 0175 85495, closed Wed (at least a few yrs ago). I remember spaetzle with white asparagus, fabulous trout, and a fine selection of cheeses.

[Kenny]

Thanks to all - this is exactly the information that I was after. This board is amazing!

A couple of sub questions.

I assume that it is not truffle season, but are they still available at this time, and if so are they worth pursuing then? What other regional foods are 'in season' at this time?

Off topic I know, but if one were to go shopping for ladies fashion, where would you head? Turin?

Thanks again.

Kenny

[marcus]

Off topic I know, but if one were to go shopping for ladies fashion, where would you head? Turin?

Milan, via Monte Napoleone, it doesn't get any better, and not a difficult day trip from Barolo.

[BrianYarvin]

Cuneo!

You can easily take the bus into Cuneo from Barolo and find an amazing number of incredible stores in this very affluent town.

[Boris_A]

if one were to go shopping for ladies fashion, where would you head? Turin?

Actually, I'm born in a family that was running high end fashion shops.

In my experience, many Italian middle size town you find smaller shops that deal not with the big brands (Prada, etc), but with individual, yet very elegant "no name" products. They are not necessarily much less expensive, though.

So I'd say: Alba, Asti, Cuneo, Alessandria, Aqui Terme and similar towns are pretty good places to shop.

[Carlsbad]

If you get into Torino, I would suggest Tre Galline. We had a very good Piedmontese dinner there in June, 2002. (If the door is locked, ring the bell.) We also found well-spaced tables, good prices, an extensive wine list, and the service was friendly and courteous. Torino is a very pleasant city with terrific cafes like Caffe Torino and Baratti & Milano. And at Al Bicerin, you have a view of the Piazza della Consolata from which to enjoy the coffee and chocolate drink that gets its name from this cafe. Or is it the other way around?

[Bill Klapp]

Torino (especially the Porto Palazzo food market!) and Genova are always winners, and not too much to handle in a long day (you can train to both from Asti easily), but the size and traffic of Milano, coupled with the lousy train service, make Milano a tougher pick.