Piedmont Villages & Vineyards

Our journey begins at 09:00 as we set off towards the mountains. Our first destination is the impressive Filatoio di Caraglio, a castle-like structure that stands as Europe's oldest silk manufacturing complex. Built between 1676 and 1678, this recently restored mill offers a window into the past. We'll enjoy a fascinating private hour-long tour before continuing our adventure into the valley. As we drive deeper, the road narrows, following the rushing Maira River. We'll embark on an easy hike, revealing our first views of stone villages dotting the steep valley sides and the nearby mountain peaks. Our gentle path leads to a lovely trattoria for a delicious lunch. Afterward, a short van ride takes us up a steep incline to “Lou Pitavin,” the first of three charming family-run boutique hotels we'll experience this week. We check into the Locanda Lou Pitavin, a beautifully restored traditional stone-and-wood building that blends local architecture with modern comfort. The restaurant specialises in Occitan-Piedmontese cuisine, with menus that honour local traditions: handmade potato gnocchi with alpine herbs, anchovies prepared in the valley style, and slow-cooked stews. Fresh ingredients come from their ample vegetable garden or from local, kilometre-zero suppliers. Overnight: Lou Pitavin The Hike: 8.5 km / 5.3 miles | Elevation gain/loss: 400m / 1,312 ft | Duration: 2h15m Included: Hotel, breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Today we set out on foot right from our hotel. The trail climbs gently through terraced fields and into quiet stands of larch and chestnut, eventually opening onto tiny hamlets of slate-roofed houses perched like balconies above the valley. We stroll past small courtyards, chapels with faded frescoes, and old stone bread ovens that once served entire communities. Some villages feel frozen in time, their fountains draped in moss and their barns slowly surrendering to the hillside. Others are coming back to life, restored by people with the vision to bring old homes, mills, and stables back into use. We stop at one such spot, the lovely Locanda Breis, for a leisurely lunch paired with wide, sunlit views across the valley. Afterward, an easy walk brings us back to the welcoming comforts of Lou Pitavin. There’s time to unwind in a chaise longue in the garden or slip into one of the three small hot tubs tucked into the lavender terraces. As evening approaches, we gather for a relaxed wine tasting with Marco, the owner, who shares the story of how he and his wife Valeria — Lou Pitavin’s talented chef — transformed his grandfather’s house into this beautiful Locanda. Dinner at Lou Pitavin. Overnight:  Lou Pitavin  The Hike: 9 km / 5.4 miles | Elevation gain/loss: 400m / 1,280ft. Moving time: 3 hrs Included: Hotel, breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Enjoy a leisurely breakfast and then depart at 09:30 for a forty-minute transfer to San Damiano Macra. From here, we enjoy an easy hour-and-a-half hike along the Maira River to the stone hamlet of Cartignano for a mid-morning cappuccino break. We continue our hike and eventually arrive at Borgo Podio, where we visit a small family farm. The family is devoted to raising goats the old-fashioned way, with grazing pastures, and they have a hand-crafted approach to cheese making. You’ll meet the flock first, and then in the dairy room, you will see how the fresh milk becomes delicate robiola and firm tomini cheeses. The tasting takes place at a rustic farmhouse table, set with wedges and rounds ranging from creamy and mild to beautifully tangy and earthy. Local honey and crusty bread elevate each taste, and it is accompanied by a tasting of their homemade apple and pear ciders. It’s an unhurried, authentic experience that celebrates the region’s pastoral traditions. After lunch, we have a two-hour transfer into the heart of the Langhe wine growing region. We go directly to Real Castello di Verduno, our lodging for the next two nights. The hotel occupies a historic castle, once a noble residence from the 1500s and later updated in the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, it offers an intimate stay, with thick stone walls, lofty ceilings, original floors, and antique furnishings that preserve its old-world charm. After a bit of time to relax, we make our way to a nearby winery for a hands-on cooking class. Guided by the estate’s kitchen team, you’ll help prepare a traditional Piedmontese meal before sitting down together to enjoy the dishes you’ve created. It’s a fun, flavorful, and engaging experience. Overnight Real Castello di Verduno. The Hike: Morning - 6 kms/4 mi; elevation gain 150m/480ft; elevation loss 145m/540ft. Moving time 1.5 h. Included: Hotel, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

This morning, we have a 15-minute drive to world-famous Barolo. The village itself sits snugly among rolling hills striped with vines, their neat rows curving like contour lines across the landscape. Our two-hour hike takes you through cobbled lanes below the medieval castle. The trail gradually climbs through a patchwork of vineyards planted with the celebrated Nebbiolo grape, marked by small signs indicating each prized cru. The path weaves between wineries, tiny chapels, and farmhouses. We finish back in the village of Barolo and from there we have a short transfer to a restaurant that specializes in Piedmont’s signature dish,  homemade egg tagliatelle with shaved truffle. After this delicious introduction, you will meet the team that found the truffles you have just enjoyed. We will partake in a truffle hunt with a truffle-hunting dog, and learn more about these mysterious underground "tubers". After the hunt and hike, we have some options. You can relax in the hotel garden, explore the village, or walk to the nearby Frattelli Allesandria winery with your guides for a visit and tasting at this historic family-run cantina. Tonight is a free night dinner. You can enjoy a candlelit evening in the hotel’s 17th-century dining room or head into the village and choose between several pizzerias and trattorias.  Overnight Real Castello di Verduno. The Hike: 7.5 km/ 4.6 mi; elevation gain/loss 295m/967ft;  moving time 2h. Included: Hotel, breakfast, and lunch. Dinner not included.

Say “Buongiorno” to the Roero region this morning. After a 45-minute drive, we arrive in the hilltop village of Monteu, set in the heart of the Rocche, a striking landscape where clay ravines have shaped both the terrain and the traditions of local winemaking. Our hike takes us on a short loop through these sculpted gorges, dipping between medieval villages and passing vineyards rooted in the distinctive clay soils. Back in Monteu, we stop at the small family winery Bajaj. Our friend Adriano introduces us to his world of Roero wines, including a few of his more experimental bottlings. While we taste, his mother Mirella prepares a wonderful lunch using produce from their organic garden. After lunch, we visit the impressive Castello di Monteu, whose origins date back to 1041. Over the centuries it has been marked by invasions, reconstruction, and private ownership — remarkably, it remained a private residence until the 1950s. Beneath the area lies a network of tunnels carved by locals, once used for storage and later to hide in times of conflict and banditry. A short transfer then brings us to our home for the next two nights: a magnificent 18th-century villa with sweeping views over the rolling vineyards. Once part of a working estate with a barn and farm manager’s house, it was purchased by the neighboring Malvirà winery and lovingly transformed into a chic boutique hotel with airy terraces and a swimming pool. Dinner tonight is at the lovely Osteria dell’Enoteca in the village of Canale. Overnight at the Villa Tiboldi, near Canale.  The Hike: 6 km/3.6 mi. Elev. gain/loss 178m/ 584ft 2h00’. Included: Hotel, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

A short transfer brings us this morning to Vezza d’Alba, one of the classic hilltop villages of the Roero. We begin our walk in the lower valley, following a forested track that rises and falls across the hills, passing slopes that have been shaped over the centuries into neatly tended vineyards. The route leads us up toward the historic center of Vezza, where a delicious lunch awaits at a welcoming local osteria. After lunch, an easy and scenic stretch of trail brings us back to our van. We return to the inviting comfort of Villa Tiboldi for a visit and tasting in their Malvirà wine cellar, followed by a gourmet dinner at the villa’s restaurant — the perfect finale to our Roero experience. Overnight Villa Tiboldi. The Hike: 9.6 km/5.9 mi. Elev. gain/loss 255m/ 836ft 3h00’. Included: Hotel, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

After breakfast, we offer a transfer departing at 9:00 from the hotel to Alba train station to correspond with trains departing after 10:00 am, specifically the train to Torino Portanuova (Torino Center) and Torino Caselle Airport that departs Alba at 10:07. This is a direct train (no change of train) and it arrives at Torino airport at 11:56. The ticket costs 10 Euros. If you need to be at Torino airport earlier, there are trains from Alba starting at 06:07, departing every hour at seven minutes past the hour. Travel time from Alba train station to the airport is 1 hour and 49 minutes. So, if you need an earlier transfer than the one we provide, we can make arrangements for you, but the transfer would be at your expense. As of January 2025, a taxi costs about 30 Euros to get to Alba train station. Alternatively, we could arrange a transfer for you from the Verduno hotel straight to the Torino airport, and that would cost about 150 Euros. Travel time by car from Verduno to Torino airport is 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Included: Breakfast and one group transfer.

Please note: Some itinerary details may change depending on your tour departure date. Whenever we run a tour, we make discoveries. Sometimes they are good discoveries, like a wonderful new trattoria, and sometimes bad, like a trail has been washed away. Therefore, we sometimes change our itinerary to improve it, adding wonderful new elements or removing elements that no longer work. Rest assured, we always aim to provide you with the best possible experience. We will advise you of any changes to the original itinerary before departure.

Getting to the start of the trip: The most convenient airport to the beginning of the trip is Torino (Turin in English), but Milan is a good option if you’re flying directly from overseas. Both of these airports have regular flights to and from other European gateway airports such as London, Frankfurt and Paris, and Milan is 2.5-3 hrs from Cuneo by train.

Getting away at the end of the trip: we provide one group transfer to the Alba train station for connections to Torino or Milan, timed for 10 a.m. departures.

Day 1: Phi Principe Cuneo– A comfortable four star hotel in the heart of Cuneo with 24 hour reception.

Day 2 & 3 Locanda Del Silenzio – This is an “albergo diffuso”, meaning a hotel where guest rooms are spread out in various buildings within the hamlet. The concept was launched in Italy in the early 1980s as a means of reviving small, historic Italian villages, hamlets, and towns off the usual tourist track. In the case of the Locanda Del Silenzio, the rooms are in renovated stone cottages, hay-barns, and pig sties! 😊 

Day 4 & 5: Villa Tiboldi - A small boutique hotel (ten rooms) that is part of the Malvira winery. Born as a farmhouse in the 18th century, at the beginning of the 20th century it became the vacation home of a wealthy Genoese family. The last century was a dark period for this building, which was totally abandoned until it was purchased in 1995 and underwent a four year long renovation and restoration. The Villa received its first guests in 2003. 

Day 6 & 7: Real Castello di Verduno - Construction of the Castello started in the 1500s. It evolved from a defensive castle to a Manor house and farm over the centuries. In 1953, the estate began producing Barolo wines, and the castle was converted into a hotel. To maintain its original charm, the owners made a conscious choice not to insert an elevator or have televisions in the rooms. We trust you will appreciate its timeless charm and peaceful character.