THE FOOD AND WINE ESCAPE IN NORTHWESTERN ITALY

Arrive to the petite historic town of Cherasco and meet up with your group and tour leader for a welcome drink and dinner at the hotel. Discover Piedmont’s foodie treasures: taste the famed hazelnuts and truffles in the town of Alba; admire the dreamy, vine-covered hills of the Langhe region, a UNESCO treasure; and sip the famous red Barolo in a winery. Roll up your sleeves for the cooking class and master specialties like the tajarin, thin homemade noodles doused in sage-infused butter. Visit the home of Fiat and of Nutella, and the capital of Piedmont: Turin. Wander its tree-lined boulevards and elegant squares, then head out to La Venaria Reale to marvel at the opulence of this outstanding Baroque estate, the largest royal residence of the Savoy family.   

Head straight to the heart of the Asti wine country, and right to an historic winery. Admire this UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site, tour its underground cellars and then taste the region’s unique wines, like the sparkling spumantes or the Moscato d’Asti dessert wine. Proceed to the town of Asti and delight in its medieval historic core with an enchanting Gothic cathedral and towers like the 44-meters-tall Torre Troyana. Learn more about the region’s glory days during a visit to the hilltop Masino castle, a 1000-years-old royal palace, replete with frescoes and ostentatious furnishings. Touring the nearby Viverone lake by boat, look out for its residents – ducks, mallards or coots, before enjoying free time for lunch. Complete the day with a visit to the ancient site of Santuario di Oropa, the largest sanctuary in the Alps dedicated to Virgin Mary.

Head out to Biella, a riverside town at the foot of the Alps, world-renowned for its knitting industry. Admire the 10^th-century baptistery and the 14^th-century cathedral in Biella Piano (lower town), then hop on the funicular to Biella Piazzo (upper town). Next, try the local beer, considered among the best in Italy at a brewery and savour it with a typical lunch. Visit a dairy farm and try the local cheeses, then enjoy a dinner with wines pairing in a beautiful hilltop winery overlooking Lake Viverone.

Explore the Aosta valley, a dramatic mountain region tucked between the borders with France and Switzerland. It is replete with Gothic castles: visit Castello di Verrès, a massive stone cube that was once an important military stronghold, and the romantic Castello di Fénis, with its many towers and crenellated walls. Continue admiring Aosta’s natural beauty with a trip to Europe’s highest peak, Mont Blanc, and the picture-perfect village of Courmayeur, a famous resort town. Then take a scenic cable car ride from La Palud to Punta Helbronner, at 3466 meters of altitude, savor the sights of the Alps’ highest peaks.