Luxury hotels, Michelin dining & things to do along the route:

Finally, my husband and managed to do a longer trip abroad – after a forced break due to Corona of more than one and a half year. We did not venture far, to neighboring Italy and France. Yet it was such a great experience after so many Switzerland staycations! We had a northern Italy and southern France trip in mind. The car was our chosen mode of transport. But I will inform about other options to travel around, too. And we wanted to stay and dine in style. That meant spending the nights at luxury hotels and having meals in Michelin restaurants, as long as they are worth the money. Of course, we also explored the area, whenever possible by foot. So expect suggestions for high-end accommodations, gourmet dining-spots and things to do, especially short walks (details on the latter in separate posts to follow).

Before going into details about the places we visited, here is the itinerary of our trip.

Northern Italy & southern France 11-day road trip itinerary

Find here my Google Map of our journey.

Our first stop was the Lake Orta region not far from the Swiss border to Italy. While it is part of the Piedmont, it is not necessarily known as an area where they grow vines. Quite the contrary, it makes part of the Italian lake region.

Next was a typical Piedmont destination, a resort near Santo Stefano Belbo. It is located near Alba, the truffle capital. And this time, you encounter here the gentle hills full of vineyards.

As we have not seen the sea for more than one and a half years, my husband and I set off for an Italian beach town. The choice fell on Alassio, a Ligurian seaside resort west of Genoa. The coast is also called Italian Riviera.

Then we crossed the nearby border to France. We did not stay directly by the sea, but headed to the hills high above Nice, to the picturesque village of Vence in the region of the Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur. This area also goes under the name of the French Riviera.

This was followed by a stop in the Provence, precisely Paradou, a neighboring village of the famous Les-Baux-de-Provence.

On our way home, we made a stopover south of Lyon, France’s third largest city. Here we chose Vienne, a town known for its Roman heritage.

In case you should be interested in a 14-day road trip itinerary heading to the northeastern part of Italy (South Tyrol and Lake Garda) and west Switzerland (Lake Geneva), here is my post about it (the current one goes rather to Italy’s northwest).

Now to some information about the individual places visited on our northern Italy and southern France journey – and where to stay and dine in style.

From place to place in northern Italy and southern France

As announced, my husband and I attach much value to staying and dining in style. Therefore, when looking for places to spend our vacations, we make sure that there are upscale hotels and gourmet dining-spots around. But first and foremost, we think of a specific region to go. And as a second step, we check out the accommodations and the restaurant scene. Having said that, it may happen that there are certain establishments being on my wish list a long time. And this is true for our first destination, Lake Orta.

Before coming to it, there is one more thing to add. As we live in times of Corona, we only opted for lodging that comes with foodie hotspots, too. So we did not have to venture further to indulge in culinary highlights.

1. Lake Orta, Piedmont

I considered this northern Italian spot as the ideal one to start our trip. First, it is close to Switzerland near the Lake Maggiore. Second, I became aware of a hotel with restaurant here on our Turin journey in 2019. At the time, we dined at the Michelin starred Cannavacciuolo Bistrot (my post) in the Piedmont’s capital.

And I found out that this is an offshot of Villa Crespi in Orta San Guilio, a high-end accommodation with a two Michelin star gourmet temple (since November 2022 with three Michelin stars).

When getting here, I absolutely fell in love with this unique building in Moorish style.

More details follow in a separate blogpost (stay at Villa Crespi).

Later on, I have also discovered that Orta San Guilio is a truly splendid village. It belongs to the “I Borghi più belli d’Italia” (the most beautiful villages in Italy). And it delivered in this respect. It is a fascinating medieval village, enveloped by woodland and backed by mountains.

I will go into it in more length at a later point of time (what to do in Orta San Giulio).

2. Santo Stefano Belbo, Piemont 

While the town of Santo Stefano Belbo seems to be a pleasant place to live, it is not necessarily a must-do for travelers. Without doubt there are other spots in the Piedmont more worthwhile visiting. As to that, learn about things to do in the area in my blogpost to follow. Notwithstanding that, I have never seen a more beautiful vineyard landscape on my Piedmont trips than here in the Langhe wine-growing region east of Alba.

Coming back to Santo Stefano Belbo, you find here the hotel of our choice not far from it. This is about Relais San Maurizo, an impressive resort in a former monastery,

complete with the Restaurant Guido da Costigliole, a Michelin star dining-spot.

Set on a low range of hills covered with these wonderful vineyards, it offers everything a demanding traveler could wish for. Find a detailed review about it in the time to come on my blog.

3. Alassio, Liguria/Italian Riviera

While my husband and I have already traveled Liguria east of Genoa (Riviera di Levante, highly recommended, see our hotel here),

we have never been to the Riviera di Ponente, the coastal stretch west of Genoa. It is known for its long sandy beaches. One of the most popular seaside towns in the area is Alassio with a 4 km/2.5 mi long stretch of beach

and with a nice historic alleyway parallel to the sea.

My husband and I came here for the sea, although not for lying on the beach. We rather wanted to enjoy the vibes coming with being by the sea – and of course we were eager to explore the region, above all by walking. And last but not least, there is a luxury hotel with gourmet restaurant here that caught my attention. This is the enchanting Villa della Pergola, located a bit above town in a gorgeous botanical garden.

And you find here also the one Michelin starred Nove Restaurant.

More about the accommodation (my post) and the activities to take here can be found soon on my blog.

4. Vence, Côte d’Azur/French Riviera

After crossing the boarder between Italy and France, we arrived on the famous Côte d’Azur, also called French Riviera. We had checked out the high-end accommodations directly by the sea, but we came to the conclusion that they are not worth the super high prices. So we had decided to opt for a luxury hotel a bit further away from the sea but with views of it. I think we made the perfect choice, and this with Château Saint-Martin in Vence

featuring the one Michelin starred Restaurant Le Saint-Martin.

And the village of Vence here in these hills above Nice and Antibes is a truly picturesque place.

The same is true for the nearby Saint-Paul-de-Vence, a “museum village”.

As a plus, you can walk to it from our hotel in Vence! Find more info about this and another walk to do in the area in my separate post to follow. And of course I will also let you know how it is staying and dining at Château Saint-Martin.

5. Paradou near Les-Baux-de-Provence, Provence

The Provence is known for its stunning landscapes full of river valleys, gorges and old villages. The most famous among the latter is probably Les Baux-de-Provence.

This is a hilltop stone village below the ruins of an old castle. My husband and I walked to it while staying at the nearby Paradou.

The Hotel b design & Spa was the hotel of our choice in the Provence.

It is housed in a building typical for this region, a so-called mas. On site there is also a sister hotel where you find the Restaurant Nancy Bourguignon.

Here you can have breakfast and dinner in this Michelin restaurant. All about our stay here later on my blog.

6. Vienne, south of Lyon

On our way back from the south of France we had been looking for lodging to stay and dine in style. We had favored a place near Lyon, probably the country’s gastronomic capital. And we came upon Hotel and Restaurant La Pyramide

by Patrick Henriroux, a two Michelin starred chef.

We had not checked out the town of Vienne, where this establishment is located, in detail. We only had one night available and had not planned to do longer activities in town.

When arriving, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that this town overflows with Roman history.

I will not go into it in this overview article. Come back later to learn a bit more about Vienne and its flagship hotel and restaurant.

Outlook northern Italy & southern France

At last, my husband and I set to a first longer trip abroad after the imposed Corona time-out. And it brought us to northern Italy (Piedmont and Liguria) as well us to southern France (Nice metropolis Côte d’Azur and Provence). On our way home, we made a stop south of Lyon (Vienne), too.

In the time to come, you will find reviews of the luxury hotels we stayed and the Michelin (starred) restaurants we dined. In addition, I will go into what to do in the particular places. We walked whenever possible according to the motto “Only where you were walking, you have really been” (Wolfgang von Goethe).

Date of stay: September 2021

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