A guide to visiting the Langhe wine region around Alba, especially if you like walking:

Piedmont is one of Italy’s 20 regions, with its capital in Turin. It sits in the foothills of the Alps in the country’s north and is mainly known for its excellent wines. The prime wine-growing area here is the Langhe region with world-famous wines just as Barolo and Barbaresco. This region around Alba, Piedmont’s truffle capital, is great for activities of all sort. Think of vineyard walks, truffle hunting and visiting some of Italy’s most beautiful villages. Find in the following three top things to do in Piedmont’s Langhe region, most of them include walking.

Before going into what to do here as active traveler, some lines about Piedmont and its most important wine region, the Langhe.

About Piedmont

As pointed out already, we are here in Italy’s north. Precisely, it is the country’s northwestern part that borders Switzerland and France.

The core of Piedmont is the Po river valley, where also Turin, the region’s capital, is located.

It is a beautiful city that does not get the attention by travelers it deserves. If you wonder what to do in the Piedmontese metropolis, here is my guide for three-night stay. In case you are a fine food lover, have a look at my post about culinary delights in Turin, too.

In Piedmont’s north you find the Lake District with a number of beautiful lakes. The most popular ones are Lake Garda, Lake Como or Lake Maggiore. One of the lesser known is Lake Orta,

you can even speak of a hidden gem in this context. Find here my post about what to do here. In case you should look for a place to stay in style, Villa Crespi in Orta San Giulio

is a great choice. Here is my blogpost about it.

The hills south of the Po river are noted for the production of some of Italy’s highest-quality wines. The area is every bit as picturesque as the better known Tuscany. You find even more hills here and there are lots of beautiful villages. But, this region offers far more than just world-famous wines. In some parts, the best hazelnuts, the “Nocciola del Piemonte” are grown. They produce cheese in the area, and of course there is the fabled Alba white truffle.

Piedmont’s most important wine region is the Langhe. Next are some details about this wine-growing area.

About the Langhe wine region

The historic vineyard landscape of Langhe was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2014, together with Roero and Monferrato. The Langhe is situated south of the Tanaro river, in Piedmont’s southeast. The word “Langhe” means long, low-lying hills, and this suits well! It is an uninterrupted system of hills with the best grapevines and wines. Think of names just as Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera or Moscato.

Apart from vineyards, where there are lots of rewarding walks (I will point out two of them later on), there is much more. On the one hand, you find here lots of idyllic villages. Some are even on the list of the most beautiful villages in Italy (“I Borghi più belli d’Italia”); I will go into two of them. On the other hand, the region is famous for its truffles, be it the black or the rarer (and more expensive) white ones. A fun thing to do here is truffle hunting.

More details follow.

If you are interested in staying and dining in style in the area, I have a tip for you. This is about Relais San Maurizio,

a luxury hotel, and the one-star Michelin restaurant on site, Guido da Costigliole. Here is my post about it.

What to do in Piedmont’s Langhe region as active traveler

As announced, it is about vineyard walks, visiting picturesque villages and going on a truffle hunt. These were all things that my husband and I did on our recent visit to the Langhe region.

1. 2 great & easy vineyard walks in the Langhe region

I truly believe that you can only immerse yourself in a place if you walk it. Therefore, I am always on the lookout for walks everywhere I go. This was not any different in Piedmont. This despite the fact that I have rather bad memories of a walk I wanted to do with my husband and friends many years ago in the area. We had to cancel it because we were threatened by dogs again and again. But times changed, and leisure walking has become more common lately. This time, we only had one encounter with dogs, and that was harmless. Nevertheless, we moved away from our original plan to do a seemingly little used trail.

But now to the two great walks we made in the Langhe region, which were both pure immersion into vines. And they were close to our hotel, Relais San Maurizio, in Santo Stefano Belbo (my post about it), half an hour by car east of Alba.

1.1. Vineyard walk Neive to Barbaresco & back (easy walk)

Neive – Barbaresco – Neive

Duration: 2 hours / Ascent: ca. 215 m/705 ft. / inspired by Outdooractive trail

The start is in Neive

(15 min east of Alba by car), one of most beautiful villages in Italy (“I Borghi più belli d’Italia”). Therefore, do not miss exploring this village before or after your walk! You leave the village at Cappella di San Rocco, south of the village, where you walk down the paved road until you reach a roundabout. Here you find a sign posting to the hiking trail to Barbaresco. Make sure to leave the paved road and walk along the vineyards until there is a smaller paved road that turns right (there is a signpost, too).

At the second farm you leave the paved road and turn into a dirt road. You cross a railway bridge and walk down the hill until you come to a forest, where the trees are planted in a checkerboard pattern. If you wonder about this as I did, I learned later on that is because of the truffles. They seem to like it! Anyway, the trail ascends from here. Maybe you want to make a short rest at the designated place, as my husband and I did. 

After a short ascent you come to Strada Montestefano, which brings you to the wine village of Barbaresco

(after about an hour). Have a look around here, maybe visit a vinery. However, if you want to pay a visit to the famous Gaja vinery,

there is a special procedure. You have to make a donation of at least 300 € per person to a specially chosen charity beforehand. Then you get a personalized tour of vineyards and cellars followed by a wine tasting.

When you have finished touring Barbaresco, go back the same way. Alternatively, you might walk further to Alba, which will take you about two and a half hours more.

1.2. Vineyard walk around Castiglione Tinella (easy & short walk)

Circular trail around Castiglione Tinella

Duration: 1 hour / Ascent: 95 m/312 ft. / inspired by Outdooractive trail

We are here in der Langa del Moscato. This is the wine region where the vines grow for the sweet, fizzy white or rosé Moscato. It is made from the Muscat grape and it has a low alcohol content that pairs perfectly with desserts.

Castiglione Tinella (30 min east of Alba by car) might be not on the regular Piedmont tourist routes. Yet, the small village, climbing up the Langhe hills, is a pleasant starting and end point for a nice short walk through the vineyards. The imposing church

next to the parking lot, where we left our car, seems much too big in relation to the small village.

After strolling through the streets of Castiglione Tinella you turn into the country road (Strada Provinciale). A short time later you leave it again by taking a descending road to you right. At the beginning it is paved and then becomes a dirt road. When reaching a big walnut tree you turn right and from then on you are in the vineyards all the time. Pay attention to the red signposts (there are others too) and follow them through the vines.

At one time, you have to cross a paved road to reach the Strada Provinciale. After a short stretch on it, you leave it again. Make a sharp right turn to the right and go downhill (back to the village). Then it goes on through the vineyards again, always along the Strada Provinciale.

When you reach a cemetery, you take the Strada Provinciale until the next crossing where you go left. At the next curve you turn right into a dirt road that brings you, slightly uphill, back to village.

2. 2 of the most beautiful villages in Italy

If you have done the first walk I proposed above, then you already know one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, Neive! But first things first, there is list of villages in Italy that are considered beautiful. And this in the sense of the concept “Made in Italy” as an expression of Italian excellence. It is called “I Borghi più belli d’Italia”. A “Borgo” (singular) means village, but it is more than that. It is an intriguing small Italian town that is usually fortified and dates back to ancient times (Middle Age to Renaissance). Generally, there is a castle or another noble building that is circled by other houses. And often the village is surrounded by defensive walls and towers. There is a broad-based organization behind this list, as it seems.

In Piedmont (Piemonte) there are 15 villages that made it on the list at this point of time. On our recent stay here, my husband and I visited two of them, Neive and Monforte d’Alba.

2.1. Neive

As already mentioned, Neive

is located near Alba (15 min bei car, towards east). The name of this village derives from a noble Roman family who owned the place in earlier times. It is perched on the top of a hill and boasts a medieval center, made of narrow cobbled streets that climb toward the clock tower.

The best thing to do in Neive is to walk from the south gate (San Rocco) to the one in the north (San Sebastiano).

In such a way, you cross the whole village passing its charming heart, Piazza Italia,

with the old municipal palace (Palazzo Borghese).

Do not miss walking up to Neive’s highest point, the clock tower (Torre Comunale).

Directly opposite you find a viewpoint from which you can enjoy the village’s stunning surroundings, the rolling hills full of vineyards.

2.2. Monforte d’Alba

Monforte d’Alba is situated 30 minutes south of Alba by car. When I learned that this place that I knew from an earlier stay (at Hotel Giardino da Felicin)

is on the list of the country’s most beautiful villages, I wanted to pay it a visit again. At the time we did not have much time to explore it. I think we even missed the most important thing here, walking up from the main piazza (Umberto I)

to the highest point, the Piazza Antica Chiesa. While doing so, you encounter lots of picturesque narrow lanes and colorful old buildings.

The origins of Monforte d’Alba go back to Roman times. Its name means strong, strategic point, which it has been for centuries. The village’s heart is the residence of the Scarampi Marquises, next to the mentioned highest point, the Piazza Antica Chiesa. It stand on the ruins of an ancient castle. Furthermore, there are other sites: a natural amphitheater (Horszowski Auditorium), a bell tower

and an old church.

To end this post about activities in Piedmont’s Langhe region, here is a fun thing to do, going on a truffle hunt.

3. Truffle hunting in the Langhe

There are different kinds of truffle you can find in the area. From January to April it is the black winter truffle, from May to November the black summer truffle.

And if you are keen on the rarer white truffle, it is available from mid September to January. An interesting detail is that you are not allowed to sell white truffles before the end of September. This is in order to guarantee its quality.

Just a few more words to the difference between black and white truffles in terms of smell and taste. Whereas the white truffle smells more intensive, the black one is subtler in this regard. However, the black truffle’s taste is more aromatic than it is the case with the white one. One says that that it tastes more complex.

My husband and I did a truffle hunt end of August, and therefore we were looking for the black summer truffle. All the same, we were told by “our truffle hunter” that he already had found the one or other white one. This activity was part of a Gourmet Escape Package that we had booked at our hotel, Relais San Maurizio. So, I cannot comment on the pricing as I had not booked it myself. Find in the following how it proceeded.

3.1. Truffle hunt with El Valet Tartufaia

Here my verdict right away if you do not want the details, it was a great experience – informative, exciting, personal and a gourmet treat!

We were picked up by car at our hotel by the truffle hunter’s son.

While he was driving us to his father’s estate in Canelli, about 20 minutes away, he told us that it is a family business. His father does the dog training and the actual truffle hunting, his mother is responsible for the culinary aspects and he himself does the marketing and the client handling.

Once arrived at the farm,

he introduced his father and the truffle dog. The father is a very kind, elder man. The “dog of the day” was a younger, not so experienced one.

The other dogs were in a dog pound. We heard them barking when we passed them later on. And off we went, first trough some kind of meadow with the ones or other trees, later on in a forest. The father does not speak any English, but as my husband knows Italian, the communication was no problem. And the son went with us in order to let us know the essentials.

We learned a lot about truffle hunting, I cannot go into details. Only so much, I wrongly thought that the dog must dig deep and long in the ground, but that is different. Everything goes very quickly; a bit of short digging and the truffle is in the dog’s mouth.

The most demanding task is now that the dog gives the truffle away – because he would rather eat it himself.

We found three small black summer truffles – if I remember correctly – and every time it worked out well!

After the hunting the son asked us to have a seat on the outdoor terrace where we were treated with local – and partly home made – treats. And of course he also shaved some of the truffles we had found over the fresh cheese. It was delicious!

Looking back and forward

My husband and I did the activities mentioned above on our recent 11-day trip through northern Italy and southern France (our itinerary). So far I have already reported about our stay at the luxury hotel and two-star Michelin restaurant Villa Crespi in Piedmont’s north and about things to do in the area (Lago d’Orta).

And if you want to know how it is staying and dining at our hotel in Piedmont’s Langhe region, here are the details (luxury hotel and one-star restaurant Relais San Maurizio). More about activities in the region you can find here.

Next was a stop at the Ligurian coast in Alassio (hotel/activities)

west of Genua before heading to the south of France. Here we stayed at two spots (French Riviera hills – hotel, what to do – and Provence) before returning to Switzerland via a stopover south of Lyon.

Date of visit: August 2021

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