North of Italy: ALBA and many more

Well probably most of you haven’t heard of these little towns in the north of Italy. Probably I would have never gone if it wasn’t for my friend who is from there. One useful tip; hire a car and drive there. It’s almost two hours far from Milano by car. Here you actually see the real life of Italy. If you are wine lover probably you have heard the fame of Langhe wines. This region specialised in red wine and they are super good. All the seasons are good in there however winter can be quiet cold. In Piedmont region there are agriturismo places instead of hotels. They are B&B specific to region. They genereally renovate ancient buildings and turn them into nice hotels. You can stay in Alba or in the villages nearby.  During summer in there are open music nights in Alba. Basically each bar/restaurant put their music system outside and you enjoy your aperitivo in a rather fun way. Aperitivo is very common in Italy. You have a drink and food and you just pay for one drink and the food keeps coming or there is a open buffet.  generally it starts at 7 and finishes by 10. No worries in a magical way different music don’t mix and don’t cause sound pollution. Aperitivo is very common in Italy. You have a drink and food and you just pay for one drink and the food keeps coming or there is a open buffet.  generally it starts at 7 and finishes by 10.

In Alba there are nice restaurants and cafes to try but I recommend you to eat in the villages nearby. However you should try the bar “Soda” in Alba where they make cocktails based on your special request, you just need to describe the taste and then let them do their magic! They are very good at their job and the prices are affordable. The bar is closed on Mondays.

An agriturismo in Alba which used to be the summer house of Royal Family

Definitely visit La Morra, a village in the mountain which is under the protection of Unesco. Buy an ice cream from Venchi and climb up a little hill up to the city center where you have an amazing view of infinite green and wine yards. 

The View of Langhe

Come back to La  Morra for dinner. I recommend restaurant “More &Macine” or “La Fontanza” where you should try tajarin. Tajarin is very thin cut pasta with bolognese sauce, a specialty of this region, it’s better to make reservations. In both restaurants the dishes are very tasty and the prices are normal.

Castle of Pollenza

Little piazza of Pollenza with its church

You can drive to Pollenza which is also under the protection of Unesco. In this village there is the University of Gastronomic Sciences which is in collaboration with Slow Food movement. In the university campus there is a hotel, restaurant and a café/bar. You can enjoy a lunch or just a coffee and relax. If you have time you can visit the castle there. 

Dogliani is another village at the heart of the Langhe where you can spend a night here and try the restaurant “Il Torchino” where you can taste the specialties of the region.  

View of Monforte

Terrace of Moda

My favorite village was Monforte. This village has romantic atmosphere, breathtaking view and amazing castle. It’s build up on a hill and wondering around in its small streets makes you feel good. When you are in this village you should go to Moda. This restaurant/bar has an interesting system where it allows you to taste different wines. They give you a card of 100€ and inside there are many bottles of wine inside the machines. You choose your wine put the card in the machine and choose price and amount of the wine you wish the drink. Generally price range differs from 4€ to 12€. While you are there I recommend you to try “nebiolo”, “barbaresco” and “barolo” wines. Barolo is one of the best wines ever. Nebiolo grape is named after nebbia which means fog in Italian. During the harvest time intense fog sets in this region which makes it hard to collect the grapes. 

Little roads of villages

If you are interested in wine you can visit Barolo wine yards and do wine tastings but it's rather touristic among wine lovers.

All these villages are really close to each other. It takes maximum 20min to go to one another. In order to be independent, a car is a must as I mentioned before.