My wife and I are going to Germany in

06/02/2017 - 18:48

My wife and I are going to Germany in August them on to Piedmonte in Italy for 10 days. We are looking at spending 5 days in Alba after a few days in Turin. Is Alba a good place to base ourselves and is Turin worth spending more time in? Is hiring a car essential in Alba?

Topic

Travel

Location

Piedmont

Comment

Ciao, I can't answer your question, but my wife and I are also visiting Piedmonte for the first time in August. We will be in the foothills (Varese) for a few days and then use Alba as a base to discouver the wine region. Plan to rent a car (super-easy in Italy) to get around, but will train into Turino for a day from Alba. In general, we have found (after 30+ trips to Italy and a year-long stay) that a rented car is great for making a gira to see small towns, but a hastle to drive and park in cities. Buon viaggio!

I know what you mean about cars in Italy! We'll look at getting one in Alba and just hoof it in Turin.Like you guys we're interested in the wine from the region and of course the food. Hope you have a great trip.

Hi I live in Piemonte close to Asti, in the Barbera wine region.Firstly Torino is a very beautiful elegant city with many palaces , museums galleries and designer shops etc.etc. As you walk through the centre you get fleeting glimpses of the towering Alps beyond which seem to be strategically positioned at the end of the avenues. In my opinion it is one of the most beautiful cities in Italy when every I visit I always feel very special. . There are certainly many things to see and do, the peripheral towns situated on the hillside are also worth a visit to get the amazing views of the city. I am sure that there must be someone on this site who could give you a list of places to visit.regarding an optimum location for touring, try and find accomodation between Alba, Asti and the town of Aqui Terme. The three towns are all beautiful but very different. Alba is home to nutella with the famous Barolo wines in the vicinity. It tends to be the most expensive of the three towns, with tourist prices. Asti is home to Barbera and the oldest palio in Italy (unfortunately for you it is in September) and Aqui Terme Is an ancient spa town where you can swim in the healing waters! Both towns tend to be more reasonably priced. During the summer there are many festas and you will find lots to visit.The surrounding countryside is carpeted with vast areas of vineyards and hazelnut groves it is superb.Colourful villages are perched on the rolling hillsides. To see these villages you would need a car. local transport is good and certainly there is a train line between Asti and Aqui terme. From Asti the trains run every 30 minutes to Torino.One consideration it is very hot here in August temperatures often reach into the high 30/ low 40. It is also the Italian holiday usually the first two weeks of August so some local transport timetables can change. Hope this is some help if you have any further questions please ask. Julia

Thanks for the info Julia.We look forward to staying in Turin and by the sounds of it has plenty to offer. It sounds as though you don't think Alba is the place to base ourselves and that we should consider Asti instead. Also we intended to take the train from Turin to Alba but is looks like the train service might be better to Asti. Is that the case?We'll consider hiring a car in Alba/Asti for a few days although we would prefer to avoid the roads if possible. Getting around there probably needs a car though.We are prepared for some hot weather but are not too fazed by it as we live in Australia and know all about heat waves! Any tips you can give are much appreciated. Thanks again.

Hi I thnk a car is essential to get the best, when you are in the countryside.

I tend to agree. Otherwise its too difficult to get to the places you need to visit. Thanks.

Hi I do mot have any experience of catching trains in Alba so am unsure what the train service is like especially to Torino. It would be worth you checking on trenitalia website. Certainly the trains from Asti can get you around the area. You can even travel down to the coast for a day visit , although there is certainly enough to do around here. All the towns are beautiful but as I said quite different. I couldn't advise you which one to stay in. It really depends on your requirements and budget.I suspect from Asti it will be easier to travel around the area without hiring a car. We live close to Nizza Monferratto in the heart of the barbera wine region, it is a quaint old market town again with a station , with trains running from Asti to Aqui Terme. Just as Connor says to really appreciate the area and visit the little villages a car would be beneficial if only for a couple of days.Out of the towns the roads are quiet with not too much stress, these days we find ourselves struggling with the traffic when we drive to Torino.Hope that helps.

Thanks again Julia. You've been really helpful. We hold hotel bookings in Alba but will decide what to do very soon about where to stay. :-)

"..... I do mot have any experience of catching trains in Alba so am unsure what the train service is like especially to Torino.........."I have found that the German Railway website is great for train times anywhere in Europehttps://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml

Thanks. I did check bahn.com and other sites but was wanting some firsthand experience feedback on the service. You are right of course about the DB. A great web site. My go to rail site is seat61. https://www.seat61.com/index.html (the man should be knighted!)

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