In October 2019 I visited Piemonte with my son. He is involved in winemaking so wandering through gorgeous vineyards and stunning wineries seemed like a very good idea. We had a wonderful time so I was happy to revisit the area with my husband who also has a keen interest in wine, mainly drinking it.
We stayed in Alba, a lovely town in the heart of the Langhe, famous for Barolo, Nebbiolo, Barbaresco, Barbera and Dolcetto wine, chocolate and hazelnuts and delicious food. From Alba there is easy and close access to everything we wanted to see and taste.
The town is delightful and it is a pleasure to walk through the narrow streets lined with wonderful enotecas, delis, stylish shops, restaurants and grand buildings.
On our first evening in Alba we at at Al Dente Trattoria, in Via Elvio Pertinance, the same restaurant we went to in 2018 when we were there for the Alba Truffle Festival. It was as good as we remembered.
On our last evening we went to Ape Wine Bar in Piazza Risorgimento, which was excellent. We have decided we like the food and wine in Piemonte.
On our final morning we went to the Saturday market. It is huge! The clothing and homeware stalls run the entire length of the main street , the central piazza and another street. I found it a bit disappointing. Many Italians I talk to don’t like the cheap foreign imports coming into Italy, but these stalls were filled with just that. I can’t imagine the local shop owners are happy to have this at their doorstep every Saturday.
We found the fresh food market in a smaller piazza between the 2 streets. It was great, with lots of local produce well displayed.
We stayed at a great apartment, Il Nido, at the edge of the centre.
It was an easy walk to everything we wanted to see. It had off street parking and the charming host gave us excellent suggestions on what to see in the area. The apartment had good maps and information and was easy to drive to. We will return.
Alba is a perfect base from which to explore the Lange area of Piemonte. In my next post I will tell you about some of the lovely places we visited. We drove away with a haul of local goodies.
Here is a post I wrote on my last visit to Piemonte…Autumn in Piemonte