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A 15-day gourmet delight through Northern Italy.
Welcome to Milan! At the Airport your private driver is waiting for you and will transfer you to your centrally located hotel.
Milan, with its various industrial sectors, it is considered the main industrial city in Italy. It is like a magnet for designers, artists, photographers and models. It also has a beautiful and ancient town center dotted with palaces and monuments, a reason that pushes every day millions of visitors from all over the world to visit the city of charm.
Enjoy your free time exploring the city.
Today, after breakfast, you will check out from your hotel to be transferred to your next fabulous destination, Genoa.
You will make the transfer by first-class train. At the station, your private driver is waiting for you and will transfer you to your centrally located hotel.
Metropolis of the sea and a city with a glorious history, Genoa arouses mixed feelings and respect and the fact that there are two facets: port on the Mediterranean with the traffic and the countries that overlook it and the city of merchants and bankers, famous by all as the most English city in Italy. Fascinating streets the old town, the famous carruggi, the elegant buildings that alternate with humble houses, the beautiful churches with their austere marble facades in black and white stripes or opulent in their baroque lines. Throughout the city the sign of historical time is visible, in which the great Genoese families reached the maximum wealth.
In the afternoon a walking food tour awaits you!
Are you looking for the best way to visit Genoa? Live and enjoy our city with our food tours by locals and visit Genoa for a day in-depth, discovering the best places and dishes that guide books don't mention.
Genoa was one of the so-called Maritime Republics in the Middle Ages; that helped to merge different food cultures, through the flows of people and goods. Now it's a modern Italian city with a strong culinary tradition.
You will be amazed by the food experience you can get with this walking food tour.
This Genoa Food Tours is a progressive meal through downtown: this style of eating incorporates some Traditional, Focaccia and Street food dishes served at different restaurants.
Get ready to be impressed by Genoa's food scene!
Today we get a basil farm to table experience to discover how the main ingredient of the most famous green sauce of the world! Join us in this unique experience.
We will take you to a historical basil farm “Serre” where a local producer has been cultivating Genoese basil for about two centuries. You’ll see how they grow their superior basil, known over the world and learn more curiosities about its production.
Then you’ll reach Genoa historical center where a local culinary expert will welcome you to participate to a pesto sauce lesson with mortar and pestle, just as the tradition wants. After the pesto lesson, you will enjoy a typical Ligurian lunch with typical specialities!
Exploring the beautiful coastline, picturesque Italian villages and the diverse culture of Liguria, is best by car. So today you will meet your driver / guide to see some truly spectacular stretches of road alongside oceans and mountains; there are not many other countries that can compete with the Italian driving experience!
To give you just a taste of what you can expect from driving around in Liguria. Your driver will drive you around the picturesque coastline until you reach the next province of Savona to explore the stunning collection of churches, fortresses and museums it houses. Immerse yourself in the history of this beautiful town and have a look at the art of ceramic in Albissola. Head along the beautiful SS1 Aurelia to Sanremo to discover Italy’s own Monte’ Carlo with its impressive casino and regular aristocratic visitors.
And finally you will reach Bordighera where you can view the French coastline from the sandy shore. Be sure to sample the extra virgin olive oil with a large chunk of focaccia, – the oil is delicious! And thus completes your road trip along the Italian Riviera. Remember along your route to take advantage of the unrivalled shopping opportunities, with personal favourites being the Olive Oil from Imperia and the fresh pasta and pesto in Genoa, you won’t find anything like them back home!
Today, after breakfast, you will check out from your hotel to be transferred to your next fabulous destination, Turin,
You will make the transfer to Turin in the comfort of first-class train. At the station, your private driver is waiting for you and will transfer you to your centrally located hotel.
Turin is the capital of Piedmont and is known for the refinement of its architecture and its cuisine. To the north-west of the city the Alps rise up
Sumptuous baroque buildings and old cafes line the avenues and the great squares of Turin, such as Piazza Castello and Piazza San Carlo. Nearby is the high spire of the Mole Antonelliana, from the 19th century, which hosts the interactive exhibitions of the National Cinema Museum.
The Egyptian Museum of the city exhibits mummies, sphinxes and ancient papyri. In the nearby Cathedral of San Giovanni Battista there is the Turin Shroud, considered by some to be the funeral sheet of Jesus and rarely exposed.
The National Automobile Museum exhibits historic cars and racing cars. Via Garibaldi and Via Roma are the main shopping streets of Turin, while the Quadrilatero Romano district is characterized by boutiques, bars and restaurants. All over the city there are chocolate shops selling gianduiotti, made with hazelnuts, and other local sweets. Juventus Stadium, the home stadium of the Turin football club, offers tours and a museum dedicated to the club.
Enjoy your free time!!
Meet your guide to begin your delicious tour through this culinary wonderland. Learn a bit about the history of Turin, which dates to ancient Roman times and was the first capital of a unified Italy. Find out about Piedmont's important culinary contributions. Stop into a selection of wonderful bars and restaurants to try some local favorites such as bagna cauda, agnolotti pasta, Barolo rice, and the region's famous truffles. Indulge your sweet tooth with zabaione or a chocolate and hazelnut cream. Sip some of Italy's finest wines, like Barbaresco, Barolo, Barbera, and Asti.
As you walk through Turin, pass by some of the city's important monuments and attractions. Get tips from your guide about visiting places like the wonderful Egyptian museum, the National Cinema Museum, the Royal Palace, or the Risorgimento Museum. Get an in-depth cultural experience that also includes some of Italy's best food and wine.
Finally, you will go to the southern area of a Torino, next to the old FIAT Lingotto factory where you will found Eataly, the temple for the gourmand. Its official date of birth is 2007. It is considered the starting point of the Italian food and wine revival, pride and joy of Torino, that is becoming more and more attractive.
The old Carpano plant, a milestone in the history of Vermouth (invented here) is nowadays a rare and precious place, where it is possible to discover the best products from all over Italy.
Today will await you a private day-long visit to the southern Monferrato area in Piemont with a local tour guide, designed to discover the typical wines of the territory such as Asti Spumante, Moscato d’Asti and Barbera d’Asti.
Traditionally, Barbera was for everyday drinking, but about thirty years ago Giacomo Bologna with his “Bricco dell’Uccellone” gave Barbera wine a chance to step out of Nebbiolo’s shadow. You will visit a Barbera d’Asti producer. Barbera makes dark wines that are low in tannins, thus French oak lends wine tannins of its own, giving this newer style of Barbera the balanced structure it needs to support the added richness. After the visit you will taste this typical win Proceed to the visit of of the medieval city of Asti. Rich in monuments of the medieval period, it is known worldwide for its wines, in particular reds like Barbera, as well as for Asti sparkling wine.
Every year, in September, a series of events takes place in Asti, which is the heart of the city's historical identity and its link with the territory: the Douja d'Or, one of the most important wine competitions in Italy, the Festival of the festivals, "great restaurant" in the open air where the cooperatives of the various neighboring villages serve the traditional
dishes of Asti, and the Palio, one of the oldest in Italy that, after a rich parade in medieval costumes, culminates with a horse race mounted "bareback" (without saddle).
Starting from June 2014, the viticultural landscapes of the Asti Monferrato have been registered, along with the rest of Monferrato and the regions of Langhe and Roero, on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, thus becoming the 50th UNESCO site in Italy. Asti is also home to the institution's headquarters to monitor the Unesco site, the Wine Landscapes Association of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato.
Finally, move to Canelli, the homeland of Asti Spumante and Moscato d’Asti, where you will visit one of the so-called 'underground cathedrals', recognized by UNESCO as world heritage, i.e. spumante refining cellars of famous historic wineries like Contratto, Gancia, Bosca, etc.).
After breakfast, you can pick up your car and head to Alba.
During the journey, you will admire magnificent landscapes of the Piedmont hills and many vineyards until you reach your accommodation.
Alba is a town and comune of Piedmont, Italy, in the province of Cuneo. It is considered the capital of the UNESCO Human Heritage hilly area of Langhe, and is famous for its white truffle, peach and wine production.
The confectionery group Ferrero is based there. The city joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in October 2017.
The Alba Cathedral, rebuilt in Gothic style, has a bell tower with city views. Nearby, the Church of San Giovanni Battista contains artworks from the 14th century onward. The Federico Eusebio Museum houses artefacts from prehistoric to Roman times, plus a natural history section.
Today, after breakfast, a tour on the wine route of this enchanting region awaits you.
You will discover the production techniques of these fine wines known all over the world!
Home to UNESCO–listed wineries including Langhe, Monferrato, and Roero, Piedmont ranks among Italy’s most productive winemaking regions—but knowing where to find the best of them requires local knowledge. On this tour, spin through the countryside with your guide and visit some of the vineyards and cellars for which Piedmont is famous. Sample the diverse wines in production and find out what makes Piedmont wines so special. Visit local wineries to sample wines like Dolcetto, Barolo and Barbaresco.
Nibble on snacks from a platter of locally-made cheeses and meats while you sip. Learn why the Piedmont vineyards of the Langhe, Roero, and Monferrato are so special - they were named to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 2014.
Barbera is the straightforward, easy-going charmer of Piedmont’s famed local grapes, Nebbiolo is the ornery intellectual: It may reward lovers with a deeper, more meaningful encounter—but not without a fight. Like Pinot Noir, the thin-skinned grape thrives in cooler climates.
It’s often the first to bud and last to ripen, resulting in full-bodied wines with delicate aromas, yet intense tannins and high acidity. In both farming Nebbiolo and experiencing it in the glass, there is nothing easy about this grape.
Which is why fickle Nebbiolo is perfect for expressing subtle differences in terroir— especially in the Langhe subregion of Piedmont, where soils and microclimates can differ greatly within a few footsteps. In fact, as in Burgundy, a single Langhe plot might be divided up amongst multiple vineyards.
Growing the grape in Barbaresco or Barolo will produce very different wines—even though the two famous DOCGs are only fifteen miles apart. Barbaresco lies closer to the Tanaro River at a lower altitude; with its warmer temperatures, the region harvests its grapes earlier than Barolo.
Both regions have soils rich in lime and clay, but Barbaresco has sandier, less compact soils that are richer in nutrients, resulting in fewer tannins, and softer, more approachable wines than the heartier, firmer products of neighboring Barolo.
Today you will savor the most sought after delights of Piedmont in this tour that takes you into the heart of the Barolo wine region. Discover the tastes of this territory by sampling and purchasing some of the best flavors in wines, cheeses and chocolates.
Departing from your hotel, your first stop will be the town of Cherasco that combines snail farming and fine chocolate production in a historic setting. Here you will visit a traditional chocolate producer and sample a variety of chocolates, including the renowned baci di Cherasco.
Next stop is Bra, home of the cheese that bears the town's name and the birthplace of the influential Slow Food movement. Visit a cheese-producing farm that dates back to the early 1900s and enjoy a guided tasting of a variety of their cheeses.
A sightseeing tour of the Langhe wine-growing region will follow. After a brief stop at the wine bank in Pollenzo, you'll continue on to the imposing 13th century Castello di Grinzane Cavour (exterior only); the castle's red brick profile can be seen from all over the Langhe. You'll then head to the village of La Morra where you'll have time to shop or have lunch in a local restaurant.
The final stop of this gourmet day will be one of the 11 picturesque Barolo villages where you'll visit the historic cellars of a renowned producer of Barolo wine with a tasting of three/four wines to follow.
Today, after breakfast, you will have free time to explore.
The ancient city of Alba (it seems that the territory was inhabited already in the Neolithic age) rises to a large extent on the right bank of the river Tanaro, in a flat area surrounded by hills full of vineyards.
The municipality, although not very large, offers an innumerable range of attractions: places of art and religion, historic buildings, the famous towers and of course a remarkable gastronomic and wine tradition.
Located in Piazza Risorgimento, the Cathedral of San Lorenzo is certainly among the most important buildings of the city. The imposing religious building is in Gothic style and is built in characteristic red bricks.
Another beautiful religious building to admire in Alba is the Church of La Maddalena. In Piedmontese Baroque style, it is the work of the architect Bernardo Antonio Vittone.
Alba is also nicknamed the "city of one hundred towers" due to the high number of towers built in the past for defensive purposes (the city of Alba has often been the victim of looting).
Of the many towers today there are few left as many have been demolished and others lowered or incorporated into the surrounding buildings.
The three most important and best-preserved are all clearly visible from Piazza Duomo and are the Bonino Tower, the Artesian Tower and the Sineo Tower, all dating back to the 12th century.
It is not possible to talk about Alba without talking about food, as this city, rich in history and beauty, is one of the capitals of Piedmontese and Italian gastronomy.
There are many specialities that you can taste in the various restaurants in the area such as butter tajarin; raw meat allabese (piemontese veal slices seasoned with oil, pepper and parmesan flakes); the vitello tonnato; the vegetable flan; the ravioli of mixed meat; the bagna cauda; the mixed fry; the financier (poor peasant recipe based on offal). Many of these dishes are enriched by the very famous Alba White Truffle like butter tajarin, raw meat, baked egg or risotto.
And then the sweets of the area made with the Piedmont IGP hazelnut as the traditional bonet and hazelnut cake. And let's not forget the renowned wines produced in the area such as the Barbera d'Alba DOC.
After breakfast at your hotel, you will need to check out, because it is time to transfer to your next destination, Lake Orta.
Orta is a town of about 1200 inhabitants of the province of Novara, included in the list of the most beautiful villages in Italy.
The northern Italian lakes are popular destinations, beloved for their placid waters and mountain scenery. Among these, however, sleepy Lake Orta is one of the least well known. Overshadowed by its famous neighbor, Lake Maggiore, Lake Orta attracts visitors who want to get away from it all.
Calm and crystalline waters gentle hills that surround this sparkling mirror...And a magical atmosphere: this is Lake Orta.
Today a pleasant boat tour on Lake Orta awaits you. You will admire historic buildings, elegant villas and romantic corners of Lake Orta.
With this boat trip, you will visit the village of Pella which is right in front of Orta, you will stop to the village of Orta and finally, you will reach the enchanting island of San Giulio. You will see one of the charms of picturesque Lake Orta is the tiny island at its center, Isola San Giulio, home to a centuries-old basilica and monastery.
You will visit also the historical center and 16th-century town hall, you will climb the hill above town to visit the Sacro Monte chapels.
From which you can enjoy a spectacular view.
Today, after breakfast, we recommend you visit the Mottarone.
The mountain offers a spectacle that can not only be described, it is necessary to live it.
In addition to a breathtaking view, the gulf and the islands are below you, arrived at its peak we will have a beautiful view as the view is 360 degrees.
All around it is a sequence of mountains of the nearby Ossola Valley and of soft hills, pine forests, pastures, beech woods as well as numerous other varieties of plants and flowers and the presence of some sources located on the road.
Mottarone, a true mountain among the lakes, offers tourists and the inhabitants of the area a show that can not only be described, we must necessarily live.
Seen from a distance it looks like a huge peeled panettone that, from its 1,491 meters, is reflected in the waters of seven lakes.
After this visit you will drive until you reach your next destination: Milan, here you will drop off car
Some curiosities:
This enchanting lake, a short distance from Lake Maggiore, is a jewel set in the mountains. Its shores are adorned with pretty villages, large villas and elegant gardens.
This characteristic, serene and mysterious corner of Italy, often unheard of, has inspired many writers who have described or mentioned the charm of Lake Orta: Mario Soldati, Eugenio Montale, Mario Bonfantini, Piero Chiara, Honoré de Balzac, Henry Bordeaux, Robert Browning, Lawrence Durrell ... The main city on Lake Orta is Omegna, an important industrial area in the past, specialized in small kitchen appliances. The Bialetti and Alessi companies were founded here in the 1920s.
The well-known author for children Gianni Rodari was born in Omegna in 1920.
From Omegna you can go up the mountain to reach the valley of Strona, where woodworking is still an important activity whose origins date back to the Middle Ages.
Here the local carpenters, skilled artisans, produce many wooden objects, especially kitchen utensils, but have specialized mainly in the production of handmade Pinocchio puppets.
This is why the valley is known as "the valley of the pinocchi" or "the valley of spoons". From Omegna it is possible to reach the pretty village of Quarna, famous for the production of musical instruments, in particular the saxophones.
Another important trade is concentrated near the lake of Orta and concerns the production of taps.
But the treasure contained in this casket of water is the village of Orta San Giulio, where time seems to have stopped.
After breakfast at your hotel, you will need to check out, because it is time to say “Arrivederci” to Italy! Your English-speaking driver will accompany you to Milan Airport in time to catch your flight back Home. We are sure you will have enjoyed your “Northern Italy Gourmet” tour and we sincerely hope to see you again soon for another delicious experience!
