Have a holiday in Piedmont and experience a beautiful green and vigorous region with soft hills, large and small forests, the high Alps to the north and the never-ending rows of vineyards where you will find the most delicious grapes you can imagine. 

Travelling to Piedmont is also a gastronomic experience; the food is rural and the region is known for being the mainland of truffles.

The regional capital of Piedmont is the former capital of Italy, Torino. It is a charming city with a beautiful and impressive city centre with big squares, many nice streets with cafes, restaurants and shopping possibilities.

Besides great wine and nature experiences, Piedmont offers a number of impressive castles, from the 17th century in particular, which you will find rising majestically and beautifully on the soft hills.

The landscape of Piedmont

The Piedmont region certainly has everything you can possibly want as a tourist when it comes to nature. You will find rivers, lakes, mountains, forests and idyllic rural surroundings in the soft hills.

You can ski in the Alps, sail on the rivers and hike in the wonderful forests where you will find various animals, i.a. wild boars, hares and deer.

Large cities in Piedmont: Torino

The capital Torino is a very nice city originating from the Romans. The city is surrounded by beautiful green and vigorous hills and the wide River Po. Along the shores of the river, you will find a number of nice cafes and restaurants, which make up a good starting point for a relaxing afternoon or evening. Piazza Castello is the actual centre from where you can experience the beautiful city centre and streets characterised by colonnades. In Via Roma and in the area of Via Garibaldi, you will find a lot of exciting shops and restaurants.

Other large cities in Piedmont are Novara, Alessandria and Asti.

Tourist attractions in Piedmont

The largest tourist areas are the city of Torino, the Lake Maggiore, the Susa valley with its many skiing resorts and the wine districts, especially around the Barolo production by the city Alba and by the spumante city, Asti.

You will also find a number of thermal baths if you go to Acqui Terme, Lurisia, Vinadio, Valdieri, Garessio, Bognanco and Crodo.

Piedmont has no less than 55 nature reserves, of which the biggest is Argentera of 25,000 hectares and the smallest is rocca di Cavour of 71 hectares. Gran Paradiso National Park, the River Po Park, Val Grande National Park and Orsiera Rocciavre are just some of the other parks. 

By the little lake Orta west of the Lake Maggiore, you can visit the island San Giulio. It is said that the saint San Giulio went there for the first time by walking on his cloak on the water.

Piedmont is especially known for its outstanding chocolates, which are primarily produced by old and well-reputed cafes in the central part of Torino. The number of chocolate variants is big, and you can find chocolates to everybody’s taste.

Sports activities in Piedmont

In Piedmont, you can practice alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding and a lot more. In the western Alps, you will find a nice mix of hospitality, security and respect for the environment. After a day of skiing you can choose some nice after-skiing. The Olympic cities have been Bardonecchia, Cesana-San Sicario, Oulx, Pinerolo, Sauze d´Oulx, Sestriere and Torino: It is a most unique ski area that covers all of the western Alps.

That Piedmont is the ideal place for hiking is almost obvious; the family can enjoy many wonderful hours together in the beautiful nature.

If you would like to go swimming in Piedmont, you can do it in the lakes or in the rivers. If you prefer to swim in the sea, you can, if you are in the southern part of Piedmont, drive to the neighbouring region Liguria and swim in the tempting Mediterranean Sea.

Gastronomic characteristics of Piedmont

The typical Piedmont cuisine often consists of dishes such as ravioli stuffed with rabbit, variants of risotto, venison and braised pot roast with the delicious wine, Barolo.

As a special characteristic for Piedmont, the bars often serve a large number of antipasti, which you can feel free to taste when, at the same time, you need a wonderful aperitif on a late afternoon.

Known culinary things from the region is, among others, the delicious bread, Grissini, which originates from the capital of Piedmont, Torino. But did you know that Torino is also famous for producing fantastic chocolate products and not least for gathering nuts for the Nutella in the autumn? You should also try the local drink “bicerin” which consists of the most wonderful dark chocolate, hot milk and coffee.

The best of the region’s wines come from the Langhe valley south-west of Torino where they produce some of Italy’s finest red wines, the strong and tasty Barolo and Barbaresco wines. Another speciality is the sparkling Spumante wine, the Italians’ preferred wine at festive events.

The climate of Piedmont

Mild subtropical climate with temperatures up to 30 degrees in July and August.

Some of the photos are kindly lent out from the Italian Tourist Office. Photographer: Fototeca Enit, Andrea Lazzarini Editore.