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The gentle hills and villas of Italy’s Piedmont region provide the perfect cycling destination. Its vineyards and trattorias will tempt you to slow down and savor everything along the way—the perfect scenario for a self-guided tour. With the Alps highlighting nearly every view, you’ll ride from Treiso, once the summer retreat of Alba’s nobility, to the Tanaro River, where herons glide and fishermen gather. After stopping for a cheese tasting in a historic piazza, continue on to Alba’s narrow alleyways (don’t forget to sample its renowned chocolate), and visit Barolo, home of Marchesi Falletti’s 11th-century castle and some of the world’s great wines. In Barbaresco, enjoy local wines at an enoteca with 120 varieties, while Asti’s sparkling white Muscats will earn your praises. From Acqui Terme, where the hot springs of Roman-era spas soothe the body and a thousand-year-old cathedral inspires the soul, to Neive, a first-century village officially cited as one of Italy’s loveliest, it seems there’s no end to the history and the beauty that awaits here.
tour includes
Arrival at Benevello
You are met at the Turin airport and taken to your stunning hotel (approximately 1¼ hours) just below Benevello. There is time to enjoy the pool and Jacuzzi before dinner.
Relais Villa d’Amelia
Benevello, Italy
A restored 19th-century villa (and a member of the “Small Luxury Hotels of the World”), just outside the village of Benevello. Guestrooms in this luxurious hotel are contemporary in design, with neutral colors, beech, and leather furnishings. Situated on a ridge among lush woods and Langa hazelnut groves over 2,000 feet in elevation, the site offers breathtaking views of the imposing Monviso Alps, and the nearby hamlet of Manera has several shops and restaurants.
Benevello to Castiglione Tinella; 35km/22mi
Today is a perfect start to your biking adventure with a gentle ride along an open road with balcony views and hawks soaring high above the breathtaking Langhe countryside. You visit lovely Treiso, formerly a summer retreat for Alba’s noble families, before reaching Barbaresco for lunch and cheese-tasting in the piazza. Try some wine too in the enoteca (wine shop), housed in a 19th-century church built by the locals in thanks for a good grape harvest! Time to visit Neive, officially one of Italy’s prettiest villages and home of Romano Levi, a renowned grappa maker, before a panoramic climb through Moscato vines to Claudia’s lovely hotel in Castiglione Tinella.
Albergo Castiglione
Castiglione Tinella, Italy
An intimate, family-run country-house hotel in the pleasant village of Castiglione Tinella. Comfortable rooms are individually decorated in pastel colors. A short walk from the hotel is a hilltop panoramic swimming pool, also with sauna and steam bath, with truly breathtaking 360-degree views, with the Alps in the distance, and on very clear days, views of Mont Blanc. Also with an original wine cellar where the owner’s Moscato d’Asti, one of the region’s best, can be tasted.
Layover day at Castiglione Tinella
Castiglione is a great place to spend a lazy day, especially lounging by the hotel’s panoramic pool. However, a short journey away is Acqui Terme, a spa town since Roman times, with two major thermal centers. Or you can head across to the Spumante capital of Asti, with its quaint cobbled historic center—each September the main piazza is home to an unleashed Palio horse race that rivals Siena’s!
Albergo Castiglione
Castiglione Tinella, Italy
An intimate, family-run country-house hotel in the pleasant village of Castiglione Tinella. Comfortable rooms are individually decorated in pastel colors. A short walk from the hotel is a hilltop panoramic swimming pool, also with sauna and steam bath, with truly breathtaking 360-degree views, with the Alps in the distance, and on very clear days, views of Mont Blanc. Also with an original wine cellar where the owner’s Moscato d’Asti, one of the region’s best, can be tasted.
Castiglione Tinella to Grinzane Cavour; 38km/24mi or 42km/26mi
The day starts with an exhilarating whizz through vineyards to Castagnole delle Lanze. From here you pedal along the banks of the gently meandering River Tanaro, where herons and fisherman jostle for the best catch from its limpid waters. There is time to explore the cobbled streets and bustling piazza of chocolate-perfumed Alba (Ferrero Rocher chocolates come from here!). You continue on to Grinzane Cavour where a warm welcome awaits at the elegant Casa Pavesi.
Hotel Casa Pavesi
Grinzane Cavour, Italy
An elegantly restored four-star hotel located in the center of the hamlet of Grinzane Cavour. Individually decorated rooms are spacious and opulent. Two exposed-beam reading rooms have comfy inviting couches and a bar, and an outdoor terrace has broad views of the surrounding countryside. Grinzane Cavour is dominated by its elegant 11th-century castle, once the home of 19th-century politician Camillo Cavour and now Piedmont’s first regional wine cellar; tours and wine purchases are available.
Layover day at Grinzane Cavour
Explore the castle—a wine tasting is on offer here too. Then perhaps visit nearby Brà, a gastronomic treasure trove where the Slow Food movement was initiated—so, ample choices for a long, lazy lunch. There is a lot to explore in the town too, including the 18th-century Rococo church and the strange octagonal structure known as the “Zizzola,” where local witches purportedly held their meetings. Alternatively, the Banca del Vino (Wine Bank) in Pollenzo (a wine center operated by the adjacent University of Gastronomics) merits a visit—highly informative and superb value tastings.
Hotel Casa Pavesi
Grinzane Cavour, Italy
An elegantly restored four-star hotel located in the center of the hamlet of Grinzane Cavour. Individually decorated rooms are spacious and opulent. Two exposed-beam reading rooms have comfy inviting couches and a bar, and an outdoor terrace has broad views of the surrounding countryside. Grinzane Cavour is dominated by its elegant 11th-century castle, once the home of 19th-century politician Camillo Cavour and now Piedmont’s first regional wine cellar; tours and wine purchases are available.
Grinzane Cavour to Monforte d’Alba; 21km/13mi or 28km/17mi
You cycle first through sunflower fields to Roddi, whose 13th-century castle was once a family home of Pico della Mirandola, the Renaissance humanist. Then continue onto Barolo, an ochre-hued village perched above its world-famous vineyards—the tangle of medieval streets are dominated by the Marchesi Falletti’s 11th-century castle. Pedaling on through archetypal Langhe countryside to Monforte d’Alba, whose picturesque honey-colored old town seems to cling enchantingly to the hillside. Your hotel here is equally lovely.
Villa Beccaris
Monforte d’Alba, Italy
With views over the villages of the Barolo region, this restored villa perched above the charming village of Monforte offers elegantly decorated rooms, a manicured park and gardens, and a sun-filled conservatory.
Layover day at Monforte d’Alba
You might not want to leave your gorgeous 18th-century villa hotel with private swimming pool, but medieval Monforte is well worth the effort. It’s a lively town with attractive buildings grouped around an atmospheric cobbled piazza. Maybe strike out a little farther to Dogliani, dominated by its beautiful onion-domed church and famous for being at the heart of Dolcetto wine production.
Villa Beccaris
Monforte d’Alba, Italy
With views over the villages of the Barolo region, this restored villa perched above the charming village of Monforte offers elegantly decorated rooms, a manicured park and gardens, and a sun-filled conservatory.
Monforte d’Alba to Benevello; 21km/13mi or 35km/22mi
Your final cycling day starts with a gentle coast along the Rea valley before a short climb takes you to a stunningly panoramic ridge, weaving through fields of wildflowers and sleepy hamlets to Serravalle Langhe—a great lunch spot with belvedere (literally “beautiful views”). Onwards, you pedal alongside chestnut-tree flanked hills with delightful vistas once more to reach your beautiful country hotel at Benevello.
Relais Villa d’Amelia
Benevello, Italy
A restored 19th-century villa (and a member of the “Small Luxury Hotels of the World”), just outside the village of Benevello. Guestrooms in this luxurious hotel are contemporary in design, with neutral colors, beech, and leather furnishings. Situated on a ridge among lush woods and Langa hazelnut groves over 2,000 feet in elevation, the site offers breathtaking views of the imposing Monviso Alps, and the nearby hamlet of Manera has several shops and restaurants.
