Hi,
My wife and I are planning a trip to Italy in September. We plan on spending a few days in Florence and then heading towards Pisa and up the coast to Barolo land. Does anyone have any hints or tips for travel to the region? We’d like to visit some of our favorite wineries but we’d also like to take in the sights that the area has to offer. We’ll be in the area for 5 or 6 days so we have some time.
Thanks,
Paul
Spend a day (even part) in the cinqueterre as you go up the coast. It’s very pretty and stopping in one of the towns even for a bit and to have lunch is a lovely break in the drive. You can do the entire drive (from Alba to Florence) in a day, but it’s a fairly long day and if you have the time I’d plan on staying somewhere along the coast and taking 2 days to get from one place to the other. The drive from Genoa to Alba will take you through many, many tunnels. 78 at my count. If you have tunnel phobia, let someone else drive : )
I stayed at Cascina della Rosa in Tre Stelle (near Barbaresco) and Giovanna was a lovely hostess. She speaks English well and can help you arrange some tastings. There’s a nice terrace there that you can sip wine at in the evening and look out over the valley. One thing you might want to do is stay at different places to minimize the amount of driving around - 2-3 days at Giovanna’s for things near there and some days elsewhere if you end up arranging tastings in another area.
My favorite “little” town north of Florence (in the area) is Lucca. Great to spend a day there. Also - has one of the best wine shops in Italy - Enoteca Vani.
www.enotecavanni.com/enoteca-vanni-en.asp
You have to wander in the caves below the store.
I would also recommend reading the book: Barolo by Matthew Gavin Frank. A bit quirky - but interesting if you are going to be visiting the area.
Last year we traveled to Piedmont from Lucca. We stopped at Relais Antica Corte outside of Parma.It is a farm and a restored castle on the Po river where Culetello is made.The relais has a great restaurant,better than the Cavalino Bianco that they are famous for.In Piedmont, we stay at Castello di Sinio.Denise, the owner, is charming and an American so she can explain the area in English.(most of the Piedmontese speak English)It is a great base for exploring the area.Hope this helps.
One of my most memorable meals of all times was at Guido’s Ristorante in the Barolo/Alba area. Since I dined there in 1998 (?), the restaurant was awarded 2 Michelin stars, now has 1 star, has moved, expanded, and maybe moved again. A web search using the words “Guido” and “Barolo” will get you more information and it looks as though it is still highly-regarded. If I remember correctly, Guido’s mom did much of the cooking. Spectacular and memorable, even after all of these years. Fantastic wines paired with the meal as well.
I second Cinqueterre but be aware that the drive from the Autostrada to any of the towns can take some time. Makes for some wonderful scenery and fun driving. You will see cyclists climbing hills and going faster than your little Opel or Fiat Panda can travel.
I recommend, if you are near Pisa, a visit to the Piazza dei Miracoli to visit the Dumo, the Camposanto and, yes, the Campanile (Leaning Tower of Pisa). While it is mobbed with tourists, a visit will be memorable. The Tower (Campanile) is open (ticket$$$ required) and you can climb to the top; I suggest going towards the end of the alloted time slots, slightly before sunset. The crowds leave in the mid afternoon. Climbing the tower and being in the Piazza at sunset is wonderful. Wait till after you climb the Tower to have wine, though. There are often concerts in the evening at the museum nearby.
For a fun read before your trip, I suggest Barolo by Matthew Gavin Frank. A quick read and has some nice stories about Luciano Sandrone.
What they said. Stop at Cinque Terre and/or Lucca along the way from Florence to Piedmont. I would break up the drive by spending at least 1 night in one of those two places. We chose to stay in Cinque Terre ourselves. We opted for the town of Monterosso al Mare. It is about the quickest and easiest drive between the Autostrada and the coast. You can park in the multilevel covered parking garage right on the edge of town and walk into your hotel, beach, restaurant, shopping, etc… We stayed at Albergo Margherita (pretty good, in the heart of things, recently updated and pretty modern, King size bed, decent price since it isn’t right on the water). We had dinner at Il Posso and it was good to very good. You have to try the sardines while staying in the area, a local specialty. I hate sardines but I liked these. The local wines are fairly pedestrian but they show well with the local cuisine (sardines).
From there we drove fairly easily to Monforte d’Alba where we setup camp for Piemonte. We stayed in the newly constructed apartments rented by the hotel de Felicin. Tons of space, clean, partial kitchen, balcony over looking the rolling hills, etc… Really inexpensive for all that you get. That put us in easy striking distance of Barolo, La Morra, Seralunga d’Alba, etc… Dinners for this area were at da Felicin (excellent), Il Posto (excellent) and Osteria Veglio (very good). Tired of big dinners over 9 consecutive nights we wanted a simple pizza one night and stumbled across a “pizza” place called Osteria Pizzeria Per Bacco in La Morra. Fantastic wood fired pizzas and dirt cheap while maintaining a nice Trattoria like feel. We had lunches at Cantinetta in Barolo. Loved it. Also be sure and try to eat lunch at Centro Storico in Seralunga. Great place where you’re very likely to sit at a communal table with others and you can tour the castle afterwards as a bonus. This was a recommendation from Roberto Conterno after we tasted with him at Giacamo Conterno.