Piedmont — Piemonte in Italian, literally "at the foot of the mountains" — is one of Italy's most rewarding and least overcrowded regions. Spread across the northwestern corner of the country, it is bordered by the Alps on three sides: the towering peaks of Monte Rosa, the Matterhorn (known locally as Cervino), and the Gran Paradiso massif form a dramatic natural amphitheatre that shelters one of Europe's richest culinary and cultural landscapes.
The regional capital, Turin (Torino), is a baroque masterpiece that spent centuries as the seat of the House of Savoy and briefly served as the first capital of unified Italy between 1861 and 1865. With a population of around 870,000 — and a metropolitan area exceeding 1.7 million — Turin combines regal architecture with a surprisingly youthful energy. The city's porticoed streets stretch for more than 18 kilometres, sheltering visitors as they walk between the Egyptian Museum (the second-largest collection of Egyptian antiquities in the world after Cairo), the Mole Antonelliana (now home to the National Museum of Cinema), and the Palazzo Reale, the Savoy royal residence that anchors a UNESCO World Heritage complex of royal residences scattered across Piedmont.
Beyond Turin, Piedmont splits into landscapes that feel like entirely different countries. To the south, the Langhe, Roero, and Monferrato hills — recognised by UNESCO as a cultural landscape — roll in waves of vineyards that produce some of the world's most prestigious wines. Barolo, called the "King of Wines," and Barbaresco, its more elegant sibling, are both made from the native Nebbiolo grape. Add Barbera d'Asti, Dolcetto d'Alba, and the sparkling Moscato d'Asti, and you have a wine region that rivals Burgundy in depth and prestige, while remaining far more accessible to visitors.
A Culinary Capital
Piedmont is the birthplace of the Slow Food movement, founded in Bra in 1986 by Carlo Petrini as a response to fast food culture. The movement has since spread to 160 countries, but its heart remains here. Alba's annual white truffle festival, held every October and November, draws connoisseurs worldwide to bid on tubers that can fetch thousands of euros per kilogram. The region's cuisine — agnolotti del plin (tiny meat-filled pasta pinched by hand), bagna cauda (a warm anchovy and garlic dip served with raw vegetables), vitello tonnato (cold veal with tuna sauce), and bollito misto (a grand platter of boiled meats) — is soul food elevated to fine art.
Turin itself claims credit for gianduja, the hazelnut-chocolate combination that predates Nutella by more than a century. The city's historic cafés — Caffè Al Bicerin, Caffè Torino, Baratti & Milano — serve bicerin, a layered drink of espresso, drinking chocolate, and whole milk that has been a Turinese tradition since the 18th century. Piedmont produces more than 70% of Italy's hazelnuts, and the Tonda Gentile delle Langhe variety is considered the finest in the world.
Getting Around Piedmont
Turin is the transport hub. The city's Porta Susa and Porta Nuova stations connect to Milan (50 minutes by high-speed Frecciarossa), Rome (4 hours), and Paris (4.5 hours via TGV to Lyon–Paris). The Turin–Milan A4 motorway and the Turin–Bardonecchia A32 to the French border make car travel straightforward. For wine touring in the Langhe, a car is essential — the hilltop villages are poorly connected by public transport. Many hotels offer electric vehicle charging points, and IMPT encourages low-impact travel choices at every step.
Cycling is increasingly popular, with dedicated routes through the Monferrato hills, along the Po river cycle path, and across the Via Lattea ski slopes in summer. The Turin–Venice cycle route (part of EuroVelo 8) passes through Vercelli and the rice plains. Several train stations, including Turin Porta Nuova and Alba, offer bicycle storage and rental partnerships.
Piedmont's Seven Regionees
Piedmont is divided into seven provinces plus the Turin metropolitan area. Each has a distinct identity shaped by geography, history, and local produce.
Turin (Torino) dominates the region economically and culturally, but the surrounding provinces offer remarkably different experiences. Alessandria, in the southeast, is the gateway to the Monferrato hills and home to the Citadella fortress, one of Europe's best-preserved 18th-century military fortifications, and the Borsalino hat museum. Asti, the heart of Monferrato, is famous for its sparkling Moscato and Barbera wines — the medieval towers of Asti's old town rise above vineyards that produce over 20,000 hectares of wine annually. Biella, in the Alpine foothills, has been Italy's textile capital since the 19th century — its historic wool mills now house luxury fashion archives, and the Sacro Monte di Oropa (UNESCO) draws pilgrims to a sanctuary set against a spectacular mountain backdrop.
Cuneo, the largest province by area, encompasses the Langhe wine region, the Maritime Alps, and the ski resorts of Limone Piemonte. The city of Cuneo itself is an architectural gem with 15 km of porticoed streets. Novara, straddling the Lombardy border, is the region's second city for industry — its Basilica of San Gaudenzio features a 121-metre dome by architect Alessandro Antonelli (who also designed the Mole). Vercelli, between Turin and Milan, is the epicentre of European rice production — the flooded paddies that stretch across its plain feed half a continent, while the Basilica di Sant'Andrea is one of northern Italy's finest Romanesque-Gothic churches.
Lakes & Mountains
To the north, Lake Maggiore shares its waters with Lombardy and Switzerland. The resort town of Stresa, perched on the western shore, is the gateway to the Borromean Islands — Isola Bella with its baroque palace and terraced gardens, Isola dei Pescatori with its cobbled fishing village, and Isola Madre with its botanical gardens. Nearby Lake Orta, smaller and quieter, centres on the medieval village of Orta San Giulio, one of the most photogenic lakeside towns in all of Italy.
The Alpine north offers some of Italy's finest skiing. The Via Lattea (Milky Way) ski area, which hosted events during the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, connects Sestriere, Sauze d'Oulx, and several other resorts across 400 kilometres of pistes. In summer, the same mountains become a paradise for hiking, mountain biking, and paragliding. Gran Paradiso National Park, Italy's oldest national park founded in 1922, protects ibex, chamois, golden eagles, and alpine meadows carpeted with wildflowers.
When you book through IMPT, every stay in Piedmont removes 1 tonnellata di CO₂ verificata on-chain — at the same price as Booking.com. New members receive EUR 5 free credit on their first booking, earn 5% cashback in IMPT tokens, and join a network of 25,000+ green-certified partners working to make travel more sustainable.
