Six return train services are now running on weekdays between the towns of Asti and Alba. Italy’s northwestern Piedmont region is a land of vineyard-draped hills, truffle-filled woods and Michelin-starred restaurants. New rail routes, one of which is already in operation, are making it easier to explore this area by train.
This summer, you can ride the rails between the sparkling wine-producing town of Asti and the white truffle capital Alba. Next year, more services will let you explore the region’s historic villages. At the end of last year, several regional rail routes were revived in after a 12-year hiatus.
Six return train services are now running on weekdays between the towns of Asti and Alba. Asti is famed for the production of Asti Spumante - a fizzy white - and Moscato d’Asti, a sparkling dessert wine. Time your visit for autumn if you want to coincide with the town’s riotous wine festivals including the Douja d’Or and the Festival delle Sagre.
But you don’t have to be a wine lover to enjoy the city. Those with an eye for architecture will appreciate the graceful Baroque Palazzo Alfieri, open as a museum with original interior decorations and furniture, and the medieval Torre Troyana bell tower. If you visit in September, you’ll find the town buzzing as it hosts the annual Palio horse race in Piazza Campo.
From Asti, hop on the train to Alba, a city internationally known for its annual fair. Hunters and their dogs sniff out these prized tubers in the wo.