Situated in northwestern Italy, Piedmont (Piemonte in Italian) is little known to foreign visitors despite having hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics. Aside from Turin (Torino), it is essentially countryside – the Alps in the distance (Piemonte means ‘at the foot of the mountain’), vineyard-covered hills, rolling plains, and rice paddies. Once part of the Kingdom of Savoy, later the first capital (Torino) of a unified Italy, Piedmont offers many surprises. Start with its famous Egypt museum and the Shroud of Turin in elegant Torino. The ‘slow food’ movement began here, fueled by local products (truffles, chocolate) and wines (Barolo, Barbaresco, Asti). Lago Maggiore, Juventus soccer, fine arts, Fiat – so much more!
Expand your horizons… Piedmont borders on Val d’Aosta, Liguria, Lombardy (and just a speck of Emilia Romagna). Combine it easily with a tour of well-preserved Roman and early Christian sites in Aosta, in Val d’Aosta; with the vertical pastel harbor towns of Cinque Terre, in Liguria; and with the siren call of chic shopping in Milan, in Lombardy.
Note: All driving tours feature English-speaking drivers and are private unless otherwise mentioned. Tours are priced based on pick-up point and number of participants. All sightseeing tours are accompanied by expert local guides.