Alba

Town characteristic

Alba is an elegant town with well-maintained Medieval towers. In the past these characteristic buildings had defensive function, nowadays have become the symbol of the city that welcome visitors from a distance. The old town tour can be started from piazza Savona walking through one of main streets – via Vittorio Emanule, full of fine shops (with brand-name of fashion and local specialities), then passing through piazza Risorgimento and turning left in via Cavour you will get to piazza Garibaldi. Or the other way around – it depends where you left your car or which public transport you used to get there. It’s worth to deviate a little bit and “get lost” in less frequented corners of the city.

Alba, Piedmont, Italy
piazza Savona

In Alba you can easily find a lot of shops offering regional specialties like truffles (tartufo bianco di Alba) and different truffle flavored products, hazelnut sweets (in Piedmont there are a lot of hazelnut graves), local wines: it’s enough to mention celebrated Barbaresco o Barolo – just to give an example. Wine lovers can’t miss opportunity to visit vineyards to learn a little bit about winemaker job or to admire beautiful landscape .

Alba is situated in southern part of Piedmont, which makes it close to both mountains and sea. Local citizens like to highlight the fact you can reach Alps or Ligurian Riviera in only one hour and a half.

Interesting events:

  • Vinum (fair and events dedicated to local wines, food and tourists attractions of Langhe and Roero): April/May
  • la Fiera Internazionale del Tartufo Bianco d’Alba (Alba Internation White Truffle Fair): October – November
  • Palio degli asini (donkey race): October-November
  • Mercato (market) – in every Saturday (till lunch time) the heart of the town transfers into a huge supermarket under the sky.
  • Mercato della Terra (ecological food market) – every Saturday till lunchtime, on piazza Pertinace

Characteristic sights:

  • Museo Civico (The Civic Museum), via Vittorio Emanuele 19, phone.: +39 173 292475
  • Alba Cathedral of San Lorenzo (from 15th century), piazza Risorgimento
  • Palazzo Mostre e Congressi (fair places), piazza Medford 3
  • Tourist Information Center, piazza Risorgimento 2, phone.: +39 173 35833

When to visit

Alba, Piedmont, Italy
one of Medieval towers, via Cavour

Starting from the spring till the winter everybody can find something interesting to do. If you are a food lover you should visit Alba during Vinum and Alba International White Truffle Fair period to take part in numerous events and to have plenty of opportunities to taste different Piedmont specialties. For those who prefer contact with nature numerous, lovely spots and beautiful landscapes offer relaxing holidays. To learn more about wine you should come to visit local vineyards and participate in the wine harvest. Additionally you can easily reach from Alba such cozy and picturesque little towns like Barolo, La Morra, Serralunga d’Alba, Barbaresco, Neive, Diano d’Alba or bigger town Asti.

More information about Alba:

 

 

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