Northwestern Italy Travel Guide
Torino
To situate you, I have been fortunate enough to work from home at times, so I decided to take an extended vacation with my friends! We booked a one month Airbnb (you can find many highly discounted for monthly rates) and used it as our home base, spending our weekdays there while traveling to visit other nearby places over the weekends.
If you cannot go for a month, you can still do all of this! It can easily be organized in a driving loop to and from Milan. More on that towards the end!
Torino
Torino (Turin in English) is a small city in the Northwest, not far from the Alps. The mountains serve as a natural barrier and border to Switzerland to the north and France to the west. It is about a one hour drive west of Milan, so it is easily accessible for direct flights from the US. Though it is the fourth most populous city in Italy, it has a much more small town atmosphere than the other major tourism draws, with impressive parisian architecture that you won’t find elsewhere in Italy; it was part of France until it became Italy’s first capital when Italy unified as a country in 1861.
Here were my favorite meals during my month-long stay there:
Dai Barboni: pizza to die for
Le Vigne - the gnocchi and the rosemary pasta had me coming back weekly
Ristorante Consorzia: Michelin star at reasonable prices, the risotto and the gnocchi were divine
L’acino: on my last night in Torino, I had to return for one last go at the agnolotti (small pasta stuffed commonly with roasted veal)
Porto di Savona - I will never forget the delicious Tajarin (regional egg yolk pasta)
Nearly any restaurant you go to will be great. I found all of these by walking by and stopping for a bite, so I encourage you to branch out and try a new spot if it intrigues you… after you’ve tried my favorites, of course.
Activities in Torino:
Outside of eating and taking in the atmosphere of the city, there is plenty to see and do:
The Cinema Museum is a wonder for film lovers like myself. You can easily spend hours there taking in the presentations and learning the details of production on your favorite movies. Even if you are not interested in film, it is still worth visiting, since it is in Torino’s most iconic building - Mole Antonelliana.
There is a viewpoint from the top of the building - which you can buy a ticket for - that showcases a spectacular 360 degree view of the city and mountainscape beyond.
The Egyptian museum is very popular and is interesting, but has an overwhelming amount of artifacts. Make sure you look into scheduling your visit in advance if you go.
As a result of the pandemic, the Italian Unification Museum didn’t have the physical english translation cards available, which made it difficult to absorb the information presented. I would only recommend going if you can read Italian well.
Walk up to monte cappucini to see a view of the whole city.
If you do nothing else, I always recommend a walking tour around the city. The free walking tour (just tip at the end!) is well worth your time. We loved our guide, Laura; she had energy, knowledge, passion for Torino, and a sweet Italian charm.
Day trips from Torino:
Sacra di San Michele
A monastery with incredible views of the surrounding mountains. We took the train there, but missed the bus from the town up the mountain, so we ended up in a cab. We also decided to take a taxi back to Torino, since it was quicker than waiting for the train (just a 45 minute drive) and not much more expensive. If I were to do it again, I would coordinate a taxi both ways or go at a time when I have a rental car. The views were well worth the trip!
Reggia di Venaria Reale
A nearby palace accessible to the city by a short bus ride. Built in 1675 for the Royal House of Savoy, it has beautiful Alpine views and landscaping, but the big draw is the incredible great room, used often in films and tv shows: most recently, it was used for a scene in The King’s Man.
Wine Country
In the wine country here, you will specifically find Barbaresco, Barolo, and Barbera. The region is one of Italy’s best kept secrets - all of the charm of Tuscany, without the busloads of tourists.
However, fewer tourists means a less established travel infrastructure. We tried very hard to do a coordinated tour of the wine regions, but it just wasn’t possible to find. We ended up booking a private tour with Marco (info@langawinetour.com) who provided a door to door tour, bringing us to three wineries with generous amounts of wine served. It was a great day and I highly recommend it!
If you have time, the region is beautiful to drive through, and there are plenty of small towns to stop in. We took a quick day trip to visit the town of Nieve, which was serene and enjoyable.
If you like truffle, you’re in luck. The white truffle that is so expensively shipped across the world originates here, in the town of Alba. If that interests you, you can get fully into truffle hunting, or simply have truffle at every meal!
The Coast
Pesto lovers rejoice! Heading south from Torino into the region of Liguria, pesto is the food of the land here. On my long weekend excursion into the area, I committed to eating pesto at every meal; I am glad I did, as each pesto-focused meal I had was divine.
We spent one night in a beautiful town called Santa Margherita Ligure, which is a neighboring town of Portofino. It is less well known to Americans (most of the tourists were Italian there), but every bit as beautiful. I could not recommend it more highly. We were only planning to go for a day trip, but we enjoyed it so much that we booked a hotel.
We had a great stay at Hotel Regina Elena, which was perfectly comfortable. We booked day of around €250 per night in summer, which is high season. They have a private beach, which you can access for €50 per room per day and a breakfast buffet for €5 per person a day.
If you are looking for a more upscale stay, Grand Hotel Miramare starts around €1200 in high season.
In terms of transportation, it is a quick and easy train from Genoa, which itself is an easy train from Torino, Milan, or any other neighboring city. The main city in this region is Genoa, which has a nice atmosphere and delicious food. However, the beaches are what you are really here to see.
The Mountains
We did two trips to the mountains.
We took a day trip to Gran Paradiso National Park, driving there with rental cars. It was an unexpected landscape, with land was very dry but lakes that were bright blues. We had a great lunch at Ristorante Chalet del Lago.
The longer trip was two nights in Cervinia, which is the town at the base of the Matterhorn on the Italian side. On the other side of the iconic mountain is the famed Swiss ski town, Zermatt. Cervinia has the iconic Matterhorn views without Zermatt’s prices. It is the cutest alpine town you will ever see, with every bit as much charm as its Swiss and Austrian counterparts.
We stayed at Hotel Europa, which was very affordable (less than €100 per night) and perfectly adequate for those on a budget.
In town, we stopped at Le Bistrot de l’Abbe for drinks - it is a shame we didn’t eat here because the pasta looked incredible! We made friends with the owner, who showed us his boutique hotel Chalet Francois. It looked like the perfect chalet stay if you want a cozier hotel.
Definitely do the hike up to the Matterhorn, you won’t be disappointed with the views as you approach it!
However, I do not recommend you do the hike directly to the right of it from the town. It was 4+ miles up the mountain, and not a fun hike. We all regretted it!
Pro tip: get a sandwich and bring it in your backpack on your hike. Your future self will thank you! My friends loved their sandwiches at Bar Planet in town.
The Lakes
The Northern Italian Lake region is very popular, with most attention paid to Lake Como. However, there are many other beautiful spots to visit. To visit Lake Maggiore, which straddles Italy and Switzerland, the neighboring towns of Baveno and Stresa have incredible lake and mountain views. Just off shore are three small islands that tourists can hop between on the ferries that run between them.
It is easy to get around the towns and the small islands in the lake by boat, or you can drive between Stresa and Baveno in five minutes.
We stayed at Grand Hotel Dino (~€125 a night) in Baveno on Lake Maggiore. The decor is a bit dated, but the outdoor grounds are beautiful; it is a good budget friendly choice. There are many beautiful high-end hotels in the area, like Hotel La Palma (~€250 for the most basic room in high season), where we had an incredible evening watching the sunset from the rooftop.
If you visit Stresa or Baveno, I insist you stop at Posta for an absolutely delicious bowl of spicy carbonara.
Also worth the quick drive to Lago di Orta nearby. The town is very cute, and the island within the lake captures all of your romantic ideals about Italy. I would recommend a few hours to stroll a bit and catch the boat to the island before moving to your next destination.
It is important to note that life is slow in this area. Take advantage of this and plan to relax while you’re here. You’re in one of the most beautiful places in the world, so your main activity should be enjoying the view.
Milan
As the city you will likely fly in and out of, it makes sense to plan some time to explore! Milan is a cultural center, which could easily be the site of its own vacation. If you are just spending a day or two at the front or back end of your trip, I recommend you make sure to see the Galleria and the Duomo, which are conveniently next to each other. Milan also has excellent aperitivo (which is kind of like happy hour - you buy a drink, and the restaurant/bar supplies you with more food than you can eat) and excellent regional cuisine. Look out for saffron risotto and cotoletta milanese. Milan is sprawling, but the subway system is easy to figure out and will get you where you need to be.
I’ve stayed in the Porta Venezia neighborhood several times, which I recommend for the convenience of getting to the Central Station, subway access, and fantastic food. Here are a few places we ate:
Sui Generis: absolutely fantastic aperitivo
Cucina Romana Ponte Milvio: incredible pasta
Trattoria Sabbioneda Da Romolo: excellent veal milanese and agnolotti al plin
I also recommend you familiarize yourself by taking a walking tour to see the city and go up to the rooftop of the Duomo.
I haven’t made it there yet (next time) but film lovers should check out Bar Luce, which was designed by Wes Anderson.
The airport is unfortunately a ways away from central Milan, so plan accordingly. You can take the train, get an Uber or taxi (plan for €100+), or get your rental car at the airport if you are driving into the city.
You can book a connecting flight to Torino or Genoa if you prefer, but, chances are you are flying a direct flight into Milan. Regardless, you can easily get a rental car there - I recommend Sixt for their reasonable prices and great customer service. Be on the lookout for rental car companies with bad reviews - they can cost you precious hours getting your car, and give you a major headache at the top of your vacation. You could also take the train from Milan to Santa Margherita Ligure and later get your rental car from Genoa, but I have often found that rental cars get more expensive if you do not drop off where you picked up. Play around with options and see what is best for you!
