Piemonte · Cuneo
Alba
The Langhe capital on the Tanaro, world reference for white truffle and Nebbiolo, headquarters of Ferrero.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Alba is on our list
It holds Spighe Verdi, Città del Vino and Città della Nocciola.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 58 min from Turin
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 30,987
- J9°
- F13°
- M15°
- A18°
- M22°
- J27°
- J30°
- A30°
- S25°
- O20°
- N13°
- D9°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Alba sits on the right bank of the Tanaro, the regional capital of the Langhe and the center of one of Italy's most concentrated wine and food economies. The Roman city of Alba Pompeia stood on the same site, and the Piazza Risorgimento, locally called Piazza Duomo, is laid out on the line of the old Roman forum. The Duomo di San Lorenzo dates to the twelfth century and carries a late Gothic red-brick façade and a vaulted nave.
In the medieval centuries the town was known as the city of a hundred towers; a few dozen survive, the tallest along Via Cavour. The Fiera Internazionale del Tartufo Bianco runs across October and November, the oldest white truffle fair in the country. The Palio degli Asini on the first Sunday of October recalls a 1275 dispute with Asti. The town is the headquarters of Ferrero, the family company that invented Nutella, and the home of Beppe Fenoglio, whose Partisan novels are set in these same hills.
How to get there
From Turin (TRN), about 1 h 17 min by car.
Genoa (GOA) is about 1 h 45 min away.
By car from the center of Milan 1 h 54 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Turin, Genoa or Milan?
Coming by train into Torino Porta Susa? Alba is about 57 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Turin airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Duomo di San Lorenzo
Twelfth-century cathedral with a late Gothic red-brick façade, vaulted nave and 16th-century inlaid wooden choir, on the line of the Roman forum.
Piazza Risorgimento
Central square on the site of the Roman forum, framed by the Duomo, the Palazzo Comunale and the surviving medieval brick towers.
Torri medievali
Roughly forty of the original hundred or more brick towers still rise above the rooftops, most clustered along Via Cavour and Via Vittorio Emanuele.
Fiera Internazionale del Tartufo Bianco
White truffle fair held across the weekends of October and November, the oldest and largest event of its kind in Italy.
Museo Civico Federico Eusebio
Archaeological and natural history museum holding the finds from Alba Pompeia, including mosaics and bronzes from the Roman city.
Fairs and festivals
We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the organizer before you plan a journey around one.
Fiera Internazionale del Tartufo Bianco d'Alba
Usually held between October and December
The heart of it is the truffle market in the Cortile della Maddalena, open every weekend of the fair, where trained judges assess each truffle offered for sale. Entry to the market is ticketed. Before the fair opens, the truffle season starts at midnight with a toast known as the Truffle New Year.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Piazza DuomoRistorante
Piazza Duomo carries the number 32 spot on the World's 50 Best, three Michelin stars, plus three Gambero Rosso forks (97/100), among other nods.
La Locanda del PiloneRistorante
One Michelin star for La Locanda del Pilone, along with two Gambero Rosso forks (82/100) and a place in L'Espresso's Top 300.
Osteria dell'ArcoTrattoria
Osteria dell'Arco carries one Gambero Rosso prawn, a Slow Food snail, plus a spot in the Michelin Guide.
9 more places the guides name in Alba
Ape Vino e CucinaBistrot
Two Gambero Rosso tables for Ape Vino e Cucina, and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
EnoclubRistorante
Enoclub has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.
Hostaria dai MusiRistorante
A spot in the Michelin Guide, at Hostaria dai Musi.
La PiolaTrattoria
La Piola has three Gambero Rosso prawns to its name.
LaliberaRistorante
Lalibera has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.
MuseumRistorante
Museum holds one Gambero Rosso fork (78/100).
Trattoria del BollitoRistorante
Trattoria del Bollito has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.
Ventuno.1Ristorante
Ventuno.1 has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.
CerettoCantina
Ceretto holds the number 19 spot on the World's Best Vineyards.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Signature product
Tartufo Bianco d'AlbaIGP
Italy's most prized white truffle, hunted in the woods around Alba from October through January.
See the towns we cover in the zone of Tartufo Bianco d'Alba.
Living here
Could you live here?
Alba meets 2 of our 3 rules for a small town.
- 30,987 people, above our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: big enough that it can split into neighborhoods.
- Asti, a city of 73,440, is 32 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
We measured every town in the region on these rules, by its drive to Turin, the city we moved to: Moving to Turin and Piedmont.
- Population 30,987, down 1.1% since 2015
- Nearest city Asti, 32 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Verduno, 9 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,700 to €2,550 per m² to buy, €5.40 to €8.10 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- A local hub
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 72% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 4, very low hazard
- Cuneo airport (CUF), 43 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Turin, 58 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
12% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Albania and Morocco, against 9% across Italy. 98 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, France and the United States. There are 236 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 22% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Cuneo province ranks 27th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Verduno, 9 km as the crow flies. It has a children's emergency room too. The nearest major one is in Cuneo, 50 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Turin, 40 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.94% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds between 0.4% and 0.7% to your income tax, depending on your income. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Piemonte spends about €2,240 a month, €580 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €467 a year for water, on the Piemonte average. In Cuneo, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.34 and a meal in a pizzeria €12.38.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 2% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 4% in a high or medium one. They show no residents in a high landslide zone.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
WHITE TRUFFLE
The Tuber magnatum pico of the Langhe, traded each autumn through the Fiera Internazionale del Tartufo Bianco, the oldest white truffle fair in Italy.
BAROLO E BARBARESCO
Alba is the commercial center of the two great Nebbiolo DOCG appellations, with roughly 290 wineries within commuting distance.
FERRERO
Headquarters of the Ferrero confectionery group, founded by Pietro Ferrero in 1946, the company that invented Nutella in the same town.
DOCG ZONES
The commune also lies inside the Alta Langa and Asti DOCG production zones.
Common questions
- What is Alba known for?
- Alba is the Langhe capital at 172 meters on the Tanaro, world reference for white truffle and Nebbiolo, headquarters of Ferrero.
- Where is Alba?
- Alba is a comune in the province of Cuneo, in Piemonte.
- What is the nearest airport to Alba?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Cuneo (CUF), about 43 min by car.
- Can you get to Alba without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Milan to Alba?
- About 1 h 54 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Alba?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Alba?
- Gorizia, Ascoli Piceno and Pontedera.
- How many people live in Alba?
- 30,987 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Alba a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Alba is a small town that meets 2 of our 3 rules. The nearest city, Asti, is 32 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Verduno, 9 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 72% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
The numbers
- Elevation: 172 m
- Population: 30,987
- Surface area: 53.59 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Alba appears in
- The best wine towns within an hour of TurinNear Turinwithin 60 minwine zone6 towns · smallest 564 residents · closest 45 min away
- The best towns that eat well within an hour of TurinNear Turinwithin 60 mineats well7 towns · smallest 564 residents · closest 28 min away
- The best towns you can reach by train within an hour of TurinNear Turinby trainwithin 60 min7 towns · smallest 5,840 residents · closest 28 min away
- The best wine towns in the province of CuneoCuneo provincewine8 towns · smallest 497 residents
- 10 autumn fairs and festivals to visit in ItalyItalyFairs and festivals10 towns · smallest 1,211 residents
- The best hill towns within an hour of TurinNear Turinhill townwithin 60 min10 towns · smallest 564 residents · closest 28 min away
Featured on
Alba appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Similar
Towns like Alba
What all six share with Alba: inland, away from the coast · over 10,000 people · near sea level · have a railway station in the comune
The letter
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