Piemonte · Biella
Biella
A wool city in the Alpine foothills, where the medieval Piazzo sits above the modern Piano, connected by a funicular since 1885.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Biella is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia and UNESCO.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h 21 min from Turin
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 43,181
- J8°
- F11°
- M12°
- A16°
- M20°
- J25°
- J27°
- A27°
- S22°
- O17°
- N11°
- D8°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Biella sits at the foot of the Biellese Alps, in a basin where fast Alpine streams cut down from Mont Mars and the Oropa range. The statutes of 1245 already named the woolworkers' and weavers' guilds, and the city built itself around them: by the nineteenth century, vertical mills along the streams had turned Biella into the Manchester of Italy. The names still on the labels, Zegna, Cerruti, Piacenza, Fila, were founded in the Biellese.
The upper town, Biella Piazzo, sits above the modern Piano on a small hill, reached since 1885 by a water-counterbalance funicular that still runs the same 60-meter climb. The Romanesque Baptistery on Piazza Duomo is the city's oldest stone, ninth or tenth century, set next to the cathedral. Above the city, the Sacro Monte di Oropa belongs to the UNESCO Sacri Monti site, and Biella was named a UNESCO Creative City for Crafts and Folk Art in 2019.
How to get there
From Turin (TRN), about 1 h 21 min by car.
Milan Bergamo (BGY) is about 2 h 1 min away.
By car from the center of Brescia 2 h 23 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Turin, Milan or Genoa?
Coming by train into Torino Porta Susa? Biella is about 1 h 18 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Turin airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Biella Piazzo
Medieval upper town on a small hill above the modern Piano, with arcaded palazzi and narrow stone streets, reached by funicular since 1885.
Funicolare del Piazzo
Historic funicular opened in December 1885, covering a 60-meter altitude gradient in 177 meters between Via Curiel and Via Avogadro.
Battistero di Biella
Romanesque baptistery on Piazza Duomo, ninth to tenth century, the oldest standing monument in the city.
Duomo di Biella
Gothic cathedral dedicated to Santo Stefano, rebuilt in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries on the site of an earlier church.
Sacro Monte di Oropa
Pilgrimage complex above the city in the Oropa basin, part of the UNESCO Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy site.
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.
Matteo RistoranteRistorante
Two Gambero Rosso forks (80/100) for Matteo Ristorante, and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
CaminettoRistorante
Caminetto carries one Gambero Rosso fork (75/100).
Chez SophieRistorante
Chez Sophie carries two Gambero Rosso forks (80/100).
2 more places the guides name in Biella
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.
Living here
Could you live here?
Biella is a city.
- A city of 43,181 people, and a provincial capital: the services are here, not a drive away.
- A station of its own, so the rest of Italy is a train ride away.
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 43,181, down 3.7% since 2015
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Ponderano, 4 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €650 to €910 per m² to buy, €4.30 to €6.60 per m² a month to rent
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 73% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Milan Malpensa airport (MXP), 1 h 19 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Turin, 1 h 21 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
11% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Morocco, Romania and the Philippines, against 9% across Italy. 93 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly France, Germany and the United Kingdom. There are 303 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 24% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Biella province ranks 55th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Ponderano, 4 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Novara, 46 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Ivrea, 18 km away. The nearest IB school is World International School of Torino, 61 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax. 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 Biella, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.20, a meal in a pizzeria €12.81 and a man's haircut €15.83.
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. Under 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, under 1% in a high or medium one. Under 1% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
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
WOOL
Center of Italian fine-wool weaving since the thirteenth century; Zegna, Cerruti, Piacenza and Fila all founded in the Biellese.
SACRO MONTE DI OROPA
Pilgrimage complex above the city, dedicated to the Black Madonna, inscribed in the UNESCO Sacri Monti site in 2003.
FUNICOLARE DEL PIAZZO
Water-counterbalance funicular from 1885 that still carries riders the 60 meters between the lower Piano and the medieval Piazzo.
NOCCIOLA DEL PIEMONTE / NOCCIOLA PIEMONTE
The commune lies inside the Nocciola del Piemonte / Nocciola Piemonte IGP production zone.
Common questions
- What is Biella known for?
- Biella is a wool city at 417 meters in the Alpine foothills, where the medieval Piazzo sits above the modern Piano, connected by a funicular since 1885.
- Where is Biella?
- Biella is a comune in the province of Biella, in Piemonte.
- What is the nearest airport to Biella?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Milan Malpensa (MXP), about 1 h 19 min by car.
- Can you get to Biella without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Brescia to Biella?
- About 2 h 23 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Biella?
- Best in Apr–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 27 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 17 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Biella?
- Venaria Reale, Bra and Ivrea.
- How many people live in Biella?
- 43,181 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Biella a good place to live?
- Biella is a city of 43,181 people, the kind of place Part 3 of our Where to Move in Italy series is about. The nearest national health service hospital is in Ponderano, 4 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 73% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 417 m
- Population: 43,181
- Surface area: 46.69 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 Biella appears in
- The best towns known for what they grow within two hours of MilanNear Milanwithin 2 hoursproduce zone6 towns · smallest 4,080 residents · closest 77 min away
- The prettiest villages that eat well in PiemontePiemonteeats wellprettiest villages6 towns · smallest 617 residents
- The prettiest villages within 90 minutes of NovaraNear Novarawithin 90 minprettiest villages6 towns · smallest 454 residents · closest 37 min away
- The best towns known for their meat within two hours of TurinNear Turinwithin 2 hoursmeat zone7 towns · smallest 126 residents · closest 71 min away
- The best towns with a World Heritage site that eat well in PiemontePiemonteeats wellWorld Heritage7 towns · smallest 1,102 residents
- The best towns you can reach by train that hold a World Heritage site in PiemontePiemonteby trainWorld Heritage7 towns · smallest 1,102 residents
Similar
Towns like Biella
What all six share with Biella: over 10,000 people · hill towns · have a railway station in the comune
Venaria Reale
Province: Torino
both inland, away from the coast
Bra
Province: Cuneo
both inland, away from the coast
Ivrea
Province: Torino
both inland, away from the coast
Avigliana
Province: Torino
both inland, away from the coast
Rieti
Province: Rieti
both inland, away from the coast
Corigliano-Rossano
Province: Cosenza
The letter
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