Slow trip
7 slow days of food and wine: Parma, Riva del Garda, Alba, and Altomonte
7 days based in Parma, Riva del Garda, Alba and Altomonte, in October, built around food and wine. Parma gets 2 days, with Sasso Marconi, Castell'Arquato and Imola nearby. Riva del Garda gets 1 day, with Malcesine, Brentonico and Trento nearby. Alba gets 2 days, with Santo Stefano Belbo, Guarene and Monforte d'Alba nearby. Altomonte gets 2 days, with Saracena, Corigliano-Rossano and Trebisacce nearby.
7 days · October · food & wine-first · moderate walking
Parma
Parma, 2 days
Base yourself in Parma and make these your day trips.
4 towns · qualifying pool of 7 from 28 candidates
Plain towns in the provinces of Parma, Bologna, and Piacenza. Parmigiano-Reggiano DOP and wine territory.
Getting around
Parma, your base, is on the rail network. 3 of the 4 towns in this corner have a railway station. Check whether they share a line, and the timetables, before you plan it without a car: rural frequencies run thin, especially on Sundays.
Your timing
October sits in this corner's best window: open, temperate, and short of the crowd months.
While you're there
- Parma · Festival Verdi, OctoberOctober opera festival since 2001 in Teatro Regio di Parma and Busseto around Giuseppe Verdi's birthday with operas, Messa da Requiem and Gala Verdiano.
Day 1 · Arrive in Parma
Settle in. Parma is your base for the next 2 days. Take the afternoon to walk the centro, find your bearings, eat something local.
Day 2 · Day trip to Castell'Arquato
First outing. Head to Castell'Arquato for the day. Take the slow road, leave time to wander, be back in Parma for dinner.
More options in this corner
Sasso Marconi
Province: Bologna
A 128-meter pre-Apennine town at the confluence of the Setta and Reno, renamed in 1938 for the radio pioneer whose family estate stands in its Pontecchio frazione.
Picked for: food and wine · plain
Imola
Province: Bologna
Bologna's Romagna twin, a medieval brick centro anchored by the Caterina Sforza-fortified Rocca, with the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari (the Imola F1 circuit) wrapping the Santerno river at the southern edge of town.
Picked for: food and wine · plain
Riva del Garda
Riva del Garda, 1 day
Base yourself in Riva del Garda and make these your day trips.
4 towns · qualifying pool of 6 from 24 candidates
Lakeside and mountain towns in the provinces of Trento and Verona. Wine territory and olive oil country.
Getting around
Rent a car for this corner. Only 1 of the 4 towns has a railway station; the day trips assume driving.
Your timing
October sits in this corner's best window: open, temperate, and short of the crowd months.
While you're there
- Brentonico · Festa della Castagna di Castione, OctoberChestnut festival on Brentonico plateau with prized Monte Baldo marroni and Trentino dishes
Day 1 · Arrive in Riva del Garda
Settle in. Riva del Garda is your base for the next 1 day. Take the afternoon to walk the centro, find your bearings, eat something local.
More options in this corner
Malcesine
Province: Verona
The northernmost Veneto town on Lake Garda, where Goethe was nearly arrested for sketching the Castello Scaligero in September 1786.
Picked for: food and wine · lakeside
Brentonico
Province: Trento
The Monte Baldo plateau town between Lake Garda and the Vallagarina, with chestnut groves, war trenches and a botanical garden.
Picked for: food and wine · mountain · Festa della Castagna di Cast…, October
Trento
Province: Trento
The Alpine capital on the Adige at 194 meters, where the Council that reshaped the Catholic Church met in a castle still standing above the city.
Picked for: food and wine · plain
Alba
Alba, 2 days
Base yourself in Alba and make these your day trips.
4 towns · qualifying pool of 11 from 65 candidates
Plain and hill towns in the province of Cuneo. Tartufo Bianco d'Alba, Barolo DOCG, Spighe Verdi, and wine territory.
Getting around
Rent a car for this corner. Alba, your base, is on the rail network. Only 1 of the 4 towns has a railway station; the day trips assume driving.
Your timing
October sits in this corner's best window: open, temperate, and short of the crowd months.
While you're there
- Alba · Fiera Internazionale del Tartufo Bianco d'Alba, OctoberWorld-famous white truffle fair drawing buyers and gourmands every weekend in autumn.
- Alba · Palio degli Asini, OctoberMocking medieval donkey palio between Alba's city districts held during the truffle fair.
Day 1 · Arrive in Alba
Settle in. Alba is your base for the next 2 days. Take the afternoon to walk the centro, find your bearings, eat something local.
Day 2 · Day trip to Guarene
First outing. Head to Guarene for the day. Take the slow road, leave time to wander, be back in Alba for dinner.
More options in this corner
Santo Stefano Belbo
Province: Cuneo
A Belbo valley village at 175 meters between the Langhe and Asti hills, birthplace of Cesare Pavese and the largest producer of Moscato d'Asti.
Picked for: food and wine · plain
Monforte d'Alba
Province: Cuneo
A Barolo cru village at 480 meters where the Cathars were burned in 1028 and where the summer jazz festival fills the old piazza.
Picked for: art and history · hill town
Altomonte
Altomonte, 2 days
Base yourself in Altomonte and make these your day trips.
4 towns · qualifying pool of 7 from 43 candidates
Hill and coastal towns in the province of Cosenza. Olive oil country, Borghi Più Belli d'Italia, and national park territory.
Getting around
2 of the 4 towns here have a station; the rest need wheels. A rental car makes this corner simple, a rail-plus-taxi version takes patience.
Your timing
October sits in this corner's best window: open, temperate, and short of the crowd months.
Day 1 · Arrive in Altomonte
Settle in. Altomonte is your base for the next 2 days. Take the afternoon to walk the centro, find your bearings, eat something local.
Day 2 · Day trip to Saracena
First outing. Head to Saracena for the day. Take the slow road, leave time to wander, be back in Altomonte for dinner.
More options in this corner
Corigliano-Rossano
Province: Cosenza
The Sibari plain city merged in 2018 from two older towns, one built around a Norman castle and the other around a Byzantine manuscript tradition.
Picked for: food and wine · coastal
Trebisacce
Province: Cosenza
A Bronze Age plateau above the Ionian Sea whose name comes from the Greek for small table, with a Byzantine mother church below.
Picked for: art and history · coastal
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About this plan
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