Le Langhe Travel Guide: how to explore one of Italy’s best kept secrets, why you’ll love it

Essential travel guide to Le Langhe, Italy. Follow us as we show why we recommend visiting Le Langhe, the best places to see, how to plan your Le Laghe itinerary, where to eat and go wine tasting in one Italy’s best wine regions.

Le Langhe (pronounced lahn -geh) is a beautiful wine region in the North-West of Italy, close to Turin and within easy reach from Milan.

The area is best known for its wine production, but it is more than just a mention on your Barolo wine label: it is also a stunning place to visit, a place where you can relax, sightsee and recharge while wining and dining at the highest possible level.

I had been wanting to visit Le Langhe for a long time and, this summer, I finally managed to go not once, but twice! And I absolutely loved every single moment of my stay!

In Le Langhe, I found stunning rolling hills as far as the eye can see, pretty, historic villages, an elegant yet understated feel and wonderful hospitality, warm yet unintrusive.

Le Langhe feels to me like Italy could be if we got our act together: a place that manages to mix the slow pace and the charm of the old world with the excitement and comforts of the modern one.

Langhe locals say le Langhe is a ‘happy oasis’ (isola Felice, in Italian) and based on my experience, I believe it is!

This is my travel guide to le Langhe: I hope it inspires you to visit and helps you plan your trip.

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Le Langhe travel guide and trip report TL;DR (Summary)

Le Langhe is a beautiful rural area in Piedmont, blessed with rolling hills, historic towns and wine estates. My trip brought me here in June and I spent a week in the area, staying in two different locations: Serralunga d’Alba first and Alba itself afterwards, from where I explored by car.

During my trip, I visited all the locations mentioned in this post. My itinerary consisted of a couple of town visits per day, cellar visits and I also participated in a truffle hunt (details of all below)

Due to its remote location, le Langhe is best explored by car: we rented a Fiat500 in Turin via DiscoverCars and had an excellent experience.

To make the most of your stay, I recommend you stay here a minimum of three to five days and you come in spring, early summer or fall.

My favorite places to stay in le Langhe are:

Le Case dei Conti Mirafiore – 4 star hotel in the historic Fontanafredda Estate, just beside their historic cellar and deservedly renowned Michelin starred restaurant ‘Guido’

Villa La Meridiana, immediately above the town of Alba, a local, delightful country stay in familiar setting with outdoors pool

Top actives in this area are town hopping, eating, wine tasting, going truffle hunting.

Why visit le Langhe

The Langhe are are soft, vineyard-laced hills south of Turin, in Italy’s north western corner.

Their name comes from the French word langues (lit: tongues) and was given to the area because of its geological origin: when the sea withdrew from here, tongues of land emerged from the water, giving this area its peculiar landscape. Fun fact: if you walk in vineyards here, you’ll notice the terrain is very soft sand!

The area is famous for world-class reds made from Nebbiolo, the local grape, for being the birth area of white truffles, one of the most exclusive and coveted foods in the world, and for its production of hazelnuts, protagonist of local desserts, gianduja and one of the most famous commercial chocolate spreads in the world: Nutella!

Parts of the Langhe, with neighboring Roero and Monferrato areas, are protected as a UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape for their historic wine-growing traditions and postcard-perfect scenery.

In terms of feel, the area has an elegant, mellow, understated charm and it is very easy to enjoy thanks to well kept roads, lack of crowds and good infrastructures.

My Langhe Itinerary at a glance

I studied the area extensively when planning this trip and this itinerary matches what I believe to be the very best places and activities to do in the area.

I then polished the itinerary to make it as efficient as possible transport wise, after being there ad getting familiar with the driving and distances.

Day 1: arrival in Fontanafredda via Turin, cellar visit

Day 2: Visit the town of Alba and Dinner in Guido Ristorante (Michelin starred)

Day 3: Truffle Hunting in Fontanafredda, afternoon in Serralunga d’Alba

Day 4: Visit to Neive, Grinzane Cavour, Cappella delle Brunate chapel

Day 5: Visit to Barbaresco (tower climb) and Barolo town (cellar visit, wine museum)

Best time to visit

The Langhe is dominated by the presence of vineyards so the best time to visit follows vines seasonality. The best times to visit are:

·       Autumn (late Sept–Nov): this is the perfect time for harvest colors, truffle season, cellar visits. The Alba White Truffle festival starts in mid October and runs to the end of the year and it is a great opportunity to visit the city and taste the best it has to offer.

·       Spring (Apr–June): a wonderful time to see the vines leaf out and go sightseeing; temperatures are gentle; wildflowers lace the lanes.

·       Summer (July–Aug): Warm, sometimes (very) hot, this is a lovely time to settle in accommodation with a pool and enjoy the evening life in the local towns, when thy come to life ager teh worst fo teh heat has settle for the day

Best paces to see in Le Langhe

The best places to see in le Langhe are le Langhe’s prettiest towns, scenic viewpoints, churches, castles and wine estates.

The town Alba and its historic center

The biggest center in the Langhe is the historic city of Alba.

Founded in Roman times, the town is now best known for its white truffles and relevant truffle festival, yet is also a delightful place for a stroll and sightseeing.

Not to be missed here are Alba’s several churches, the pleasant center in general and the weekly market. You can find here >>> my travel guide to Alba

Pretty Barolo town, its historic cellars and surprising wine museum

Barolo is a famous wine but is also the very pretty town the famous wine is from!

Perched on a hilltop surrounded by peaceful vineyards, Barolo is a small center with dainty streets, a delightful pink church, cellars and an impressive castle now home to the local wine museum – excellent and very impressive! You can find here >> my guide to Barolo town.

Stunning Grinzane Cavour castle

If you love castles, wine and vineyard views, then Grinzane Cavour will be your new favorite place! Grinzane Cavour is a tiny center developing around the castle by the same name which is open to visitors, and overlooks some of the prettiest vine landscapes you can dream of.

Around it, there is a fun installation with panels explain all the grapes of the area – really nice and easy to visit!

The town of Barbaresco

The town of Barbaresco is a small village over the river Tanaro with a pretty center and something special: a tall tower you can climb to see fantastic views over the area!

The tower climb doesn’t need reservations and is worth doing: if you do not like heights, you can also decide to remain at the bottom of it and have a coffee or drink in the cafe at the entrance.

You can find here >>> my travel guide to Barbaresco town

The delightful hamlet of Neive

The town of Neive is one of prettiest towns in le Langhe and a fantastic foodie destination Here you can enjoy the cute center, taste wine, of course!, and you can have a meal in my favorite restaurant in the area Umano! One of our very best stops of the trip! You can find her e>>>> my travel guide to Neive

The best things to do in Le Langhe

Go wine tasting

Wine tasting is one of the main reasons people come to this area and a fantastic way to enjoy it.

The most famous grape of this area is Nebbiolo, which is responsible for some of the most famous reds of this area Nebbiolo itself, Barolo and Barbaresco.

Great cellars I loved visiting are:

Fontanafredda (vineyard setting): fantastic historic cellar on the stunning Fontanafredda Estate, blessed with rolling hills of beautiful wines

Cantine Marchesi di Barolo (town setting) – in Barolo town, this is a beautiful historic cellar with a fascinating history.

Go truffle hunting

Le Langhe are famous for truffle hunting and joining the experts on a truffle hunt is a fun way to tap into this traditions.

The hunt happens with the aid of dogs: you join your human and canine guide on a forest trail and follow them as they hunt for the elusive truffle, they get excited at the prospect of having found one and dig them out, all while exploiting to you the truly peculiar way truffles come into existence.

It is a fascinating and fun activity, also suitable for kids. We did it in Fontanafredda and really enjoyed it!

Eat to your heart content

Le langhe are an area with a huge eno-gastronomic vocation. The best foods and wine to try here are:

Tajarin (many-yolk fresh pasta), agnolotti del plin (pinched meat-filled dumplings), vitello tonnato (thin veal with tuna-caper sauce), and tartare  (hand-chopped raw Fassona beef) and insulate russa.

Truffle is ubiquitous, both in the more affordable black version and the exclusive white one (winter).

For dessert, flourless torta di nocciole showcases the prized local hazelnut and is a real treat!

Where to eat in le Langhe

My favorite restaurant in le Langhe are:

Guido ristorante in Fontanafredda

Umano in Neive – reservation needed (especially for dinner)

Osteria dell’Arco in Alba

Ventuno.1 in Alba

La Cantinella in Barolo

All these restaurants have modern cuisine but family friendly: we even had kids at Guido (Michelin starred) and they were lovely with them!

Where to go wine tasting in Le Langhe

There are so many cellars in le Langhe, you are spoilt for choice but these are some you may enjoy:

Fontanafredda – history winery and estate with a fantastic cellar and vines as far as the eye can see

Antiche Cantine Marchesi di Barolo – in Barolo town, a great option for their interesting history and if you are staying in town as it means you don’ need to sort out transport

Josetta Saffirio – a lovely and kid friendly winery, great especially for families

Where to stay in the Langhe

My favorite places to stay in le Langhe are:

Le Case dei Conti Mirafiore – 4 star hotel in the historic Fontanafredda Estate, just beside their historic cellar and deservedly renowned Michelin starred restaurant Guido

Villa La Meridiana, immediatley above the town of Alba, a local, delightful country home with clean rooms, lovely breakfast, pool and pretty views.

Both are family friendly.

Visiting Le Langhe with kids

The area of le Langhe hasn’t got large kids’ attractions such as large theme parks or resorts but it is very family friendly in the traditional Italian sense of the term: aka kids are part of the family and can join you in all your activities, may they be a stroll in a pretty town, a fancy dinner or a wine tasting session.

The. best place to stay in la Langhe with kids is the town of Alba, which is pretty and convenient.

Unlike other towns, Alba has a flat city center that is is easy to navigate with a stroller and has a significant number of shops, supermarkets, restaurants and services that you can be sure you have all essentials you may need.

In terms of activities, we fond that both the cellar visit and the truffle hunt in Fontanafredda were fun for littles: the cellar tour came with a scavenger hunt and little gift for them and the truffle hunt is done with a super cute dog, so it was an easy win!

The pretty Cappella delle Brunate Chapel if fun for the kids to see thanks to its colorful facade (teens will love the photo opp!).

Most of the towns we visited had lovely playgrounds and car free towns centers for safe stroll. I recommend a visit to le Langhe with kids to families who love local atmosphere and are happy with a independent stay.

I hope you enjoyed this travel guide to Le Langhe, it made you want to go and helped plan your stay. Safe travels!

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