We are channeling our “inner rick” and putting together ideas for our own back door style village Italy tour for next fall. Our home base is gabiano (near Turin) we will be traveling by train and staying mostly in the Piedmont area. Looking for day trips to cute villages to add to our list of things to do and see. Welcoming any ideas or suggestions of places not to miss within a two hour train ride.
Posted by
Boston
1891 posts
We enjoyed Bra and Saluzzo quite a lot, although they are small cities. I don't know about train access as we travelled by car. (FWIW, Piedmont is a relatively easy part of Italy for driving). Also consider some of the Borghi Piu Belli villages, although most won't have train connections. If any appeal to you, be sure to read more reviews as some (Neive, for example) are very small.
https://borghipiubelliditalia.it/en/piemonte/
https://www.apathtolunch.com/2015/12/an-italian-itinerary-small-cities-in.html
Posted by
Idaho, USA
9035 posts
Hi Renee, I see that you’re planning to travel by train, but when I looked up Gabiano, in order to give you ideas within the 2-hour train time, there’s no train that goes there. Am I missing something?
In the meantime, I will say that Asti, a 30-minute train ride from Torino, is definitely a “must see” if you can go during their Palio. I went this year for that weekend, and I had a fantastic time! I know you’re focusing on villages, but I also really like Torino. There’s a lot to do there, and fortunately, the tourist crowds haven’t discovered it to the extent of Bologna, etc.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Our friends who live in gabiano will drive us to a nearby train station so we can get to some of the villages for the day. Hopefully we aren’t biting off more than we can chew. Lots of planning will need to be done!
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Mike that guide is awesome! Will definitely be checking out some of those locations.