Northern Italy- family search-itinerary help

Do you have family there? How long you stay may vary depending if there is family to visit, or if you are just going to the town the grandparents came from, taking a few photos and heading on to the next destination.

The 'just wing it' approach leaves you susceptible to having to choose between a dump or the most expensive place in the area, with all the 'middle ground' properties having been taken. Personally, I like to know where my bed is when traveling.

We would drive out to the various towns from Alba and have lunch in one. Probably ezplore another one nearby. Beautiful area, fewer crowds than Tuscany.

No family that we know of. Would be fun to find out differently!

Hi my family of 5 visited Lake Garda rather than Lake Como and stayed at the most wonderful hotel on the lake called Hotel Benaco at Torbole- we felt like we were in an Italian Travel brochure- white pebbled beaches, ferries to gorgeous Italian lake towns and wonderful restaurants, markets and gelato. Not too far to drive to Verona- a wonderful place to visit but forget Juliet’s balcony- awfully tacky!

Although I have never been to those exact areas (the Monferrato) of Piemonte, I have been to the Langhe area a few times and have also been part of an ancestral search (with my American cousin) in that area. No matter which lake you chose to visit you will want to spend at least 2 days at either. Domodossola looks like a fairly big town so it would have more to see. I would spend a couple days there. Driving south you might want to stop at Orta San Giulio--a small lake that is supposed to be a real gem. (It's on my list for our next trip!)

As far as the other two ancestral towns they look like they are really small. A couple hours may be all you need in each. However you never know what you'll find in your search. Be sure to go to the "Comune" (city hall) in each town and ask if there are any records of your husband's grandparents, etc. They have big dusty ledgers that they can pull down and look through for you and you can at least get some info from the records. Sometimes the info in the record will send you off to another town to search there. It really is fun. Do you speak any Italian? If not, at least have written down all information your husband has on his relatives (birth dates, etc.) so you can hand it to them. You might also check at the local church to see if they have any records. You might also wander through the local cemetery if you can.

After leaving there I can recommend the Langhe area (Barolo, etc.) Yes, the little towns can start to look alike but I would mix it up with larger towns like Asti or Alba. One thing is for certain, you will be eating some great food and drinking some great wine on this trip! Good Luck! I hope you enjoy the search!

I recommend booking your lodgings at least the night before you need them. You can use a website like booking.com to see what's available in your next town. So many people are using the internet to make reservations now that it is riskier than itmused to be just to,show up in a new town and hope go find something suitable.

I have a suggestion for you while you're in Domodossola. There's a very interesting train trip, called the Centovalli, from Domodosssola to Locarno in Switzerland. I don't know whether you'd be able to turn it into a one-day loop trip or would need to return the same way. Note that hotels and food in Switzerland tend to be extremely expensive.