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Piedmont, Aosta, and Switzerland

We have 14 days sometime between April 25th, to May 15th, to travel. We have been to Italy several times, but never to the Northwestern area. Is it possible to combine the Piedmont with Switzerland, and not be trying to fit too much into the time allowed? And thoughts, or help on where to go, where to stay, what to see would be greatly appreciated. We love small towns and villages, good food, good wines, and seeing how the locals live. I am comfortable driving, and with trains. We have never been to Switzerland, and no very little about where to go, or what to see. Again, we love to discover the area, through small town life. Thank you!

Posted by
11056 posts

Spend a week in the Piemonte, then drive towards Milan. Do you want a car in Switzerland? Or will you use their excellent train system?
You do not want to pickup and drop off cars in different countries, huge fees. We did a loop from Milan MXP and back ( Milan, Lake Maggiore, Lake Orta, then into Switzerland Grindelwald, Pontresina, back down to Italy, Lake Como, Milan MXP. Substitute the Piemonte for Lake Maggiore. We didn’t care for Lake Orta but were thrilled with the rest of the trip.

Posted by
1016 posts

You're so close to my all time favourite European experience, I have to recommend a bit of a detour into France.

From Aosta, take local bus to Courmayeur and then to La Palud.

From La Palud, take cable car to the Hellbronner (peak at border between Italy and France): https://www.montebianco.com/en

From Hellbronner, another cable car across the glacier to Aiguille du Midi: https://www.chamonix.com/telecabine-panoramic-mont-blanc,48-156870,en.html

From Aiguille du Midi, its a thrilling cable car down to Chamonix: https://www.chamonix.com/aiguille-du-midi-timetables-and-rates,180,en.html

From Italy to France without bus, train or car.

Once in Chamonix, you can easily get to Switzerland via Geneva or Martigny.

Posted by
3150 posts

To properly see the Piedmont, you definitely should have a car. Last September I stayed at Agriturismo Tre Stelle In Barbaresco. Wonderful rooms with terrace overlooking the vineyards and hazel nut forests. Michele, the vintner, and his wife are a great host and hostess and can recommend fine restaurants in the area. Delicious breakfast! Handy to visit the other wine towns in the Piedmont such as Asti and Barolo. If you go to the area try to dine at David Odore’s Io e Luna. One of the best restaurants I found in 12 trips to Italy.
Even if you don’t take the cable cars from Courmayeur to Chamonix, drive through the Val d’Aosta and take the Skyway to the Hellbronner. The drive and the cable car ride are worth the trip. If you have the time, spend a few days in Turin - it’s an amazing city and not overrun by tourists.

Posted by
367 posts

Great comments here -- we are planning our first visit to that area too. We have been to Switzerland -- the most popular place to go for the classic Swiss experience is the Lauterbrunnen area (Bernese Oberland). If you're looking for something a bit different, Ticino is gorgeous -- Locarno on Lake Maggiore and Lugano are magical and different from each other. This is the Italian region of Switzerland. I haven't been to Montreaux, but I hear it's lovely too.

Posted by
277 posts

We are thinking about spending most of our time in Piedmont, but would still like to see some of Switzerland. Any advise on a train through Switzerland, and where to access it? Also thoughts on WHere to stay in what to see in the Piedmont?

Posted by
11056 posts

We stayed right outside of Alba and the drives to the various wine villages were not long. It is a lovely area, much less touristed than Tuscany.

Posted by
6788 posts

For a quick foray into Switzerland, starting from Milan or Piedmont I would recommend Zermatt.
You can reach the valley town, Visp, by car from Aosta (via Martigny) or Lake Maggiore, park in Visp, take the train up to Zermatt (quite scenic!), stay 2 nights and hope for Matterhorn views (subject to fickle weather).
Or by train all the way from the Milan or lake Maggiore areas, but this forces you to backtrack the same way to Italy.