Activities
Casa visette is a perfect place for your active holiday. We are happy to help you to plan your dream holiday, no matter what you are interested in.
Great opportunities are available for enthusiasts of food and wine, culture or sports. Or you can spent your holiday just relaxing by the pool; admiring the view; enjoying excellent wines and food: it is all up to you.
The Piedmont wine region
Langhe, or Roero further north – is an ideal destination for vacation. It boasts a number of small villages, each more charming than the last, and green hills as far as the eye can see, with snow-capped mountains rising in the background.
“The cultural landscapes of the Piedmont vineyards provide outstanding living testimony to winegrowing and winemaking traditions that stem from a long history, and that have been continuously improved and adapted up to the present day.” This was why the Langhe area was designated as a Unesco World Heritage Site.
You definitely need a car, although transport services are, of course, available upon request. Langhe’s appeal lies outside the towns and cities – in the wineries, agriturismos, small villages and back roads winding through the hills.
If you can stay longer than for a weekend, the nearby areas provide endless possibilities. Turin is just one hour’s drive away, as are the mountains and the sea. Driving to the French Alps and Monte Rosa (Aosta Valley) takes around two hours.
The nearest ski resort is Limone Piemonte – one of Italy’s snowiest destinations – where you can drive to ski for a day and get back in the evening. The Ligurian coast is perfect for day excursions or longer trips. If you are yearning for major historical attractions, art or mind-blowing cultural experiences, shopping, beaches, partying or cool people – apart from wine makers – Langhe is not for you. But if spending a week in a rural setting and eating good food and drinking wine is your idea of a dream holiday, this is the place to come.
Wines and
wineries
The Barolo area is a top destination for a wine enthusiast. Casa Visette is literally surrounded by vineyards and most of our neighbours are wine producers. We will be happy to share with our guests our knowledge and interest in local wine.
From spring to the year end there are numerous events around wine. Most of them are open for the public and are organized in town centres nearby. For us, a special event is Barolo Boys in Fuorigioco, which is organized in May at Monforte d’Alba.
Sporting
activities
The softly rolling hills and the captivating views make the area ideal for trekking and biking. There is a vast network of local trails which are clearly marked and easy to reach from Casa Visette. We have maps to borrow, or you can get one of your own from the tourist office of Monforte. For those who want to explore the area with less physical effort we recommend an electric bike which can be hired.
The nearest mountain trails are one hour from Visette. Let us know and we’ll tell you more about thepossibilities.
Our private tennis court is open for our guests. Tennis lessons are available too.
The nearest golf course is in Cherasco, which is half an hour’s drive from us.
Cities to
visit
Alba:
The closest town to Visette, Alba’s town centre can be reached in 15-20 minutes by car. Alba is called the town of one hundred towers, and the view over its centre is still dominated by three medieval towers.
The old town centre is completely pedestrianised, hosting quaint little shops where you can find lovely presents to take home, for example local delicacies, clothes and even shoes.
In wintertime, the fantastic aroma of cocoa often fills the air in Alba. It wafts from the nearby Ferrero plant, producing the world-famous Nutella spread, an original product of Alba.
TUrin
Hop on a train at the Alba railway station, and you can find yourself in the centre of Turin in just an hour. Turin still, needlessly so, carries the reputation as an industrial city. That misconception fortunately also protects it from the endless streams of tourists, so you can still admire the city and its sights relatively undisturbed. The most famous sights include Palazzo Reale, the royal palace; the Egyptian Museum; and the tower Mole Antonelliana, hosting the National Film Museum.
On a beautiful day it is well worth a stroll along the river Po, where the riverbanks offer a peaceful oasis in the hustle and bustle of the big city.
Genoa
Genoa, a perfect daytrip destination from Visette, is an intriguing city on the Ligurian coastline. The old city centre takes your breath away – with its narrow, charmingly cluttered streets and alleys it resembles Naples. After exploring the alleys, you can visit the Genoa port, the second largest port in the Mediterranean. During the past years, the area has been restored and is nowadays popular among tourists. After enjoying the beautiful Piedmontese meat dishes, you can savour the local seafood in Genoa port. You can also find several activities such as the Maritime Museum, the Science Museum for children, and the largest Aquarium world in Europe in the port area.
Local cuisine and restaurants
The area is the home of the Slow Food movement, which emphasizes the use of high-quality local products. The Barolo area is world famous for local gastronomic traditions.
To get inspired we recommend you visit local markets. Buy fresh vegetables and fruit. Try out a meat dish made of local free-range cattle or visit a local cheese maker.
The highlight of the year is always The Alba White Truffle Fair, which is organized on weekends from late October to December. Besides the truffle, it offers the visitor the unique opportunity to try other gastronomic experiences.
Alba and its surrounding are full of little, charming, excellent restaurants. In our own village alone, there are at least 25 places to eat ranging from pizzerias to fine dining restaurants. For those who travel with the Michelin Guide, we can recommend a few restaurants in the area, one of them in Monforte.
Examples of local specialities are vitello tonnato (veal with tuna sauce), carn ecruda (steak tartare made from the Piedmontese cattle breed, razza bovina Piemontese) and pasta dishes such as agnolotti (meat-filled pasta similar to ravioli) and plin (meat-filled pockets of pasta pleated by hand).
