TORINO AND THE LANGHE

1° Day Turin

Your group arrives in Venaria early afternoon, with the ticket office of the Royal Palace opposite it. Guided tour of the Palace, an enormous building where the royals used to go hunting, to have fun and to relax. The building is proof of the Baroque taste in art, how much attention was placed on beauty, and the well known desire that Turin and Piemonte be considered among the important, elite cities in Europe. A treasure chest waiting to be opened. After the visit you will be free to stroll through the Italian gardens. Evening meal and accommodation in or near Turin.

2° Day Turin

After breakfast in the hotel, departure for a sightseeing tour of Turin, Piazza Castello, opposite the Teatro Regio: a tour on foot of the city centre. TORINO CITY TOUR From Piazza Castello, you will see the row of the ancient Baroque buildings, one of the most impressive being Palazzo Madama, where you will visit the medieval court with its shiny great staircase; then Palazzo Reale, seat of the central power, and Palazzo Chiablese, the Armoury and the Royal Library that are all part of it. You will also visit the Duomo di San Giovanni, facing the archaeological area of Torino (Porte Palatine and the ancient theatre). Then you will go inside the Church of San Lorenzo, the royal chapel of the Savoia family, considered one of the three hundred most beautiful churches in the world ... ... you will get to Palazzo Carignano, whose magnificent wavy façade looks on to one of the city’s most elegant squares. Piazza Carignano is rich in history and tradition, like a “concentration of the Risorgimento”. Every day, when the Earl of Cavour used to leave Parliament, he would go and have lunch in the famous Ristorante del Cambio...your walk will continue through the Liberty style Subalpine Tunnel, where you will be told the story of the “bicerin”, a drink made from cream, coffee, chocolate, and hazelnuts from Piemonte...delicious! Lunch in a restaurant. In the afternoon a guided tour of the Egyptian Museum, where you will see the second most important collection, after that in Cairo. This famous Museum in Turin contains thousands of findings brought to Italy first by Drovetti then by Schiapparelli in the early 1900s. You will also be able to admire mummies, statues, phials, jewellery and everyday objects from Deir el Medina. Return to hotel for evening meal and accommodation.http://gruppi.estensa.org/backend.php?r=tours/create#modalAddMete

3° Day Langhe

After breakfast in the hotel, your group will get together in Piazza Medford. Tour on foot of the town of Alba, the capital of Le Langhe. Roman Municipium in 89 BC, Alba flourished most during the 12th century, while at war with the nearby town of Asti. Also called the city of a hundred towers, it has a beautiful brick, medieval old part, where every autumn the “Fiera Internazionale del Tartufo” (International Truffle Feast) takes place. Your next stop is at a “Torrone” factory where you will also be able to sample it. Lunch in a restaurant.