Experience the best of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato

These three areas of southern Piedmont form a landscape of rolling hills, vineyards and castle-topped villages, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2014. The Langhe, around Alba, is the home of Barolo and Barbaresco, red wines made from the nebbiolo grape. The Roero lies across the Tanaro river, and Monferrato, further east, reaches Asti and the Barbera and Moscato vineyards.

Barolo has a castle with a wine museum, Serralunga d'Alba has a tall medieval keep, and La Morra looks over the vines from its terraces. Alba is the market town of the area, and the Slow Food movement began in nearby Bra. Canelli, near Asti, has wine cellars cut deep under the town that form part of the listing.

White truffles from Alba, shaved over tajarin, thin egg pasta, are the prize of the autumn table, and agnolotti del plin, small pinched ravioli, vitello tonnato and bagna cauda are classics. Hazelnuts from the hills go into cakes and chocolate. The harvest in September and October colours the slopes, and mist settles in the valleys.