Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The countryside around Alba contains precious white truffles and they change hands
for ridiculous amounts of money at this annual festival, held every weekend in October.
Sleeping
Hotel Langhe
( 0173 36 69 33;
www.hotellanghe.it
;
Strada Profonda 21; d/ste €78/160; )
Two kilometres
from the city centre but worth every step (even if you're walking it), Hotel Langhe sits on
the cusp of the vineyards that push up against Alba's suburbs and manages to ignite feel-
ings of bucolic bliss despite its proximity to the urban core.
The layout is sublime: a wine conservatory, a bright breakfast area and downstairs
rooms with French windows that open onto a sunny forecourt.
HOTEL
€
Casa Bona
( 0173 29 05 35; Corso Nino Bixio 22; r €85; )
Disregard the unremarkable building.
Extraordinary personal service and slick interior furnishings will make Casa Bona a holi-
day highlight. The collection of several apartments with kitchens, bedrooms and bath-
rooms are fabulous (you even get your own stove-top espresso maker).
But, the clincher is owner Massimo, who will drop by with homemade cakes and go out
of his way to make your stay memorable. No credit cards.
B&B, APARTMENTS
€
Eating & Drinking
The key to finding out about Alba's fantastic cuisine is not by counting Michelin stars, but
by word of mouth. Here lie some of the best grandma-in-the-kitchen places north of Si-
cily.
Osteria dei Sognatori
(Via Macrino 8b; meals €12-20; noon-2pm & 7-11pm Thu-Tue)
Menu? What menu? You get
whatever's in the pot at this rustic beneath-the-radar place and it's always delicious. Bank
on homemade pasta in a nutty pesto-like sauce and the best breadsticks in Italy. Walls are
bedecked with football memorabilia and B&W snaps of bearded wartime partisans.
OSTERIA
€
Vincafé
WINE BAR
€
