Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The owners also run the Ristorante Falcon Vecchia, one of Asti's oldest, which opened in
1607.
Osteria La
Vecchia Carrozza
(Via Caducci 41; meals €18-25; lunch & dinner Mon-Sat)
You could be sharing the room with a
quartet of nuns or a birthday party of celebrating college graduates at this local spot. Be-
decked with white tablecloths and polished wine glasses, it's characterised by plenty of
down-to-earth Piedmontese ambience. This being Asti, the food is infused with truffles,
Barolo wine and a formidable
agnolotti di astigiana
.
OSTERIA
€
Ristorante Rué
(Via Giuliani 3; meals €25; closed dinner Sun & lunch Mon)
Small restaurant with a plain interi-
or down a narrow backstreet that knocks out some flavorsome regional classics, particu-
larly if you opt for the daily specials - anything from rabbit to spinach pie.
PIEDMONTESE
€€
Information
9am-1pm & 2.30-6.30pm)
Has details of
Tourist Office
(
www.astiturismo.it
;
Piazza Alfieri 29;
September's flurry of wine festivals.
Getting There & Away
Asti is on the Turin-Genoa railway line and is served by hourly trains in both directions.
Journey time is 30 to 55 minutes to/from Turin (€4.35), and 1¾ hours to/from Genoa
(€7.60). To get to Alba you must take a bus.
Monferrato Region
Vineyards fan out around Asti, interspersed with castles and celebrated restaurants. Buses
run from Asti to many of the villages; Asti's tourist offices can provide schedules.
A land of literary giants (contemporary academic and novelist Umberto Eco and 18th-
century dramatist Vittorio Alfieri hail from here) and yet another classic wine (the intense
Barbera del Monferrato), the Monferrato area occupies a fertile triangle of terrain between
Asti, Alessandria and its historical capital,
Casale Monferrato
(population 38,500).
