Truffles in the hills. Chocolate in the capital.

A private driver meets you at Turin or Milan Airport and takes you into the Langhe, the vine-covered hills around Alba. You stay at Tenuta Bussia, a seven-room wine relais in Monforte d'Alba with vineyards on every side and a terrace that faces them. The late afternoon is yours for the small spa or a walk between the rows. Dinner is a short drive away at Felicin, with Piedmontese classics and your first glasses of Dolcetto and Nebbiolo.

Stay in the Langhe · Private airport transfer · Welcome dinner

Meet a trifolao and his dog at the edge of the woods and follow them in search of the white truffle of Alba. The dog sets the pace and the soil decides what comes out of the ground, so nothing is staged. You learn how the trifolao reads the trees and the dog's behaviour, and how a truffle is lifted without harming the roots. Lunch follows at a village table nearby, with the morning's finds shaved over tajarin or eggs. The afternoon is free for the spa or a walk among the vines.

Stay in the Langhe · Private truffle hunt · Truffle lunch

Two Barolo estates in one day, each on a different ridge. At Vietti, in Castiglione Falletto, you start on the terrace, walk the historic cellar and taste single vineyards side by side to see how much the wine changes from one hill to the next. Lunch is at Osteria Veglio in La Morra, a former kindergarten from the 1920s with a terrace over the whole valley, where truffles, game and a deep cheese list appear in season. In the afternoon you visit Fontanafredda in Serralunga d'Alba, the estate King Vittorio Emanuele II bought in 1858, with a guided tour of the historic cellars and a tasting.

Stay in the Langhe · Private driver · Two winery visits · Lunch in La Morra

You walk the Alba market with a local chef and choose seasonal vegetables, cheeses and hazelnuts. In a professional kitchen you then cook agnolotti del plin, the pinched pasta of the Langhe, and vitello tonnato, and sit down to eat them with a Roero Arneis and a Barbera. The evening has an optional high point: dinner at Locanda del Pilone, a Michelin-starred restaurant above Alba with a historic courtyard and a cellar of around 1,400 labels.

Stay in the Langhe · Alba market · Private cooking class · Optional Michelin-starred dinner

The morning is for Barbaresco, the quieter neighbour of Barolo. You climb the village tower for the view over the vineyards and visit Cascina delle Rose, a small family estate that receives guests by appointment only. After lunch a family hazelnut farm shows you the Tonda Gentile from tree to drying room, with a tasting of toasted nuts, paste and oil. These are the same hazelnuts that turn up in Turin's gianduja. In the late afternoon you drive to Turin and the Grand Hotel Sitea, and before dinner you taste your way through the story of Turin vermouth at Caffè Elena, where the Carpano family refined its recipe.

Stay in Turin · Family winery · Hazelnut farm · Private transfer · Vermouth tasting

The morning is for the Museo Egizio, the largest Egyptian collection outside Cairo, with a private visit led by a guide of Egyptologist level who takes you to the pieces that matter, from the Tomb of Kha to the Gallery of the Kings. Lunch is at Caffè Mulassano, a small room of onyx, bronze and mirrors credited with inventing the tramezzino. The afternoon is free for the Palazzo Reale or a walk under the arcades, with two stops that tell the chocolate story. At Baratti & Milano, an Art Nouveau café that once supplied the royal family and where the cremino was invented, you order hot chocolate. At Al Bicerin, open since 1763, you try the layered glass of coffee, chocolate and cream that gave the café its name. Dinner is at traditional Piedmontese bistrot in San Salvario.

Stay in Turin · Private guide · Museo Egizio · Historic cafés · Hot chocolate and bicerin · Dinner at a Piedmontese bistrot

The morning goes to Porta Palazzo, the open-air market that feeds the city, followed by lunch at Pescheria Gallina, a fish counter run by the Slow-food Maestro del Gusto Beppe Gallina. The afternoon belongs to chocolate. In an artisan workshop you see how a bar takes shape, hear the small secrets that separate fine chocolate from the ordinary, and taste gianduja, gianduiotti and cremini as you go. Workshops on offer include Odilla Chocolat and La Perla di Torino, among other small Turin makers. The farewell dinner is at Del Cambio on Piazza Carignano, the historic restaurant where Cavour had his table.

Stay in Turin · Porta Palazzo market · Artisan chocolate workshop with tastings · Farewell dinner at Del Cambio

Breakfast, then a private transfer to Turin or Milan Airport. If your flight leaves late, the morning is free for a last coffee under the arcades.

Private airport transfer