Northern Italy Cooking Vacations: Piedmont and Liguria

Please note that depending on the specific dates booked, the order of activities for our northern Italy culinary tour is subject to change.

Day One

• Arrival in Milan Malpensa and private transfer to the Langhe area of Piedmont.
• Check-in and time to relax before your tasting dinner that will immerse you in the flavors of Piedmont (beverages paid locally).
• Overnight.

Day Two

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Meet your driver at the hotel, then depart for the Alta Langhe. Visit an artisanal cheese producer and enjoy a tasting of local products for lunch.
• Next, have  a panoramic tour in the Barolo wine area, along the Unesco World Heritage vineyard landscapes. During the tour, you will visit a well-known wine cellar in the Barolo area with tasting.
• In the afternoon, transfer to a local cooking school for a hands-on cooking class. You will prepare traditional Piedmontese dishes to discover the roots of the region’s food and wine. After the class, dinner based on your efforts.
• Transfer back to you hotel, and overnight. 

Day Three

• Morning free to enjoy you last hours in Piedmont enjoying the beautiful landscape.
• Late morning check out and transfer to Liguria.
• Check in to your accommodations in the beautiful village of Santa Margherita. Time in the afternoon to get settled and perhaps explore the beautiful Portofino Gulf.
• This evening, you will have a delicious dinner that will introduce you to Ligurian cuisine, which is very different than what you had in Piedmont (beverages paid locally).
• Overnight. 

Day Four 

• Meet your guide at the hotel and take the train to the famed Cinque Terre (about an hour trip). The Cinque Terre are five picturesque linked fishing villages which are now a National Park and Unesco World Heritage site. You will explore the authentic side of the Cinque Terre with an expert insider! Visit the tiny squares and alleys and enjoy the stunning panoramas and have time on your own for lunch. Travel to the terraced vineyards that overlook the sea and form the backdrop of this remarkable area. Visit a local producer and learn the story behind his wine, then visit the cellar and enjoy a tasting of traditional Cinque Terre wines, including the rare Sciacchetrà, paired with appetizers.
• Return by train to Santa Margherita. Rest of day at leisure and dinner on your own.
• Overnight. 

Day Five

• After breakfast, take the short train ride (tickets included) to Genoa, where you will meet your guide. Explore this vibrant port city from market to market. Start at the large and picturesque Mercato Orientale, a real food lover’s paradise and a favorite of the locals. Then explore the historical center of Genoa and its ancient food shops.
• Genoa has the largest medieval old town center in Europe, and you will explore its authentic medieval alleys, squares, and Renaissance streets during your tour. You will also discover the traditional food shops, such as the “friggitorie,” which serve “friscieu,” or fried fish croquettes with herbs, as well as “farinata,” a chickpea pancake, and fried fresh seafood. Head to the old pastry café where the famous composer Giuseppe Verdi used to spend his time, and then to the Pietro Romanengofu Stefano confectionary shop, which dates back some three hundred years.
• At the end of the tour, you will head to the gorgeous salons of a private Renaissance palace where you will have a class on the most traditional pasta of Liguria, Pansotti,” a hand-made pasta stuffed with wild herbs and served with a walnut sauce traditionally prepared with mortar and pestle. Lunch to follow based on your efforts along with other Ligurian specialties.
• In the afternoon, time to wander around Genoa on your own before taking the return train to Santa Margherita (tickets included).
• Dinner on your own and overnight. 

Day Six 

• After breakfast, head for the public ferry to take the boat to Portofino (tickets included). You will be welcomed there and transferred to an old mill surrounded by olive groves, vineyards, and Mediterranean vegetation. Meet a local culinary expert who will show you the traditional method of preparing Liguria’s most famous produce – pesto – with a mortar and pestle. Afterwards, enjoy your pesto with typical Trofie pasta and other local specialties.
• Head back to Portofino, where you will have free time in what is considered one of the most beautiful villages of Italy.
• Return ferry to Santa Margherita (tickets included).
• Dinner on your own and overnight. 

Day Seven 

• Breakfast and check out. (Your departure transfer is not included, but will be arranged based on your travels following the tour.)