Piedmont
How to Get Around Piedmont
Getting Around
Turin is easy to reach and to move around; the Langhe and the mountains are not, and need a car.
Arriving
Turin Caselle is the regional airport, about 16 km north and linked by rail and bus. Many visitors arrive instead through Milan Malpensa, which has far more long-haul routes and a direct coach. High-speed rail reaches Turin from Milan in under an hour, Rome in about four and a half.
Trains
The regional network covers the plain well — Asti, Alessandria, Vercelli, Novara, Cuneo and Alba are all reachable. Services into the Langhe villages are sparse and slow, and several branch lines have been replaced by buses.
In Turin
An automated metro line runs across the city, with trams and buses filling in. The centre is compact and arcaded, which makes walking pleasant in both rain and summer heat.
Driving
- A car is effectively required for the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato, where the interest is spread across small villages.
- Turin operates a ZTL in the centre on weekday mornings, camera-enforced, and a low-emission scheme that restricts older vehicles during winter pollution episodes. Both apply to hire cars.
- Hill roads are narrow, steep and winding; journey times run well over what distance suggests.
- Alpine passes to France close in winter; the Fréjus tunnel stays open.
Regional connections
How easily, and at what cost, can you combine the region’s main destinations?
| Route | Best option | One-way time | Travel Smart take |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alba and Barolo | Bus or car | ~30 min typical, not a timetable | Excellent day-trip connection. Alba works well as a base for Barolo. |
| Alba and Bra | Train | ~25 min typical, not a timetable | Excellent day-trip connection. Alba works well as a base for Bra. |
| Alba and Grinzane Cavour | Bus or car | ~15 min typical, not a timetable | Excellent day-trip connection. Alba works well as a base for Grinzane Cavour. |
| Alba and La Morra | Bus or car | ~25 min typical, not a timetable | Excellent day-trip connection. Alba works well as a base for La Morra. |
| Barolo and La Morra | Bus or car | ~10 min typical, not a timetable | Excellent day-trip connection. Barolo works well as a base for La Morra. |
Cost compares the options for each route rather than quoting a fare: inexpensive means the price is not a factor in planning, moderate cost means a real line in the budget, and the expensive option is one worth weighing against the alternative. Fares change from year to year; the ranking between them does not.