Castell'Arquato or Neive area?

[misstravelbug]

Hi
as you know, we are going on an 8 week Italy trip next May/June and I have decided to cancel the Santa Margherita Ligure week in favour of either of these two places.

I keep researching and googling images and reading and still cannot decide! The accommodation in both places that I have chosen is amazing; in castles, so the children will be chuffed.

We have never been to either regions before and will be coming from Lastra a Signa and heading to Milan.

The option is a week at either one and then a night in Milan to fly out the next day, or 4 nights in each one.

We are fans of slow travel and as much as I want to experience each area I am reluctant to be moving so much...what do you guys think? We are also travelling with our children who are 11 and 8 and do not need any "children activities/theme parks" to keep them happy, they are happy to experience daily life in Italy.

We love food, exploring, wandering, beautiful villages, castles and sights, a little wine but we are not huge drinkers. We will also have a car.

MTB xoxo

 

[Ian Sutton]

I've not stayed in (or even visited) Neive, but have stayed in nearby Treiso. From what I hear of Neive, I think I'd like it. There are some great walks through the Barbaresco vineyards ) for shared ownership). Restaurants are generally very good in the region, though a special mention to Treiso, with three really good places and one (Tornavento - by far the most expensive)) that seems to be either brilliant or awful. Not bad for a tiny village. The local tabaccheria also has the simple coloured Piemontese sugar sweets that might appeal to the youngsters.

Nearby Alba should appeal to all, with great history, but also great food. A couple more castles in the Barolo wine region, plus the one at Grinzane Cavour. Asti is a bit bigger, and well worth a visit for the big market day that takes up a central square.

Driving is pretty easy, though there are some switchback turns up in the hills. Alba has a modern car park near the train station that is modestly priced and easy to use.

 

[joe]

I think that if you're torn between the two options, then definitely do both of them. We did exactly that last year, and almost in the same places you are considering : we spent 4-5 days in the general area of the Trebbia Valley (about 50 kms. west of Castell'Arquato ), while the rest of the trip was spent mostly in Piemonte. The difference between your situation and ours is, that we have already been twice to Piemonte in the past, and have covered quite a bit of ground there, while this, I understand, is your first time there.

That being said, we found plenty to see in this beautiful part of Piacenza, and would certainly return there without a second thought. One of our accommodations there and the area around it was even one of the highlights of the whole trip. We are like you : "...love food, exploring, wandering, beautiful villages, castles and sights...", so that we find it impossible to get bored on such relatively short visits.

We've seen, generally, that spending about three days in one spot and moving on, enables us to get a taste of the specific area of our accommodations, but also treats us to new surroundings, without the disadvantage of long day trips in cars from our temporary base. If we'd travel abroad more frequently, we might be inclined to stay longer in one spot - but since we'd like to see as much as possible while still maintaining a "slow" attitude, that balance is the sweet spot for us.

Any way you choose - even if you do spend one week in the same accommodations - you will certainly not lose. There is just no end to exploring north-west Italy, and, I'm sure, any other part of this beautiful and interesting country.

 

[susan]

I have been to Castell' Arquato. It has a cool castle with a drawbridge and a tower to climb with beautiful views from the top. I went there with friends from Italy for the afternoon. They drove, so I can't say much about driving in the area. We also visited Grazzano Visconti, which is also a fun little town with another castle. I love the food in the Emilia-Romagna region, so I'm always happy visiting any place in that area. Cremona is also not too far from Castell' Arquato. The tower there is fun to climb (if your children enjoy climbing towers) and Parma is also not too far away.

I have never been to Nieve, but have visited Asti, Mondovì, Nizza Monferrato and have stayed in Torino, Saluzzo, and Acqui Terme, all wonderful places to visit.

You can't go wrong choosing either area.

 

[Tbk]

When I was in the Piedmont region in 2016, I visited Neive for lunch at La Luna nel Pozzo. It is a very cute town but quite small. You can walk the entire hill part of the village in 15 minutes or so. I took the bus from Alba so can't speak to using it as a base for day trips by car.

 

[Ian Sutton]

Hi Tbk
I've heard good reports of that restaurant - did you enjoy it?
Useful to have the bus - very rare in the Langhe wine country. I'm wondering whether this was the bus service that replaced the closed rail route between Alba and Asti?
Regards
Ian

 

[Tbk]

Yes I did enjoy it. I did have the misfortune of visiting the region when the train was replaced. It took quite a bit longer to go places on the bus. My hotel was not informed on all the changes & told me to go to bus station when I should have been at the train station waiting for the bus. One of my favorite towns to visit was Bra, great town for strolling and I had to eat at the Slow Food restaurant (the name escapes me at the moment).

 

[Ian Sutton]

Ah, that would be Boccondivino. Very enjoyable for somewhere that could easily coast on it's reputation. Not fancy or pompous food, just good food, and I liked that.

I wasn't quite as impressed with Bra, but fortunately a friend had pre-warned me, that despite being the birthplace of Slow Food, it's not the temple to the concept you might expect. With that in mind, I found it ok, and yes some pleasant pedestrianised streets, plus it's a genuine (not over-touristed) place which is always a positive IMO.

Rather amusingly, in Bra I had my 2nd ever experience of advising Italians what a train cancellation message was - I do wonder whether having to listen more intently helps in such situations, as seasoned local travelers might just switch off at yet another announcement, but I have to listen hard because I'm still very much learning the language.