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Getting to Italy's Piedmont

15-04-2016

Piedmont is the second-largest region of Italy, snugly located in the northwest corner near the French and Swiss Alps. The region’s capital, Turin (Torino in Italian), is also its biggest gateway and the start of our "Gastronomic Piedmont: From Torino to Alba" tour.



Our other Piedmont cycling tours ("Piedmont and its Treasures: Alba, Asti, Acqui Terme & More" and "Challenging Piedmont: The Realm of Italian Legends" our tour for avid riders) commence further east in the smaller city of Alessandria — one without its own commercial airport. Even so, it’s not complicated to get there. Alessandria enjoys a central location within the triangle formed by the larger cities TurinMilan (Milano), and Genoa (Genova), which means you’ll find numerous transportation options!


ARRIVAL BY AIR

  • Turin Airport (TRN) lies within Piedmont’s regional bounds. It’s fairly small and serviced mainly by European airlines, including the big names and low-cost carriers like Easyjet, Germanwings, Jet2, Ryanair, and Wizz. For travelers in Europe, flying into Turin is a pretty easy choice! Travelers outside of Europe will have to connect to a bigger hub (such as Dublin, London Gatwick, Parid CDFG, or Madrid) first in order to fly into Turin. To reach Alessandria from Turin airport, the easiest method of transportation is to take a bus (Line 268, Torino – Caselle) to Turin’s Porta Nuova central station which costs approximately 2.50 at the ticket station or 3.50 if purchased on the bus and the ride takes about 50 minutes. From Porta Nuova Station, catch a train to Alessandria, which takes about 1 hour and costs 10 euros.

  •  Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) is one of Italy’s biggest hubs and is thus served by most of the world’s major airlines. It’s the simplest choice for intercontinental arrivals. After you land, take the Malpensa Express train from Terminal 1 to Milano Centrale, a major station in the city center — about a 50-minute ride that costs 13 euros. From Milano Centrale Station, catch a train to Alessandria. Depending on the train connection you choose, the journey to Alessandria may take 1.5 to 2 hours and costs approximately 12 euros.

  • Genoa Cristoforo Colombo Airport (GOA) is about the same distance from Alessandria as Turin or Milan, only to the south. Genoa is serviced by a mix of major European airlines (e.g. AirFrance, British Airways, Lufthansa), Italian airlines both big and small (e.g. Alitalia, Volotea, Meridiana), and low-cost carriers like Ryanair and Vueling. The easiest and most cost-effective way to get into Genoa city center is to take a 30-minute Volabus ride to Brignole Station, the major connecting station in the city center. This costs 5 euros online, or 6 from a ticket station but the bus ticket must be printed. The train from Genova Brignole Station to Allessandria takes about 1 hour and costs 8 euros.

Typical Piedmont village


ARRIVAL BY TRAIN

  • Italy: Trenitalia operates Italy’s fairly extensive train network, and it’s certainly the best value for your money! Also, note that travelers may bring their bicycles on urban and regional trains. (To check if your train allowws bike, when consulting the timetable click on the “information” icon next to the train and look for the bicycle icon under “train service”.)
  • France: Traveling to Piedmont from France? There’s a TGV high-speed train run by SNCF to Turin via Lyon or Chambéry! From Turin, it's a one-hour Trenitalia train to Alessandria.
  • Switzerland and Austria: Connect from SBB or OBB points north and east to Milan, then take one and a half hour Trenitalia train to Alessandria.

 Piedmont rowers practicing on the lake


ARRIVAL BY CAR

Prefer to have four wheels at your disposal before and after your two-wheel ride? You can easily connect to Alessandria via major autoroutes in France (via the Mont Blanc Tunnel and Aosta Valley or up the Mediterranean coast from Nice) and Italy (Turin, Genoa, Lake Maggiore, Milan, and Piacenza).

RESOURCES

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