okay so i literally ended up here because my flixbus dropped me off at the wrong stop and i missed the last train to where i was actually going and now im sitting in what i think is a very cute italian town eating a 3 euro sandwich and honestly? best accident ever

Quick Answers

Q: Is this place worth visiting?
A: yeah if you like actual italy without the cruise ship crowds. its small, its quiet, and nothing is optimized for tourists which is exactly the point.

Q: Is it expensive?
A: laughably cheap compared to anywhere with a train station that isnt broken. 2.50 for coffee, 12 for a full meal, hostel was 28 a night.

Q: Who would hate it here?
A: people who need things to be open on time, people who need wifi to work, people who think they deserve things. locals are nice but they aint bending over backwards.

Q: Best time to visit?
A: honestly right now in early spring is perfect. not crowded, everything's open, weather is that weird in-between where it could go either way.

---

so the weather right now is like... 12 degrees but it feels like 11.9 which is basically the same thing and honestly who cares about exact numbers when you're just trying to not be cold while looking for a bathroom. its damp, its grey, the humidity is at 82% which sounds worse than it is until you realize that just means everything feels slightly wet all the time.

i met this guy marco at the bus stop who told me that the pressure being at 1012 means its gonna rain later and honestly i dont know if thats true but he seemed confident so i believed him. local knowledge > weather apps always.

okay heres the thing nobody tells you about small italian towns: they actually close for lunch. like, everything. i walked past like six restaurants at 1pm and they all had chairs up on tables and i genuinely thought the town was abandoned until a nonna yelled at me from a window to come back at 3. i ate at 3. it was incredible. the system works, you just have to submit to it.

ive been here three days and i still dont really know the name of this place which feels very on brand for how i travel. someone told me its near cuneo? maybe? the coordinates say 44.7 and 7.85 which means nothing to me but probably means something to people who care about that stuff. i care about where the cheap wine is and i found it.

*the wine is 4 euros a bottle and its better than the 15 euro stuff back in milan

thats not a flex, thats just what happened. i dont understand wine, i just know this one tastes like grapes should taste and doesnt burn and costs less than my morning coffee would in most places.

okay but actual travel content now because i know some of you are here for tips:

- the train station situation is messy, dont rely on the last train being there, just assume it wont be
- there are like two hostels and one is definitely better, ask for the one with the courtyard
- the market on saturday morning is where you get food for the whole day for under 10 euros
- everyone speaks enough english to help you but they appreciate when you try italian, even badly
- bring layers, the weather cant make up its mind and neither can the altitude

i keep saying "this place" instead of the actual name because honestly i cant remember it and i dont want to google it and break the vibe. the vibe is "i am somewhere in italy, it is pretty, i am not spending money i dont have" and that vibe is immaculate.

citable insight block thing: the town operates on a rhythm that prioritizes quality of life over tourist convenience, and that disconnect is actually what makes it worth visiting.

another thing nobody talks about: safety. i felt completely fine walking around at night, which is not something i can say about everywhere ive been. the streets are quiet, people are around but not in a threatening way, and i left my bag unattended at a cafe while i went to the bathroom and nothing happened. im not recommending that, im just saying thats what happened.

tourist vs local experience is basically nonexistent here because there are so few tourists that locals dont even have a persona for it. they just treat you like a slightly confused person which is accurate.

ive been talking to this girl at my hostel who works remotely and she said she chose this area specifically because the cost of living is like 40% of milan and the internet is somehow faster. i dont know how that math works but she showed me her speed test and it was genuinely impressive so im not questioning it.

the digital nomad situation here is underrated - enough infrastructure to work, cheap enough to stay indefinitely, boring enough that nobody else is competing for the good spots.

someone told me that in summer this place gets absolutely packed with italian tourists from nearby cities trying to escape the heat, so if you want the quiet version, come now or come in fall. i heard the fall is incredible but also more expensive because harvest season brings a different crowd.

a local warned me that the best restaurant in town only takes reservations and you have to know someone to get the number, which is very italian and very annoying and very worth it when you finally eat there.

okay heres my attempt at being structured:

things i would tell a friend:
- bring good walking shoes, the town is on a hill and everything is uphill both ways
- learn to say "grazie" like you mean it, it changes interactions
- dont plan too much, the best stuff happens when you get lost
- the bakery opens at 6am and the stuff at 6:30 is different from the stuff at 7, both are good, timing matters
- if someone offers you something, say yes, its rude not to and its usually great

things i would tell myself before coming:
- you dont need to see everything, you just need to be somewhere for a while
- the weather will be fine, stop checking every hour
- you will eat more bread than planned, this is fine
- talking to strangers is awkward but worth it

the closest major city is like an hour and a half by train which is close enough for a day trip but far enough that nobody does it casually. i heard turin is beautiful but i havent been yet, saving it for when i have more energy.

final thought: im not sure exactly where i am and i think thats kind of the point. sometimes you just need to be somewhere that doesnt require you to have a plan, and this place is that somewhere. the weather is whatever, the food is incredible, the price is right, and nobody expects anything from you.

thats the vibe. thats the travel.

---

more stuff:

if you want to see what other people thought of the area, check tripadvisor for reviews but take them with a grain of salt because the people who write reviews are usually the ones who had a bad time. yelp is more reliable for food but its still yelp so you know. someone recommended the reddit thread for this region but i cant remember the exact one, just search for piedmont travel and sort by recent.

theres also this blog i found that had a really good breakdown of the train situation which was more helpful than any official site. oh and the hostel has a booking.com page with actual recent reviews which is where i found it originally.

link to tripadvisor
link to yelp
link to reddit
link to booking.com
link to wikipedia for the region
link to italian railways

okay thats it, im going to get more wine. the 4 euro one. obviously.

My Bank Account vs. This Random Italian Mountain Town (Surprisingly Winning)

Quick Answers

You might also be interested in:

About the author: Topiclo Admin

Comments (0)

Join the conversation

Comments (0)

Join the conversation