Asti

One of Piedmont's largest churches, Asti's Gothic cathedral stretches 82 metres beside a Romanesque bell tower begun in 1266. Its walls and vaults were frescoed in the early 1700s, and the paintings by Gandolfino da Roreto and Il Moncalvo hold the eye. Entry is free outside Mass, mornings and afternoons.

The Caldera family has made wine at Portacomaro Stazione, on the north-eastern edge of Asti, for four generations, and a member of the family hosts every visit. You start in the big old cellar, hearing how the work was done in the past and how it is done now, and then move on to a guided tasting. In the basic "Incontra e Degusta" format you pick four wines from Ruchè, Grignolino, Barbera, Viognier, Gavi, Dogliani, a Brut sparkling wine and Moscato. It takes about an hour and costs €20 a head, with a minimum of two people. The €25 version lasts an hour and a half and adds a fifth wine with salumi, cheese and grissini. Ruchè is the estate's main wine, and its 'Prevost' won Gambero Rosso's Tre Bicchieri in 2024. Groups of four or more can also ask for a blind or vertical tasting, priced on request. Book by phone or email.

Asti's civic art gallery fills a Baroque palace on Corso Alfieri whose gilded, frescoed state rooms once hosted Napoleon. Collections range from Bonzanigo's micro-carvings and Oriental ivories to 19th- and 20th-century Asti painting, alongside changing temporary exhibitions. The ticket desk here sells the Smarticket for the city's museum network.

The tourist board for Langhe, Monferrato and Roero runs a scheduled guided walk through Asti's medieval centre, starting from its tourist office on Piazza Alfieri. The route covers the Cathedral, the Collegiate Church of San Secondo and the town hall with its tall towers, and it also looks at the Baroque palazzi and the Liberty-style shop windows along the old streets. One bilingual guide speaks Italian and English, and groups are capped at 25. A ticket costs €10 and can't be refunded. Children under 14 and visitors with disabilities go free, along with the person accompanying them. Walks run from April to mid-December, mostly on Sunday and Monday mornings, with extra afternoon slots in late summer and autumn. Book a place on the visitlmr.it page.

This indoor go-kart circuit is built over two levels on the eastern edge of Asti and opens every day of the week. Children from seven race in their own smaller karts, and the track also hosts official championship rounds, birthday parties and team-building events.

Cesarine is an Italian network of home cooks who teach in their own kitchens. Its Asti hosts, Fabiana and Andrea, have been with Cesarine since 2018 and live a few minutes outside the city, towards the Monferrato hills, where they keep a vegetable garden and an orchard. This class is about agnolotti, the small filled pasta that Piedmont makes for feast days, with a different version in every area. You make the Asti version from their grandmothers' recipe, then sit down to eat it together with a glass of wine. The class takes two hours and is shared with other guests, up to six in all. It's taught in Italian and English. You get the exact address once you've booked. The same hosts run longer classes on the Cesarine site too, including fresh pasta and tiramisu or a market visit followed by cooking.

Opened in 1860 for opera, Asti's municipal theatre is a classic horseshoe auditorium with four tiers of boxes and a ceiling fresco by Francesco Gonin, seating nearly 700. A busy season of drama, dance and music fills the hall, a few steps from Piazza Alfieri in the old centre.

Rovero is a family farm in the Valdonata valley at San Marzanotto, south of Asti. It makes organic wine and also runs a grappa distillery, where the family distils in a bain-marie still. A sommelier takes you round the cellar, the distillery and the beehives, with a short walk through the vines, before the tasting. It lasts about two hours. There are four formats, all booked through Il Milin, the family's agriturismo on the farm. "Light" is a standing tasting of three wines and a grappa with baked goods. "Gourmet" is a seated tasting of four wines and two grappas with a board of local salumi and cheese. "Relax" pours the same and adds a starter, a pasta course and dessert. "Emotion" is a full meal with five wines and two grappas. Prices aren't published, so ask for a quote when you book by phone or email through Il Milin.

Completed by the Troya banking family in the 13th century, this 44-metre tower on Piazza Medici can be climbed: 199 steps lead to the battlements and a wide view over Asti's rooftops, with a bell cast in 1531 overhead. It closes November to March; tickets are sold at Palazzo Mazzetti.

"Pedalando tra torri e botteghe" is the e-bike version of Sentieri Gastronomici's Asti food tour, with a guide and an e-bike for each rider. It starts at Bar Alfieri on Corso Alfieri and rides up to Piazza Roma and the Torre Comentina, then on to the Torre Rossa. From there it follows the old Roman walls on the north side of town to the Gothic Cathedral and Piazza Alfieri, where the Palio is run. The route also passes the courtyard of the San Pietro in Consavia complex at the east end of the old main street, then comes back through the old Jewish quarter. Three tastings at local producers are included. They are picked from the stops on the route: Asti sweets such as gianduja chocolate, torrone and paste di meliga with a glass of Asti Spumante, vermouth at Bar Alfieri, wines in the San Pietro courtyard, or Fassona beef tartare and ravioli gobbi. E-bike, helmet and tasting glass are included. The listed price applies to group departures of at least four people, and other dates or private tours can be arranged through the request form.

The 13th-century Torre Comentina, 38.5 metres of brick with swallowtail battlements, rises from the neo-Gothic Palazzo Medici del Vascello on Piazza Roma. In the square stands the Risorgimento monument of 1898, where a figure of Italy offers a laurel wreath to an obelisk within a balustrade guarded by lions.

Sentieri Gastronomici is the food-and-wine tour brand of chef Diego Bongiovanni's company in Costigliole d'Asti. Its Asti walk, "L'Asti segreta delle botteghe storiche", is about the city's old shops and what they still make. You meet at Bar Alfieri on Corso Alfieri and walk to Piazza San Secondo, where the Collegiate Church keeps the banners won at the Palio. From there you go through the narrow streets of the old centre, past the makers of gianduja chocolate, torrone and paste di meliga biscuits. Palazzo Gazelli is a medieval house rebuilt in the 1700s to a design by Benedetto Alfieri, and you can taste local wines there while you look round it. After the Cathedral, the walk ends in the lanes of the old Jewish quarter, where Fassona beef tartare and ravioli gobbi astigiani are on offer. Two tasting stops are included, and the wines are local ones such as Barbera d'Asti, Moscato d'Asti and Ruchè. The walk takes about four hours. The listed price applies to group departures of at least four people, and other dates or private tours can be arranged through the request form.

Fossil whales and dolphins from the Pliocene, when the sea covered the Po Valley, are the stars of this museum in Palazzo del Michelerio, a former 16th-century monastery. Displays run through vaulted cellars to an aquarium recreating the ancient seabed; a visit takes an hour or two, with English audio guides and booklets.

Poggio Le Coste is the Zonin family's Piedmont estate at Portacomaro Stazione, on the north-eastern edge of Asti. They bought it in 1985. It covers 120 hectares, and 70 of them are vineyards laid out like an amphitheatre between 250 and 350 metres up. The estate takes bookings for guided tastings in its wine shop, where the staff explain the local grapes and the wines made from them. The range is all local: Barbera d'Asti and Barbera d'Asti Superiore, Grignolino d'Asti, Monferrato Dolcetto and Moscato d'Asti. The shop is open on weekdays, and weekend visits are by appointment. Formats and prices aren't published, so ask when you book by phone, email or the contact form.

The relics of San Secondo, Asti's patron, rest in the crypt of this Gothic church, begun in 1256 and completed in 1462. Its bright interior holds Gandolfino da Roreto's Adoration of the Magi and a chapel of historic Palio banners. Open daily and free; crypt visits go through the sacristan.

La Torre di Viatosto is a small organic estate on the Viatosto hill, inside the comune of Asti and below the hill's little Romanesque church. Rosalba set it up with her husband Vittorio Vallarino Gancia, the fourth generation of the Gancia sparkling-wine family, to put vines back on a hill the growing city had taken over. Its Metodo Classico, 'Cuvée Vittorio', is named in his memory. The tasting costs €30 per person and is built around that wine, a rosé Extra Brut made from Nebbiolo. It sits alongside the estate's other three wines: a Nebbiolo rosato, a Monferrato Rosso made from Merlot and 'Clemenza', a white from very ripe Moscato grapes. Book through the form on the estate's website. Groups of nine or more need to arrange it by phone.

One room at the top of the medieval Torre Quartero is packed with minerals, mining tools, scientific instruments and curiosities reaching from the Earth's depths to the Moon. Visits are free, by appointment and guided, often by the founder himself, whose knowledge and patience win over children as much as adults.

Tenuta Il Capitolo is an old country house on the Asti–Alessandria road, just before the hamlet of Quarto Inferiore on the eastern side of Asti. It now hosts events and tastings, and also MoC, the Museum of Capitolo. The museum shows objects found while the house was being restored, along with things that have belonged to it over the years. The tastings pour wines from the Garrone winery in Grana. In the standard version, which takes about two hours and costs €30, you hear about Garrone and taste three of its wines, then learn the story of the house over platters of local cheese and cold cuts. A 90-minute MoC version, also €30, opens with the museum's story and pours three wines with local products, bread and breadsticks. "Sip the Art" runs for three hours and costs €50. It adds a tour of the house and museum and a light lunch of Piedmontese dishes such as beef tartare, tajarin with butter and a house dessert, and it is for over-15s only. Book any of them through Winedering, or call the estate's tastings line.

Founded in 1957 by Ugo Scassa, this tapestry workshop in the former Certosa di Valmanera still weaves by hand on 17th- and 18th-century high-warp looms, turning artists' paintings into wool. Guided visits, by booking only, take about ninety minutes through the looms, works in progress and the family's collection.

A 41-metre dome topped by a gilded statue of the Virgin crowns this Romanesque-Byzantine sanctuary, built in 1902–1912 around a medieval city gate whose venerated fresco of the Madonna is kept in the older chapel. Stained glass, frescoes and mosaics decorate it, and a garden behind holds a replica of the Lourdes grotto.

Benedetto Alfieri remodelled this Baroque palace on Corso Alfieri in the 1750s, and it now houses the Museo del Risorgimento, with battle paintings, weapons and memorabilia of Italian unification. A 1943 air-raid shelter lies beneath the building, and in summer the courtyard becomes an open-air cinema.

Rebuilt in Baroque style between 1696 and about 1738, San Martino keeps the 14th-century bell tower of the older church and anchors one of Asti's most beautiful Baroque squares. Inside are Gian Carlo Aliberti's frescoes and a sacristy of 18th-century walnut furniture, which volunteer guides sometimes show visitors. Open daily, 9am to 7pm.

About ten hectares of meadows and woodland trails in the Valmanera woods surround Villa Paolina, home to a natural-history museum, a small hostel and an inn serving traditional Piedmontese food. The oasis opens on set weekends for two-hour guided walks, booked in advance, and runs summer camps and nature days for children.

The former church of San Giovanni, beside the Duomo and probably Asti's first cathedral, now shows Baldino di Surso's carved wooden choir of 1477 and pieces from the cathedral treasury. Below lies an 8th-century crypt with recycled columns and capitals, some of them Roman, and the hall hosts regular temporary exhibitions. Entry is by donation.

Poet and playwright Vittorio Alfieri was born here in 1749, and the palazzo's rooms keep original furniture, family portraits and his birth room. The theatrical courtyard stands out, the audio guide is good, and the old cellars hold Eugenio Guglielminetti's stage sets. Entry is on the city museums' combined ticket.

Built between 1110 and 1130 in imitation of Jerusalem's Holy Sepulchre, the brick Rotonda anchors a complex that housed the Knights of St John until 1798, with a 15th-century chapel of terracotta friezes and a cloister around a lawn. The site is currently closed for restoration; its exterior is visible from the street.

Carved 11th–12th-century capitals crown the columns of this Romanesque crypt on Corso Alfieri, set among Lombard-era graves and paving stones from the forum of Roman Hasta. A corridor of further capitals and a room of noble coats of arms complete the visit, covered by the Smarticket sold at Palazzo Mazzetti.

Antique Palio banners, period posters and archive documents tell the story of Asti's bareback horse race in the rooms of 15th-century Palazzo Mazzola, a short walk from the cathedral. Photographs and videos of the race and its costumed parade fill in the rest, and entry is free.

Built on a 16-sided Roman base from Asti's western city gate, the Torre Rossa was crowned in the Middle Ages with striped bands of red brick and pale sandstone. It now serves as Santa Caterina's bell tower; the interior is closed, so it is admired from Corso Alfieri.

A Roman mosaic floor of fish, ivy and coloured marble inlays, rare for Piedmont, survives from a 1st–2nd-century house in a basement on Via Varrone, along with the brick pillars of its underfloor heating. The self-guided visit takes about fifteen minutes, and the entrance is easy to miss.

A gilded, carved Holy Ark from 1809 is the centrepiece of Asti's synagogue, a bright classical hall given its present form in 1889; a small museum in the former winter prayer room keeps ritual objects. It is usually locked, so visits must be booked ahead through the Jewish Community of Turin.

The brick Gothic facade of the Collegiata di San Secondo and the Baroque Palazzo di Città share Asti's old market square, now pedestrianised. On the patron's feast, the first Tuesday of May, a costumed procession offers the Palio to the church and the mayor and parish priest serve the Minestra dei Poveri outside.

Arcaded public buildings of 1856 and 1869 frame three sides of this broad trapezoid, the course of Asti's Palio since 1988. Each September the bareback horse race is run here; the rest of the year the square is watched over by an 1862 statue of Vittorio Alfieri.

Homemade truffle pasta and a long wine list, with staff glad to pick the right bottle, draw people to this Piedmontese restaurant of exposed brick and paintings. The service is attentive to a rare degree, and prices stay fair for the quality.

Wide views over vineyard hills set the scene at this modern trattoria outside Asti, with a terrace for sunny days and easy parking. The traditional cooking is careful and honest, the staff are warm and good with families, and booking ahead is wise.

Huge sandwiches on fresh bread, made to order from a long list of local fillings, are the business of this busy panini bistro. The staff are friendly, quick and speak English, and there are a few tables out in the alley.

Pizza on an excellent dough shares the menu with dry-aged steaks, ravioli and truffle dishes at this restaurant on a quiet lane off one of Asti's main squares. Inside are old floor tiles and wooden beams, the staff are friendly, and groups are easily fitted in.

Fresh, generous home cooking and a fine wine list are served with unusual warmth at this family-run restaurant, with set menus that run from traditional to vegetarian and fish. The kitchen will adapt dishes for vegans, and there is free parking out front.

Fresh pasta, thin tajarin above all, is the draw at this cheerful rustic-chic restaurant with a brick ceiling, colourful sofas and an open kitchen. The wine list is short on fuss but well chosen, and the warm staff keep a lively room of regulars and visitors happy.

Tagliolini with truffle is the favourite at this rustic osteria, its vaulted brick rooms lined with shelves of regional wine. The Piedmontese cooking is honest and fairly priced, the house red by the carafe is good value, and much of the menu is gluten-free.

Piedmontese cooking meets Ligurian at this small, family-run osteria with marble tables, colourful walls and seating outside. The service is quick and attentive, the room has a happy buzz, and it fills up fast, so it pays to book ahead.

House-made vermouth to start and tiramisu to finish frame a meal at this friendly restaurant in central Asti, run by attentive young owners. The menu is interesting, the wine list good, and the set lunch is good value.

A bar in the former baroque church of San Michele, in the old centre, and the heart of Asti's nightlife and cultural life. Live music, theatre, exhibitions and local food dinners fill the calendar, and it is a favourite place to meet friends for a drink.

Traditional dishes cooked better than the prices suggest are the draw at this popular, vintage-style osteria with a large terrace. Portions are generous, the house wine by the glass or carafe is decent, and big groups are handled with ease, though service can slow at busy times.

Local dishes cooked with obvious care, porcini pasta among them, come at reasonable prices in this cosy, old-fashioned osteria. The staff are exceptionally kind and attentive, and the calm room suits a long, unhurried meal.

Piedmontese-style sushi, smoked raw beef on rice, is the signature at this inventive restaurant, along with beef agnolotti and other playful takes on local dishes. There is a shaded terrace on the market square, a shabby-chic dining room, a good wine list and an English menu.

A cosy, intimate restaurant in Asti serving pasta, pizza and regional dishes, with a wine list of local producers. The staff are friendly, and booking ahead is a good idea.

A fixed farmhouse menu with wine included, the same for every table, keeps this agriturismo on the road from Asti towards Alessandria busy with locals. The cooking is simple and home-style, the value is hard to beat, and the staff are friendly and quick.

Pasta with mushrooms, served in big portions at fair prices, is the favourite at this friendly, traditional osteria on Corso alla Vittoria. The owner and staff are welcoming and speak English, and the house wine is good and inexpensive.

Tasting menus are the focus at this restaurant on the edge of Asti, from a traditional sequence to one named after the house, with à la carte dishes as well. Portions are small and prices high, and recent meals have divided visitors.

A family-run agriturismo among the vineyards in the hills outside Asti, with rooms, a pool and wide views of the countryside. Meals are served in an inner dining room or a glassed-in veranda.

Small, finely balanced plates give local flavours a creative twist at this contemporary restaurant in a historic Asti palazzo. The service is polished and gracious, the room elegant, and booking ahead is recommended.

Staff who know every dish and bottle, and gladly explain them, set the tone at this refined Piedmontese restaurant with white tablecloths and modern furnishings against old brick. White truffle pasta appears in season, and the cooking is good value for its standard.

Several elegant dining rooms hold this family-run restaurant and its short Piedmontese menu, cooked with care and served in generous portions. The staff are warm and the wine list is good; the pace is unhurried, especially with large groups.

A mixed plate of Piedmontese starters is the way to begin at this traditional piola on a busy corner of Asti. The food is honest and fairly priced, but service can be slow when it fills up, so booking ahead helps.

Bagna cauda is the speciality at this restored country house at Quarto Inferiore, where a meal feels closer to lunch with a hospitable family than a night at a restaurant. The eclectic house and its green garden also host weddings, events and tastings, and the hosts are warm storytellers.

A friendly owner who explains each dish and its origins, and suggests a regional wine to match, sets the tone at this restaurant in the back streets of Asti. The cooking is straightforward Italian and the service quick and warm.

A small wine bar inside Asti's central food market, where owner Stefano pours relaxed tastings of local grapes such as Ruché, Grignolino and Barbera. He is a warm, knowledgeable guide to small producers and easy company for beginners, and the bottles to take home are fairly priced.

A long-established Asti maker of torrone and chocolate, with an old-fashioned shop where staff are generous with tastings. The soft nougat, hazelnut chocolates and Christmas panettone are the draws, all handsomely packaged for gifts.

A popular Asti pasticceria with a strong local following for its cakes and pastries. Celebration cakes can be ordered ahead.

A café with a leafy, flower-filled garden beside Palazzo Mazzetti, good for anything from a cappuccino to an aperitivo or a Piedmontese lunch of vitello tonnato and plin. The staff are friendly and the mood is lively, though the furnishings feel a little dated.

A relaxed café-bar with an outdoor deck, serving light lunches such as salads, soups and sandwiches alongside local wines by the glass. Hot chocolate and cakes make it a cosy afternoon stop too, and the service is friendly if sometimes slow.

A wine shop rather than a bar, stocking a huge range of local and Italian bottles plus spirits. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable, happy to find the right wine for any budget, and prices are fair — a good place to stock up before leaving Asti.

A small, no-frills gelateria known for classic creamy gelato at fair prices and for its fruit cups piled with fresh fruit and whipped cream. It also serves frozen yogurt and crêpes, with a colourful spread of flavours.

A well-liked gelateria near the station, counted among the best in Asti for gelato made with natural flavours and good ingredients, the pistachio especially. Prices are fair.

A wine bar tucked upstairs above its bottle shop, easy to walk past, with a wide list of local and Italian wines by the glass. The owners are passionate storytellers who pair each pour with carefully built taglieri, and the hospitality is warm and unhurried.

A friendly local bar best known for its aperitivo, when drinks arrive with a generous spread of snacks from the kitchen. The owners and staff are warm, and it makes an easy, unpretentious stop for an evening glass.

An artisan gelateria with welcoming owners and staff, and gelato that ranks among the best in Asti. An easy stop for a cone on a walk through town.

An enoteca offering guided tastings of local wines with snacks, led by a welcoming host who shares the stories behind the bottles and the town. A light lunch in the tower room can be added, though the food is simple — the wine is the reason to come.

A traditional café and pastry shop with an elegant, welcoming room, suited to a leisurely breakfast or an afternoon break. Fresh brioche, cannoncini and small pastries are the strength, served with carefully made coffee.

A family-run coffee shop where the coffee itself is the draw, with a wide selection of beans to take home plus tea, chocolates and sweets. A cup drunk on the spot is excellent, and the service is friendly.

A plant-based café serving light-roast single-origin coffee, a rarity in Asti, with pastries, juices and dairy-free gelato made from quality ingredients. The service is excellent, though the bright, fruity coffee won't suit those who prefer a traditional dark roast.

A pasticceria known for beautifully finished desserts, including minis that make it easy to try several flavours, and cornetti such as the gianduja. Good coffee, friendly staff and tables inside and out make it an easy breakfast stop.

A small speciality coffee bar in the centre of Asti, offering a choice of coffees by origin and espresso that many rank as the best in town. The pastries and baked goods are good, the staff are friendly, and it suits a quick breakfast stop.

A cosy enoteca on a charming street in the old centre, with a strong list of Piedmontese wines by the glass at fair prices and simple platters of salumi, cheese and crostoni to go with them. The staff are friendly and happy to explain the region's wines.

A long-established pastry shop on Asti's main street, making cakes, biscuits and local specialities by hand. House cakes such as the Palio cake make good gifts, and the staff are friendly and helpful.

A central café under the arcades, handy for the museums, with outdoor tables in sun or shade. It works for a cappuccino and croissant at breakfast or a generous aperitivo later, and the staff are pleasant, though table prices can run high.