Best time to visit Piedmont

Skiing season is in full swing in the Western Alps. Sestriere, Bardonecchia and the Via Lattea offer some of Italy's best snow with smaller crowds than Dolomiti resorts.

Turin's winter cultural season hits its stride, and the Egyptian Museum (the world's largest outside Cairo), Mole Antonelliana and Royal Palace are blissfully quiet.

Carrù's Fiera del Bue Grasso (mid-December into early-January) is Piedmont's oldest food festival where you can enjoy vast quantities of bollito misto.

February brings the coldest yet reliably dry weeks of the year, while Sestriere and the Via Lattea ski circuit are at their finest.

Ivrea's Storico Carnevale culminates in the Battle of the Oranges – three days of teams hurling 500 tonnes of citrus through the streets in an extraordinary medieval re-enactment.

Tuck into a favourite winter dish, bagna càuda (anchovy-and-garlic sauce) with raw cardoons to dip into it.

Spring stirs slowly with foraging walks in the Langhe woods becoming more fruitful and almond trees blossoming across the Roero hills.

Vinum returns to Alba mid-month (running into April). Piedmont's serious wine fair brings Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero producers pouring across the historic centre.

Turin's spring cultural season begins when the city's grand 18th-century cafés are at their most atmospheric in the cool spring light.

Enjoy sublime spring weather with the Langhe hills turning the soft green that defines them – cycling and walking are at their loveliest.

Bursting into leaf, the UNESCO-listed vineyard hills around La Morra, Barolo and Barbaresco are supremely photogenic.

Lake Orta and the Borromean Islands on Lake Maggiore reopen for the season, becoming Piedmont's quieter alternative without Como's crowds.

Despite being Piedmont’s rainiest month, May is reliably warm with short afternoon showers and vineyards at their lushest.

Sant'Anastasia rose festival and the gardens of Villa Taranto on Lake Maggiore reach their peak, and sit among Italy's finest botanical gardens.

Strawberries from Tortona and the Roero arrive – sweet, intensely fragrant, and turning up across pasticceria windows.

Enjoy long sunny days hiking in the Gran Paradiso National Park, where ibex, chamois and golden eagles are regularly sighted.

Turin's Festival delle Colline Torinesi runs from late June into July. Enjoy contemporary theatre across hill villages, an underrated Piedmontese summer fixture.

Piedmontese fruit is at its summer best including strawberries, peaches and the first cherries from the Roero rush.

Days are hot and bright, so exploring the vineyards of the Langhe is best at dawn or dusk, while the Alps offer cooling relief just an hour away from Turin.

Alpine wildflower meadows across the Western Alps and Gran Paradiso reach their best, admired on properly dramatic walks above Cogne and the Val Varaita.

The Stresa Festival on Lake Maggiore opens, where you can enjoy chamber music floating across the Borromean Islands’ palazzo gardens.

Piedmont’s hottest stretch, August 15th marks the start of Ferragosto, which means many family-run wineries close.

The Alps really come into their own. Sestriere and Cogne are true summer escapes, with cool evenings and excellent walking at altitude.

Lake Maggiore's Borromean Islands are accessible and beautifully cool, perfect for enjoying Isola Bella and Isola Madre's terraced gardens at their summer best.

A favourite month for locals, days are warm, vineyards begin to change colour and the autumn light softens everything it touches.

Asti's Douja d'Or wine festival runs through early September. Taking place in the Monferrato hills, it’s Piedmont's most serious tasting.

Palio in Asti (on the third Sunday in September) is one of Italy's oldest. Bareback horse racing predating Siena's takes place through the city centre, preceded by a serious medieval procession.

Both biennial, Bra's Cheese! festival and Terra Madre Salone del Gusto in Turin take place in September, the global epicentre of artisan food.

Vineyard foliage in the Langhe and Roero turns bronze, gold and red – UNESCO-recognised landscapes at their most photogenic.

White truffles! The Alba International White Truffle Fair runs every weekend from mid-October to early December, while truffle hunts with trifolao and their dogs are a wonderful pastime.

Chestnut sagre take place across Cuneo’s hill villages, including the town’s own festival – a blend of music, markets and chestnut specialties.

The weather is properly autumnal with the famous Langhe nebbia (fog) drifting through the vineyards and creating a rather ethereal atmosphere.

Vino novello arrives on the scene. The first wine of the year is drunk young and fresh at trattorias across the Langhe and Monferrato.

Truffle hunts intensify and the November new-moon period traditionally yields the season's finest tubers.

Sestriere, Bardonecchia and the Via Lattea come into their own in late-December, when the year's first reliable powder usually arrives.

Luci d'Artista lights up the city of Turin, major contemporary light installations appearing across piazzas and streets throughout December.

Christmas markets fill Turin's piazzas and the Langhe villages – Govone's Magic Country and Asti's market are among the most atmospheric.