The Village of Barolo

Barolo is famous as being the town located right in the heart of Italy’s most famous wine route.

The name of the town is synonymous with one of Piedmont's and indeed Italy’s best wines. These wines are globally renowned and are available online through our sister site - click here for more details.

Where to stay

Just a short way from Barolo is a truly enchanting hotel - The Corte Gondina (view details here). This is a really lovely place to stay and prices are very reasonable.

For other good options why not view our holiday rental page for a selection of homes in the Piedmont wine country

What to See

Top of the list must be the Castle of Falletti. Most of the castle dates back to the sixteenth century though it’s origin are much older. The castle is interesting in its own right but the fact that it often hosts art and photographical exhibitions and that the original cellars now host the Regional Enoteca make it particularly great to visit.

The views from the castle over the surrounding wine country are magnificent. Take the quick thirty minute tour of the castle which is in English, French or German and then move onto the Enoteca.



The Enoteca is basically a massive wine cellar located in the basement of the castle. It has a wine display area which I found a little boring as you can’t buy any of the wines shown in this section. More interesting are the tasting and sales areas. The tasting area is a bit limited though in that you can only taste three wines, which change each day, and which can’t be chosen. The idea supposedly is that all producers get an equal chance but I find it very limiting, furthermore the staff in the shop don’t give you any info about the wines on sale.

You are supposed to just wander around and learn about the wines. This is a little unfortunate and if the staff could explain something about the wines on display it would be far more useful. Despite my moans the Enoteca is well worth a visit and the wines are exceptional.

Barolo has another castle, the castle della Volte. There is little left of what once must have been the most strategic of the towns castles but the view from the castle is stupendous and it is worth visiting if only for the view.

While in the area do yourself a favour and have lunch at the Belvedere Restaurant - a really fabulous restaurant.

One other suggestion, if you really would like to discover this region, I would suggest you take the Land of Barolo tour (view details here). It is quite exceptional.

For more tours of this area please visit our Piedmont tours page.


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