Alba.

Alba sits at the heart of the Langhe, a stretch of hill country in Piedmont shaped by centuries of wine-making. The old town is compact and walkable, built around red-brick towers that once marked the houses of medieval merchant families. Around Alba, the vineyards of Barolo and Barbaresco climb the surrounding ridges, and both wines are poured generously in the town's wine bars and restaurants. Autumn brings white truffles, dug from nearby oak woods and sold at the weekly market and during the International Alba White Truffle Fair. The Langhe-Roero vineyard landscape surrounding the town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognised for the patterns its rows of vines trace across the hills. Food shops around town sell cheese and cured meats, while hazelnut pastries from the region fill bakery windows. The Saturday market fills the main square with producers from across the province, and the town's mood shifts with the seasons: lively during the autumn truffle season, quiet and foggy in winter, green again once the vines wake in spring.