From the parking area along the highway (restrooms), head up to tour Grinzane Castle, home of the Regional Wine Centre and the Langhe Museum with the heirlooms of the Count of Cavour and other cultural relics. In the gardens, there is also a small playground and fountains. From here, head down in the opposite direction along Via Castello until you reach the highway. Turn right here in the direction of the cemetery.
CAUTION: Section of highway, for about 300 meters (about 1,000 ft), in a curve and lacking a sidewalk. If the grass is tall, it is also difficult to walk along the shoulder, so we would recommend taking your car to cemetery parking lot.
Continue on past the cemetery to the border between Grinzane and Diano. At the first halmet, take the dirt road to the right (red-and-white sign: “302 Diano”). Having crossed through the hamlet, continue down through the hazelnut groves and vineyards until you reach a paved road. Follow this road to the left into the hamlet of Carzello. At the first houses, turn to the right (brown sign: “Borgata Capra e Tesoriera”) and follow the slightly uphill, paved road through the hazelnut groves until you reach another hamlet with a small church (beware of dogs).
- for who: children 6 and older. Non suited to strollers (small children should be in backpack carriers)
- when: spring, autumn, winter without much snow
Continue uphill past the hamlet, then pass a second hamlet and continue on to a “T” intersection. Turn left, continuing uphill on the paved road, watching out for a dirt road to your right marked by a blue sign (“Sentiero San Rocco”), which will take you quickly to the first houses of Diano and to San Rocco chapel as it turns to a paved road. Ignore the first road to the right (Via Madonnina) and the second (Via della Noci), then take the third (Via Regina Margherita), which will take you up through a series of switchbacks and into the centre of village, where a large parking area precedes a vista point (fountain).
Another ramp will take you quickly up to the church and then to the vista point, featuring a stunning, 360° view as well as a playground and benches. Head down the opposite side of the hill to complete the loop of the vista point, then follow the road from before until you reach the intersection with Via Madonnina.
Here, turn right onto the dirt road (black sign: “Sentiero del Curtin”), which will take you down to a paved road. Continue to your right until you reach the highway, then follow the highway for a brief, downhill section to the left. Turn left off of the highway onto Via Carzello, which heads steeply downward to the village you will have passed earlier. From here, follow the dirt road, now going uphill, until you reach the highway, then continue on to the cemetery and back to Grinzane Castle.
Notes
Poorly marked. Pay close attention to the crossroads. Although the itinerary is nearly all paved, the few dirt roads are not accessible to strollers.
PLEASE NOTE: Responsibility for the maintenance and practicability of the various trails lies with the municipalities where the routes are located. The Tourist Board, therefore, cannot be held responsible for any inefficiencies, but is willingly available to collect your reports so that they can be forwarded to the authorities concerned.
