UNESCO Grand Tour by Bicycle (arch 3) - From Casale Monferrato to Racconigi: between the Cities and the lands of Wine, on the hills along the Tanaro river

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Highlights and tour details

After crossing the historic centre of Casale Monferrato, from the market square take the direction of the right bank of the Po river, along the banks at the foot of the hills. Going up to Coniolo you will discover an extraordinary panoramic point over the rice fields, the Po river, the entire Alpine arc from Monviso to Gran Paradiso, Mont Blanc, Matterhorn, Monte Rosa, extended on clear days to Milan, with the mountains of Lombardy and Trentino.

From Coniolo the route bends south to cross the hills towards Ozzano Monferrato, going up to Treville with its panoramic balcony and reaching Cereseto before descending to the Madonnina, near the disused railway line between Casale and Asti and then going up again to the Sacro Monte di Crea. Leave the Sacro Monte di Crea and travel towards Ponzano. You will reach the village of Moncalvo. Then continue towards Asti, along the road that crosses cultivated slopes, overlooking the landscape of the plain and the mountains to the west. Enter the historic centre of Asti through Corso Alfieri (railway connection to Turin, Alessandria, and Genoa) and exit the city through the Borbore stream, in the direction of Vaglierano. Continue passing through the hilly landscapes and reach the villages overlooking the plain of San Martino Alfieri and Govone. Then descend into the valley of the Stura river, at the foot of the hill of Magliano Alfieri and go up to Guarene. The route continues down again to the Stura valley towards the city of Alba, which can be reached via Piazza Duomo and Corso Vittorio Emanuele II (railway connection to Bra and Turin).

Leave Alba by passing near the Ferrero plants and reach the Stura river. Follow an unpaved road and the Verduno canal, and slightly deviate to touch the bank of the river in the geological site of the Spiaggia dei Cristalli, just before the bridge over the Tanaro river. Take the state road and cross the Tanaro, admire the remains of the nineteenth-century suspension bridge and quickly leave the busy arterial road to enter the village of Pollenzo. The route continues through the fields up to Bra (railway connection to Turin and Alba). Go towards Ca' del Bosco and travel through the countryside with its wide panoramic views of the Tanaro terraces towards Cherasco (which you can reach by making a deviation from the main itinerary) and the mountains with the Alpine arc from Monviso to Monte Rosa, and reach Racconigi (railway connection to Turin and Savona).