Cuneo & Around

Introducing Cuneo & Around

Arriving from the flat orchards and fields surrounding Cuneo’s east onto its immense 24,000-sq-metre main square, Piazza Galimberti, gives you the slightly surreal impression you’ve arrived in a large city. The outsize square was completed over 50 years, finishing in 1884. To the south of the square is the equally large-scale Corso Nizza, lined with grand buildings, while to the north is Cuneo’s attractive old town (which, like the rest of Cuneo, is on a regular scale).

The city’s history is interpreted at the Museo Civico di Cuneo (0171 63 41 75; adult/child €1.55/2.60; 8.30am-1pm & 2.30-5.30pm Tue & Sat, 8.30am-1pm & 2.30-5pm Wed-Fri, 10am-12.30pm & 3-6pm Sun), set around the cloisters of the deconsecrated San Francesco convent and church.

From Cuneo you can head out into the valleys radiating towards the southern French Alps. When snowfalls are good, you can ski and snowboard here.

Cuneo’s tourist office (0171 69 32 58; www.comune.cuneo.it; Via Roma 28; 9.30am-12.30pm & 3-6.30pm Mon-Sat) has information on the town. Region-wide information is provided by Azienda Turistica Locale del Cuneese (ATL; 0171 69 02 17; www.cuneoholiday.com; Via Vittorio Amedeo II 8a; 8.30am-1pm & 2.30-6pm Mon-Fri), which also stocks two excellent free booklets with maps: Hiking along the alpine paths of the province of Cuneo and Cuneo’s bicycle touring district (both in English).

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009