In Europe, 76 destinations off the beaten path

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Arezzo, ItalySalina, ItalyCrete, GreeceRoquefort, FranceKvarner Islands, CroatiaTaormina, ItalyBonn, GermanyMonschau, GermanyCanterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, EnglandSt. Albans, EnglandCambridge, EnglandBrighton, EnglandCarnac, FranceCotswold Way, EnglandIstanbul, TurkeyGiglio, ItalySpain's Basque CountryAlbaniaAndorraViennaArdennes, BelgiumHay on Wye, BritainGiant's Causeway, Northern IrelandScotland's Tweed ValleyBulgariaZagreb, CroatiaHvar, CroatiaOsijek, CroatiaKladska, Czech RepublicTallinnHelsinki, FinlandBarbizon, FranceVerdun, FranceLourdes, FranceBeaujolais, FranceLyon, FranceChâteau des Milandes, FranceMillau, FranceLacoste, FranceMunich, GermanyIceland's countrysideGalway City, IrelandSkibbereen, IrelandCampania region, ItalySiena, ItalySperlonga, ItalyCinque Terre, ItalyPuglia, ItalyGenoa, ItalyPiedmont, ItalySicily, ItalyLipari, ItalyCastel del Monte, ItalyRiga, LatviaJurmala, LatviaLiechtensteinVilnius, LithuaniaLuxembourgMoldovaMonacoMontenegroOslo, NorwayTransylvania, RomaniaDanube River Delta, RomaniaSt. Petersburg, RussiaSan MarinoBelgrade, SerbiaSloveniaCatalonia, SpainSegovia, SpainIcehotel, Jukkasjarvi, SwedenZurich, SwitzerlandVals Valley, SwitzerlandCappadocia, TurkeyLviv, UkraineVatican City

I had come to Piedmont in late October with Kathy O'Green, a lifelong friend who shares my passion for cooking and travel. We viewed it as the trip of a lifetime for a pair of working Southern California moms eager to chuck the daily stresses, if just for seven days (plus a side trip to Venice).<br>
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So far it had delivered. Our tour already had taken us to hilltop caverns where Barolo wines are coaxed into perfection and to villages where makers of local specialties offered us samples of their delicious wares. We had walked through medieval castles and slept in a hill-top former convent dating to the 17th century. Three days into the tour, we still were adjusting our palates and appetites to a busy schedule of three-hour lunches at good inns followed by four-hour dinners at even better restaurants.<br>
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-- Catherine Saillant<br>
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Read more: <a href="http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-truffles12feb12,0,1738425.story">A nose for the truffle in Italy's Piedmont</a><br>
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<i>Pictured: Piazza Risorgimento in Alba.</i>

Piedmont, Italy

( Alison Harris )

I had come to Piedmont in late October with Kathy O'Green, a lifelong friend who shares my passion for cooking and travel. We viewed it as the trip of a lifetime for a pair of working Southern California moms eager to chuck the daily stresses, if just for seven days (plus a side trip to Venice).

So far it had delivered. Our tour already had taken us to hilltop caverns where Barolo wines are coaxed into perfection and to villages where makers of local specialties offered us samples of their delicious wares. We had walked through medieval castles and slept in a hill-top former convent dating to the 17th century. Three days into the tour, we still were adjusting our palates and appetites to a busy schedule of three-hour lunches at good inns followed by four-hour dinners at even better restaurants.

-- Catherine Saillant

Read more: A nose for the truffle in Italy's Piedmont

Pictured: Piazza Risorgimento in Alba.