What is Limone Piemonte known for?

80 km of slopes from 1,050 to 2,085 meters, the southernmost serious ski domain in the western Alps. The 1900 mountain railway across the Tenda crosses 33 tunnels and 27 bridges from the plain to the Ligurian coast. The 1,871-meter Colle di Tenda above the village was the historic crossing into France and still connects to the Roya valley.

Where is Limone Piemonte?

Limone Piemonte is a comune in the province of Cuneo, Piedmont region of Italy, about 128 kilometers from Torino.

Piedmont · Cuneo

Limone Piemonte

A ski village at 1,000 meters in the Vermenagna valley, the southern end of the Alps where the Tenda tunnel drops toward the Côte d'Azur.

1000m

Elevation

128 km / 80 mi

Nearest hub (Torino)

1,351

Population

Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Bandiera Arancione

Why come

Limone Piemonte sits at 1,000 meters in the Vermenagna valley, twenty kilometers from Cuneo and fourteen from the Colle di Tenda, the historic pass into France. The Riserva Bianca ski domain rises behind the village from 1,050 to 2,085 meters, with eighty kilometers of pistes served by one gondola, ten chairlifts and three drag lifts. The Cuneo-Ventimiglia railway, opened across this valley in 1900, runs ninety kilometers from the plain to the sea with thirty-three tunnels and twenty-seven bridges, one of the steepest mountain lines in Europe. In the village center, Piazza del Municipio holds a 16th-century stone fountain and the Gothic parish church of San Pietro in Vincoli, with elements of Romanesque and Gothic stonework from the 14th and 15th centuries. The town empties between seasons and fills twice a year, for the ski months and for the alpine summer.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Limone Piemonte fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

Gallery

8 photos · scroll →

Known for

Chiesa di San Pietro in Vincoli
Gothic parish church on Piazza del Municipio, built between the 14th and 15th centuries on Romanesque foundations.
Riserva Bianca
Ski domain rising from 1,050 to 2,085 meters with 80 km of pistes, the main winter draw of the southern Piemonte Alps.
Centro storico
Stone village core around Piazza del Municipio, with a 16th-century fountain and a Gothic-Romanesque parish church.
Ferrovia Cuneo-Ventimiglia
1900 mountain railway that climbs from sea level to over 1,000 meters across 33 tunnels and 27 bridges in 90 kilometers.
Colle di Tenda
Historic pass at 1,871 meters, 14 km from the village, marking the old border with France above the Roya valley.

When to visit

Best months · Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

December through March is the ski season the village was rebuilt for: the Riserva Bianca lifts open, the centro fills on weekends and the railway carries day-trippers up from the plain. June through September brings the second peak, when the same ridges become hiking, grazing and via ferrata country and the Tenda border roads draw cyclists. April, May, October and November are quiet between the two seasons. Many hotels and restaurants close. The shoulder months suit travelers who want the centro storico empty and the Chiesa di San Pietro to themselves. Snow lines have been rising and recent winters have run thinner than the 1960s archives suggest.