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Turin Attractions
The stately arcades of Via Roma, Turin’s premier shopping street, were designed in 1714 by Filippo Juvarra. This chic thoroughfare runs from the circular Piazza Carlo Felice, ringed with outdoor cafes and constructed around formal gardens, north into Piazza San Carlo, quite possibly Italy’s most beautiful square. In summer Piazza San Carlo is Turin’s harmonious outdoor salone, its arcaded sidewalks lined with big-name fashion stores and elegant cafes, including the genteel Caffé Torino (www.caffe-torino.it; tel. 011/545-118). In the center of the piazza prances a 19th-century equestrian statue of Duke Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy. Two 17th-century churches, San Carlo and Santa Cristina, face each other like bookends at the southern entrance to the square.
At the far north end of Via Roma, the Piazza Castello is dominated by Palazzo Madama, named for its 17th-century inhabitant, Christine Marie of France, who married into the Savoy dynasty in 1619. Farther north still stands the massive complex of the Palazzo Reale, residence of the Savoy dukes from 1646 to 1865. Adjacent to the royal palace is Turin’s Duomo and a park Containing two landmarks of Roman Turin: the remains of a theater and fragments of wall, as well as the Porta Palatina, a Roman-era city gate, flanked by twin 16-sided towers on Piazza San Giovanni Battista. To the west lies the Area Romana, the oldest part of the city, a charming web of streets occupied since ancient times.
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- Religious Site
Basilica di Superga
Half the fun of a visit to this lovely basilica is the 6.5km (4-mile) journey northeast of the city center on a narrow-gauge railway through the lush countryside of the Parco Naturale della Collina di Superga. The church was built as thanksgiving to the Virgin Mary for Turin’s… - Religious Site
Duomo di San Giovanni Battista
One of the few pieces of Renaissance architecture in Baroque-dominated Turin, this otherwise uninspiring 15th-century cathedral is famous as the resting place of the Turin Shroud. The Turin Shroud is said to be the piece of fabric in which Christ was wrapped when he was taken from… - Museum
Mole Antonelliana & Museo Nazionale del Cinema
Turin’s most unique building was once the tallest in Europe. Building started in 1863 on what was originally meant to be a synagogue; later, city fathers decided to make it a monument to Italian unification (at the time, Italy was ruled by the House of Savoy from its power base in… - Museum
Museo Egizio (Egyptian Museum)
Turin’s magnificent Egyptian collection is one of the world’s largest—no surprise, considering it was also the world’s first Egyptian museum, thanks to the Savoy kings and their explorers Bernardino Drovetti and Ernesto Schiaparelli, who voraciously hoarded Egyptian ephemera until… - Museum
Museo Nazionale del Risorgimento Italiano (National Museum of the Risorgimento)
Located on Piazza Carignano—one of the most majestic in a city full of splendid corners—the equally impressive redbrick palazzo of the same name acquired huge national importance as the occasional home of Italy’s first king after the country’s Unification in 1861. Originally built… - Museum
Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile
This is the city that spawned Fiat, so it is only fitting that the car is king at MAUTO, an innovative museum located south of the Parco del Valentino. One enters through the piazza, a futuristic covered courtyard that leads into the venue; the Atrium café and bookshop are off to the… - Museum
Museo della Sindone (Holy Shroud Museum)
There are no cheesy special effects at this endearing little museum, which is refreshing, considering the Turin Shroud’s status as one of the world’s most famous religious relics, said to be the cloth in which Christ was wrapped when taken from the Cross. (The shroud itself is kept… - Historic Site
Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi
Yet another Savoy family home is found at Stupinigi, just a few miles southwest from Turin. More great work commissioned in 1729 from the architect Filippo Juvarra resulted in a sumptuous, frothily decorated hunting lodge surrounded by royal forests still in existence today. Built on… - Museum
Palazzo Madama—Museo Civico di Arte Antica (Civic Museum of Ancient Art)
Don’t be misled by the baroque façade on the Palazzo Madama, which was added by architect Filippo Juvarra in the 18th century—walk around this massive structure and you’ll see that it also incorporates a medieval castle, a Roman gate, and several Renaisssance additions. Just as the… - Historic Site
Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace) & Armeria Reale (Royal Armory)
Overshadowing the north side of the Piazza Castello, the residence of the House of Savoy was begun in 1646 and the family lived there until 1865. Designed by the architect Amedeo di Castellamonte, the palace reflects the ornately Baroque tastes of European ruling families of the time… - Historic Site
Reggia di Venaria Reale
Completing the triumvirate of glitzy Savoy households around Turin, the Venaria was constructed in the mid–17th century to a design by Amedeo di Castellamonte, but sure enough Filippo Juvarra also had a hand in the design. This massive complex, its stables, and its awesome formal…
Turin Shopping
Turin’s high-end shopping area is quite simply one of the most beautiful in the world. The arcaded Via Roma does full justice to the exquisite fashions on sale in Gucci, Armani, Ferragamo, Max Mara, and so on. At the end of Via Roma, the glass-roofed Galleria Subalpina (Piazza Castello 27), which links Piazza Castello with Piazza Carlo, competes with Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II for sheer opulence in its three levels of art galleries, antiquarian bookstores, and cafes. For those whose pockets may not be quite so deep, Via Garibaldi, Corso XX Settembre, and the surrounding streets together offer mid-range international brands at reasonable prices.
The windows of Italian food shops are always a thing of joy, and the specialist delis and confectioners of Turin are no exceptions. Confetteria Stratta (Piazza San Carlo 191; (tel) 011-547-920) and Pasticceria Gerla (Corso Vittorio Emanuele 11) are thronged daily for their extravagant pastries, cakes, and gianduiotti (chocolate with hazelnuts). The Turin branch of Eataly, the current top tip for gourmet Italian produce, is at Via Nizza 230, a little out of the center in Lingotto. Turin is famous for its quality confectionary -- it produces 40 percent of Italy's chocolate -- and pPerhaps the best chocolatier north of Perugia is sold at Peyrano, Corso Moncalieri, 47 (tel. 011-660-2102; www.peyrano.com), open Monday to Friday 9am to 12:30pm and 1:30 to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am to 12:30pm.
The produce market in and around Porta Palazzo takes over the gigantic Piazza della Repubblica Monday to Friday 7am to 2pm and Saturday until 7:30pm. A bustling flea market takes place in the warren of streets behind the Porta Palazzo every Saturday, among the antique shops on Via Borgo Dora. The second Sunday of every month, the same spot is the scene of an antiques market, the continuously expanding Gran Balon (www.balon.it), with more than 250 dealers from across northern Italy. Come December, a Christmas market sets out its stalls in Via Borgo Dora.
Turin has many stores specializing in rare books and old prints, and these also sell their wares from stalls along the Via Po. Most newsagents in Turin have English-language newspapers, and the two branches of Feltrinelli (Piazza Castello 19, (tel) 011-541-627 or Stazione Porta Nuova (tel) 011-563-981) sell multilingual books.
Turin Nightlife
Turin gave the world the aperitif vermouth, which was invented in 1786 by Antonio Benedetto Carpano; the brands Martini and Cinzano are still made in the Piedmont region. Order a glass at the gorgeous Art Nouveau Caffè Mulassano at Piazza Castello 15 (www.caffemulassano.com; tel. 011/547-990), or come early to enjoy coffee and tempting cannoli or dainty fruit tarts at the ornate marble counter.
Nightlife in the city that invented the vermouth aperitivo is sophisticated and, like Milan, starts in the cafes and bars and finishes very, very late. Squeeze in with the Torinese at the bar of Caffè Platti (Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 72; (tel) 011-454-6151) for a vermouth, and pick from the plates of enticing little pizzas made on the premises. Choose a Slow Food restaurant for dinner, and then join models and footballers to dance at Kogin’s (Corso Sicilia 6; (tel) 011-661-0546).
Dance, opera, theater, and musical performances (mostly classical) are on the agenda all year around—check the website www.visitatorino.com—but September is the month to really enjoy classical music in Turin, when more than 60 classical concerts are staged around the city during the month-long Settembre Musica festival (www.mitosettembremusica.it), which is hosted together with the city of Milan. Beyond the festivals you’ll find classical concerts at Auditorium della RAI, Via Rossini 15 (www.orchestrasinfonica.rai.it; (tel) 011-810-4653) and dance performances and operas staged at the city’s venerable Teatro Regio (www.teatroregio.torino.it; (tel) 011-8815-557.
