This north Italian city was our local and became one of our favourite places to visit. Now we want to inspire you to visit Turin too.
We know Turin to you might be a bit of an unknown. And before we lived in Piedmont we didn’t know much about the city either. We read up on it and oh God, phrases like ‘industrial heartland’, ‘economic hub’ and ‘best known as the home of Fiat’ danced in front of our eyes.
It sounded a bit underwhelming, we’ll confess.
But as soon as we arrived in Turin we realised something revelatory: Turin has to be one of the most underrated cities in Italy. Forget ‘industrial heartland’, think more ‘wait, this is nice – actually really nice! Like nice nice! Parisian nice!’ (Eloquent analysis from our first visit).
We discovered that Turin is one graceful city. It has wide boulevards, covered walkways bookended by giant archways, shopping galleries with sunlight filtering through glass ceilings, marble-countered historic cafes, and trams dinging slowly down side streets.
It really is as elegant as it sounds.
And nowhere near as busy as Milan, Venice or any of the other big Italian cities you know more about.
So while it’s still relatively under the radar, we’ve put together a little album to inspire you to visit Turin. And as with all our Slow Cities posts maybe not just to visit, but hopefully to wander.
The main boulevards
The Piazza Vittorio Veneto was our first glimpse of Turin and we were bowled over by how chic it was.
We strolled along, trams trundling past, with gelato al nocciola in hand (that’s hazelnuts – Piedmont is famous for them. We’ve walked through groves and groves of the stuff all over Piedmont).
Turin is a university city too so bookshops and bookstalls abound, including English ones. Although probably finish your gelato first. (Nell is stocking up here on Piemonte guidebooks in case you want to know – we’re trying to improve our very English Italian.)
Some grand old elegance
We were pretty amazed by the number of huge and beautiful palazzi that stud Turin centro historico. And each of them by turn home to royalty, aristocracy and impressive collections of Torinese art.
We would particularly recommend Palazzo Madama – it has a bit of everything. Starting life as a 14th century castle, it became the ornate private apartments for the Savoy Queen in the 17th century, and later still Parliament buildings. It also has perhaps the best staircase we’ve ever seen.
Coffee culture
Being the home of Fiat is all well and good, but this is also where the international coffee house LavAzza was born, back in 1895. And we’ve never been to a city where coffee has soaked so deeply into its very core. The smell of dark roast wafts down streets, and every corner has a café.
Our favourite for the experience was Fiorio, Turin’s most historic café. It’s like a faded 18th century salon – but with added neon signs. We ordered bicerin, the strong coffee/hot chocolate Torinese drink, which was really rather nice.
The mountain city
Did you know Turin is only about 40km from the top of the Alps? And climbing into the Turin hills on clear days, you can get the most breath-taking views of the city fringed by the mountains. And who doesn’t love city life with awesome natural landscapes on the horizon? (We do love a good mountain city.)
This perhaps inspires us the most about Turin:
(Side note: as always we got up to this viewpoint early -at a smidge after 7am on a Sunday morning- and this otherwise rammed viewpoint was just us and a jogger.)
So between the Alps, the coffee and the quiet, have our 15 photos inspired you to give Turin a whirl? We hope so, and we don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Have you ever visited Turin? Would you like to visit Turin? Leave us a comment below and let us know!
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Looks sensational and you are quite right to point out how under rated it is. Well worth a cut break visit.
Thanks John – we visited 4 or 5 times during our 3 months in Piedmont, and we still want to go back and explore more! The city has a special something. Class!
Really beautiful review of my beloved city! Good job!
Grazie mille! We loved visiting Turin, actually would be very happy to live there it was so nice. Has a special something and more people should experience it!
I’m so happy to read this. My husband and I are going to Turin for three nights in May. People look at us funny when we say we’re going there, but my research says it’s a WONDERFUL city. I’d love if you’d tell us what out “must sees” are. Thanks.
It’s a great place to visit. Completely underrated! Your friends will be jealous when you come back and tell them how amazing it is 🙂
You must walk up to the viewing area of Santa Maria del Monte dei Cappuccini (and yes there’s a café close by to actually get a cappuccino!) in the morning before anyone else to see a clear view of the city with the Alps behind. And going in May will mean there’ll be some snowy topped mountains as the backdrop. Morning is best because visibility is best!
Really Turin is a place to just wander around. There’s no pressure to see particular things. Just enjoy 🙂
Thanks for the message, have a great time
Luke & Nell
Hi Luke and Nell,
I visited this charming city last year. I almost like to call it a hidden gem as not many people I know have been there. Your photos reminded me of a great 4 days I spent there in early October. I honestly don’t know why this city isn’t on everybody’s Italian city list. The architecture is amazing and the museums are world class, particularly the cinema museum, Egyptian museum and the Palazzo Reale.
The main highlight for me was the morning ritual of Bicerin. and gelati in the afternoon with bits of torrone in it. The challenge was limiting myself to one of each per day.
I cannot wait to return to Turin and the Piemonte region in general. Your post on the Barolo Way is of interest. I have just started to write a travel blog myself (Bren Mark Travels) and this Turin post amongst many others is really inspiring. Food for thought is walking the Via Francigena in the future. Happy slow travels,
Brendan
Hi Brendan! It’s a world class city, and a real surprise more people haven’t visited. They should!! Sounds like Piedmont is calling you back. You know you could walk the Via Francigena from the Val di Susa across Piedmont, and through Turin, instead of the more traditional way from Gran San Bernado? It’s signposted and there is a guidebook for the Val di Susa way.
Happy planning, and we’ll check out the blog 🙂
Luke & Nell
Hi guys,
Thank you fir featuring Turin. You were so lucky to live there! I visited a few times, and I completely agree with you. It is one of the most rewarding cities in Europe to visit and an undiscovered gem.
It is such an elegant city, brimming with history and also nature, with two rivers running through it, the parks, the hillside….and dont even get me started on the food. I dream of bicerin on a cold day!
Piedmont was the birthplace of the slow food movement and in Torino you really feel it. Even in the simplest places, everything feels prepared with so.much care and pride.
I also love that you can go there by train from London quite easily these days, with a change in Paris.
Hi Lara, thank you for your comment. Turin has so much going for it. One of the best cities in Europe in my opinion. We often think about it, and always recommend it. I look forward to the next time we visit, when I will insist that we also revisit Piedmont. The Langhe is another underappreciated area. Love it. Is Bra the home of the slow food movement?
I’m considering Turin as my destination for a semester abroad next year, so I loved reading this! Now I’m really intrigued!
Really cool city, bit of a hidden gem from a Tourist point-of-view. Enjoy!