Paralympics - logistics
 

Posting this again in a new thread....

Help! I am heading to Torino for the last 3 days of the Paralympics and have spent days online and with guide book and can't seem to get it organized and I leave Wed night!

The main issue is I would like to see the skiing which is a bit far from Torino. Directions on site only give driving directions but I won't have a car. However I would assume they have created some public transport to get there??

I arrive in Milan on Thurs and plan to use that as a travel day. I think it makes more sense to just go to Sestriere with my stuff and stay there. If I stay in Torino I will never get to Sestriere in time for the 10am skiing event on Friday.

Thurs: land in Milan; travel to Sestriere
Fri: Alpine skiing; overnight in Sestriere
Sat: X-C in morning and Alpine in afternoon. Travel to Torino. Gold medal game of ice hockey.
Sun: Torino during day; closing ceremonies at night.

My questions:
What is best way to get there coming from Milan? Do I need to go through Torino or can I go more directly?
Also any hotel recommendations in Sestriere? I can't find any hotels listed.

Any hotel recs in Torino? I was thinking of Magenta, Bologna, Artua, Soferino, Astoria. Any comments on these hotels?

Thanks!

SusanC;

I'm headed to Sestriere to watch the last 3 days of alpine skiing at the paralympics. The travel stuff on torino2006 leaves a bit to be desired BUT, there is train service from Torino to Oulx, then you take the bus to Sestriere. Look at the trenitalia site and put in Torino-Sestriere and you will see the times/costs etc. (Again you actually get off in Oulx and take the bus to Sestriere)Actually you can probably put Milan-Sestriere in the website and get what you need.

cp

It makes great sense to stay in Sestriere the night before a morning event. Consider staying in Sestriere Borgata, which is a litte more charming and not far away. My guess is, though, that Sestriere is booked heavily with athletes, coaches and support staff -- and other rooms are blocked out. You might need to stay in Bardonecchia, Cesana, Oulx, Sauze d'Oulx.

The train to Oulx is the way to go. During the Olympics, they used Oulx as a transport hub. There are local buses that have regular service from Oulx to Sestriere as well.

Definitely get to Turin. I don't know any of those hotels, but the Magenta is on Victorio Emanuelle II, which is thew main drag and in many cases is the southern border of the best part of the city. I do know that a good bargain hotel is the Genio in the same general area (Both near Porto Nuova train station.)

The trick to seeing the heart of Turin is to work your way north from PN train station, via Carlo Felice Piazza to San Carlo to Castello and then maybe wander over to the Po.

As for getting there from Milan, it's dicey from Malpensa. You can take a bus (only 3 per day) direct to Turin. Or you can backtrack 45 minutes into the city and take the bus to Milan Centrale train station (every 20 minutes, 5 euros) and then catch a train to Oulx.

Wow - you are both so helpful! Re Malpensa, yes I have heard it is inconvenient. Can you tell me what the name of the 3x/day bus from the airport to Torino is so I can check the schedule? I think that sounds preferable if the time is right. Otherwise, I have a 4 hr delay from time flight is due to land to next train to Oulx (which I guess gives me plenty of time to get train station!).

Re lodging, I am hoping that there are less people in town for Paralympics than Olympics so there will be enough lodging. I would like to stay as close to event as possible as I will have just landed from US so getting anywhere by 10am will be a challenge!

After the competition I do plan to spend some time in Torino, then ski in Courmayeur and then several days in Milan (2 week trip in all).

Thanks!

It's a blue/yellow bus called Sadem (in the bus row with all the regional buses) and it leaves at 11:30, 3:30 and 8:30.

Another option is to find the bus to Novara and catch the train form there. I'm not sure on that schedule, tho. The bus does go right from MXP to the train station.

Try these folks for lodging:
http://www.montagnedoc.net/EN/

Have a great trip!

FYI, buses to Novara leave MXP at:
8.00

10.00

12.00

15.00

17.00

20.00

21.00