Hi everybody,

I'm still deciding where to go on my next trip to Italy. Today, I watched a program about Turin and it seemed a beautiful city.

Has anybody on this forum ever been to Turin? How was it? How long do you need to visit the city? How is the shopping?

Thanks for sharing your opinion!

We were in Turin in September. It's a lovely city. The thing we found amazing was the Cinema Museum. It was worth the trip just to see it. We spend a whole day there...I am not a big shopper but they have a lot of places to shop.

It is a much underrated city, charming, historically important and interesting, with lots of attractive sights. The duomo (1498), Palazzo Reale (now houses the shroud), Palazzo Madama in Piazza Castello, an exquisite Egyptian museum (Museo Egizio), on and on, plus lots of great regional food and wine, a very modern city in a historic disguise - a great place!

I live 30 minutes from Turin, and I consider it a great city to be close to. Its's full of interesting things, a classic baroque centre, the forner capital of the Savoy Dynasty who became kings of Italy and beautified the city in the 18th century trying to rival Paris and Vienna, so loads of old palaces, mainly museums and galleries. as well as those mentioned, check out the Car museum, The Gallerie Sabuada, the Superga Mausolem, the Doumo which houses the Shroud of Turin and many more. If you put Turin into the search function of this forum you will find tons of information, also check out www.torinoturisimo.org. Plus shopping, markets and all of the rest, don't forget Turin was one of Eurpes first chocolate centres.

And then the city is the capital of Piedmont, widely regarded as one of Italy's finest food and wine regions (I woud argue the best, but I am prejudisted), 30 minutes from the wine country, and also 90 minutes to Liguria or the Alps if you want some country excursions.

Did you see the original "Italian Job" with Michael Caine? That was made in Turin, although many years ago, the city has been spruced up after the winter Olympics.

My wife and I were in Torino for three days in late September and had a wonderful time. We stayed at the Starhotel Majestic which was a very goo business hotel - centrally located, very nice amenities, and a helpful staff. The central city is very accessible on foot - especially with the long arcades on almost every street. And although we are not big shoppers, the large number and wide range of local boutiques(as well as upmarket chains)in the entire central area were very attractive.
I'll second others' comments about things to do and add one or two that haven't been mentioned. We've been to the Metropolitan in NYC and British Museum in London, but the Egyptian Museum in Torino tops them all. Even though Cairo is supposedly larger, friends who've been there point out that the Torino Museum's fascinating displays (most in English) and sheer size and diversity make it a destination. Of course, in the same building is the Saubauda - some great and a lot of good. The tour of the Palazzo Reale is very nice (Oh, get the Torino card, it's worth it.) GAM, the modern art museum is in a nice neighborhood, and the late 19th and early 20th century Piedmontese art is especially interesting because it's good and you won't see it anywhere else. The Mole is a hoot for the view -and if you're a movie fan, the Cinema Museum is first-rate. There are some great churches with excellent art and architecture: Consolata especially.

Restaurants:
C’era una Volta on the Corso - very good. Classic Piedmontese specialities very well done. Nice service. Moderate prices.

Oops. I posted my message without finishing. Almost done.

Torricelli was the other restaurant I wanted to mention. Great! Moderate - plus prices, but outstanding food, intersting variations on classics, very nice service. A bit out of the central, but worth the cab ride.

Overall, Torino exceeded our expectations.
And (if I can make an inference from your screen name - which is very close to mine - you'll feel the historical pull and be delighted by it.

As note before, this is a hugely underrated city. Tremendous food, interesting museums and a strollable city core.

Glad a PaoloC like C'era Una Volta, it's been a favorite on a couple of trips. A minor addition it's on Corso Victorio Emanuele II, which is a main drag in front of the main train station.

Have a bicerin, but some of the world's best chocolate (do the cocopass tour is you have time) and drink plenty of barolo and barbaresco.

Cinema museum was great. Grab a lounger in the main hall and stare up at the gorgeous ceiling and screens.

I agree that Turin is a wonderful place to visit. In addition to the wonderful suggestions above, I would recommend trying to visit the Sacra di San Michele (http://www.sacradisanmichele.com/index.asp) which is an abbey/fortress built on the edge of a cliff. If I remember correctly, it is about a half hour drive from Turin. Have a nice trip.

Wow, sorry for the typos folks . . . that's what I get for typing on the subway. It's actually the "ChocoPass" and is a great deal.

And to translate my mess ... "I'm glad PaoloC liked ..." C'era Una Volta, which was friendly as well as tasty.

Another place -- more casual was La Cantinella, which had everything from pizza on up. It's right across the Po from downtown and had a specialty of beef filet for two cooked tableside on a sizzling soapstone. It's a fun place filled with local groups and families.

I agree with all above so lets talk shopping, which in Torino is fantastic. The big fashion houses (Armani, Gucci, etc) line Via Roma. But the more interesting shopping is to be found in the many locally owned shops with beautiful shoes, clothes, antiques, jewelry, and on and on.

The city is easy to get around on foot or using public transport. I recommend against a car as parking is a nightmare.

Many cafe's have WIFI, so you can access the internet while you sip and people watch. All you need to do is buy a card at a tobacco shop and use the password contained therein to get onto the local server.

I have done several day trips and always felt rushed. This last time I was in town for a full week and enjoyed every minute. I think that 3-4 days is adequate for the cultural and historic sites and some serious shopping. Anything less and you will need to pick and choose what you do.

You can really avoid the crowds at this AK park ...

http://www.nps.gov/ania/

opps, sorry about that last , I had different boards up on two screens ...

I visited Turin for a too-short weekend last September. I will certainly be back, maybe even next spring.
I'm posting here a few things I've written of my visit:

In 2.5 days I just managed the fabuolous Galleria Sabauda
http://tinyurl.com/yzbg2g
and the Pinacoteca Agnelli (with 6! huge Canaletto's and fine works by Bellotto, Tiepolo and Renoir, among others, though close your eyes on the way to the gallery, Via Nizza is pretty ugly to say the least)
http://tinyurl.com/ymtxrh
and a temporary exhibition of Cuban art and photographs in one centrally located palazzo. It is over by now but they offer other exhibtions that look interesting.
http://www.palazzobricherasio.it/

Other than that I just walked around and marvelled at the beautiful piazzas and palazzi plus visited a few churches. I missed quite a few museums and sites and I intend to go back, I could easily spend a week in Turin - it's mavrvellous and beautiful and the atmosphere is great.

I ate a very good, simple lunch at Conte Verde, 21 Via Palazzo di Citta' (great service there, too), nearby the wonderful Piazza di Citta' which hosts a fabulous market all day Sunday; the pistachio - white chocolate paste, cherry - anise jam and chocolates (don't miss the fat sausage-shaped chocolate, it's superb, and comes from Dolce e Amaro, http://www.dolceeamaro.it/) I got from the father and son of la Gerla
http://www.lagerla.com/
are the best products I've brought back from Europe so far. The son speaks excellent French, too, as well as OK English. There are also non-food items to buy in the market, beautiful soaps, for example.
I visited Bicerin, the famous cafe, and got a few chocolates from them as well, they're in a pretty piazza not far from the market.
http://www.bicerin.it/
Again, fantastic stuff. I had some very tasty gelati, as well, but can't find the names of the stores. But you can't really go wrong with food in Turin.

I stayed in hotel Conte Biancamano,
http://www.hotelcontebiancamano.it/
lovely and close to the train station, which I'd wanted this time. But on my next visit I'll try to stay somewhere more central, like the Dogana Vecchia or the Liberty, both of which, I think, are perfectly located and not too pricey.
http://www.hoteldoganavecchia.com/05.html
http://www.hotelliberty-torino.it/

Thanks everybody! I'm definitely going next year.

I was thinking of staying 4 nights along with 3 nights in Milan.

Thanks for all the recommendations on landmarks, lodging, food and shopping. It's been of great help.

In case I added an extra day for a daytrip, which of these places is a must: Asti, Alba, Pinerolo or Bardonecchia?

Hi (again),

I already have my itinerary for Turin and I was wondering if you guys had any final recommendation or opinions to share.

After spending 11 nights in Morocco at the beginning of September, I've decided to spend 5 nights in Turin and 2 nights in Orta San Giulio on Lake Orta.

This is what I have planned:

DAY1: Arrival (evening).
DAY2: Piazza Castello (Duomo di San Giovanni) and Quadrilatero Romano.
DAY3: Via Roma and Piazza San Carlo (Egyptian Museum).
DAY4: Mercato di Porta Palazzo (morning) and Basilica di Superga (afternoon)
DAY5: Molle Antonelliana (morning), Via Po and Parco del Valentino.

What do you think of it?

I want to thank all of you for your wonderful opinions and suggestions given above. I really can't wait to visit Turin.

I think it sounds perfect. You want to be sure to make time to visit the walking promenade on the Po and also Eataly.

Also, please check out my new favorite Torino blog: http://torinodailyphoto.blogspot.com/

Fabrizio's photos bring the city to life, and will give you lots of chances to anticipate your trip.

Sounds like heaven: Morocco/Torino/Orta.

I agree, we were there a few days, and I am planning to come back. Great city, not so many tourists, great ,
excellent ,outstanding cafes, good , very good, food so many things to see as Sampaquita was kind enouth to give in detail. Great choice. Slow food too.

bookmarking, for future reference

...and don't forget to take time to dip into wonderful bars and cafes for aperitivo in the early evening. In fact you can forget about eating if you try some of the bigger buffets on offer! Check out cafe norman (http://www.norman.it/) for a very traditonal full service aperitivo

bellacqui-

Thanks for the link to the photoblog. The pictures are stunning and really make me want to visit Torino!