Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Turin
POP 911,800 / ELEV 240M
There's a whiff of Paris in Turin's elegant boulevards and echoes of Vienna in its art nou-
veau cafes, but make no mistake - this city is anything but a copycat. The innovative Tor-
inese gave the world its first saleable hard chocolate, perpetuated one of its greatest mys-
teries (the Holy Shroud), popularised a best-selling car (the Fiat) and inspired the black-
and-white stripes of one of the planet's most iconic football teams (Juventus).
But more important than any of this is Turin's role as instigator of the modern Italian
state. Piedmont, with its wily Torinese president, the Count of Cavour, was the engine
room of the Risorgimento (literally 'the Resurgence', referring to Italian unification). Tur-
in also briefly served as Italy's first capital and donated its monarchy - the venerable
House of Savoy - to the newly unified Italian nation in 1861.
More recently, the 2006 Winter Olympics sparked an urban revival in the city, which
has spread to its culture and, most deliciously, its cuisine.
TURIN IN…
Two Days
Two-day tourists will want to start early with a wake-up coffee at a historic coffeehouse and pint-sized
Caffè Mulassano
(
Click here
) is a good bet. Flip a euro to decide which museum to visit first - the
Museo Nazionale del Cinema
(
Click here
) or the
Museo Egizio
(
Click here
). Check out Slow
Food-affiliated baker
Andrea Perino
(
Click here
) for lunch and walk it off with a
passeggiata
(stroll)
in
Parco Valentino
(
Click here
) beside the Po river. On day two visit whichever museum you missed
yesterday before going for aperitifs at
I Tre Galli
(
Click here
) and dinner at
L'Acino
(
Click here
).
Four Days
If you have two more days, there are a couple more prestigious museums you should add to your itin-
erary: the
Museo della Sindone
(
Click here
), outlining the history of the Holy Shroud, and the
Museo
Nazionale del Risorgimento Italiano
(
Click here
). Be sure to stop afterwards for coffee in
Fiorio
(
Click here
) and chocolate in
Al Bicerin
(
Click here
).
One Week
A week in Turin will enable you to get out to the outlying sights such as the
Basilica di Superga
(
Click here
) and the massive
Reggia di Venaria Reale
(
Click here
). Be sure to also visit
Lingotto
(
Click here
) and its Eataly supermarket and refurbished
Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile
(
Click
here
)
. For a night-time treat check the next Verdi opera at the
Teatro Regio Torino
(
Click here
).
