Day trips from Turin: where to go and how to get there

The Langhe: Barolo, Alba and the wine hills

The hills of the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato, a UNESCO World Heritage site for their vineyard landscape, are the most popular day trip from Turin. Alba is about 60 km away and Barolo about 75 km: an hour or a little more by car.

What to see

• Barolo: the village of the Falletti castle, home to the WiMu wine museum.
• La Morra: the widest viewpoint over the Nebbiolo vineyards.
• Grinzane Cavour Castle, with the regional wine shop.
• Alba: an old town with medieval towers, hazelnut pastry shops and, on weekends from October to early December, the International White Truffle Fair.
• Barbaresco, a small village with its tower and a wine shop inside a deconsecrated church.

Train or organised trip?

Alba is reachable by train on the SFM4 line via Bra in about an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half, but from there buses to the wine villages are few. Without a car the easiest option is an organised trip: usually 8–10 hours, with two or three wineries and sometimes lunch, from €50 on GetYourGuide. If you drive, remember that wineries almost always receive visitors by appointment and that the drink-drive limit is 0.5 g/l, zero for newly licensed drivers.

Venaria Palace: the great Savoy residence

The hunting residence built from 1658 for Duke Charles Emmanuel II and enlarged by Filippo Juvarra is the most visited site outside Turin. Don’t miss the Great Gallery, the Chapel of Saint Hubert, Juvarra’s stables and the gardens, plus the old town of Venaria.

Get there on GTT bus 11 in about 30–45 minutes, or on the Venaria Express shuttle, which leaves from the centre with stops including Piazza Vittorio Veneto and Piazza Castello and runs Tuesday to Sunday. The palace is closed on Mondays. The official palace-only ticket costs about €18, and the ticket with gardens and exhibitions about €25; on Tiqets you will find entry with a guided tour from €79.90. Allow at least half a day, a full day if you want to explore the gardens too. Everything else is in our Venaria Palace guide.

Sacra di San Michele: the abbey on the rock

The abbey that inspired the setting of Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose towers over the entrance to the Susa Valley from the top of Monte Pirchiriano, at almost 1,000 metres. It is the symbol of Piedmont, and on clear days you can see Turin and the whole arc of the Alps.

By train, take the SFM3 line to Sant’Ambrogio di Torino, about 30 minutes from Porta Nuova or Porta Susa, then walk up the Via Crucis path: roughly an hour and a half of steep climbing, so wear proper shoes. At weekends and on holidays from April to October there is also a bus from Avigliana; by car you reach the car park below the abbey in about 45 minutes. A full ticket costs about €8, with a discount if you show a regional train ticket to Sant’Ambrogio validated the same day. The abbey is open every day, closing earlier in winter.

Superga and Stupinigi: trips without leaving the city

Two perfect half-day outings, both reachable on GTT city transport.

Basilica of Superga

On the hill east of the Po, Juvarra’s basilica holds the Savoy royal tombs and commemorates the air disaster that killed the Grande Torino football team. You ride up on the Sassi–Superga rack tramway, back in service after works: from the Sassi terminus, reached by tram 15 from Piazza Castello, it is about 3 km of scenic climb. Trams run hourly and the line is closed on Wednesdays; a return costs €6 on weekdays and €9 at weekends. On a clear day the view of the Alps is spectacular.

Stupinigi Hunting Lodge

South-west of the city, Juvarra’s hunting lodge is crowned by a bronze stag on its dome. Take tram 4 to Piazzale Caio Mario and then bus 41, or bus 41 from Lingotto station. It is open Tuesday to Sunday and a full ticket costs €12. Two or three hours are enough, and it pairs easily with the National Automobile Museum, which lies in the same direction.

Lakes and Alps: Orta, Maggiore and Aosta

These places are further away: they are worth it if you leave early and accept that travel takes up part of the day.

• Lake Orta: Orta San Giulio, the island of San Giulio and the UNESCO-listed Sacro Monte. About an hour and three quarters by car; two and a half to three hours by train, changing at Novara, and Orta-Miasino station is about half an hour’s walk from the village.
• Lake Maggiore: Stresa and the Borromean Islands (Isola Bella, Isola Madre, Isola dei Pescatori), whose palaces and gardens usually open from late March to late October. About two hours by car, two to two and a half hours by train with one change.
• Aosta: the “Rome of the Alps”, with the Arch of Augustus, the Porta Pretoria and the Roman theatre; on the way you can stop at Forte di Bard. About an hour and a half by motorway. The railway between Ivrea and Aosta is closed for electrification works and that section is covered by replacement buses, so check Trenitalia before you set off.

Closer and easy by train are Asti, about 30–45 minutes away, and Milan, about an hour by high-speed train.

How to choose and plan

Public transport works well for Venaria, Superga, Stupinigi, the Sacra, Alba, Asti and Milan. For vineyards, multi-stop lake days and the Langhe castles, an organised trip saves time and lets you drink without driving. Before booking, check the departure point (many trips leave from Porta Nuova or Porta Susa stations), the real duration, what is included in terms of entry, tastings and lunch, and the guide’s language.

With the Torino+Piemonte Card several royal residences and museums outside the city are included or discounted: check the current list before you buy. If bad weather changes your plans, you can find tickets for Turin attractions on Tiqets from €12. For buses, trams and city trains, read our guide to getting around Turin, and if your trip is to the Langhe, look at our food and wine tours in town so you don’t double up on tastings.