Things to do in Turin: a practical guide with itineraries

The baroque centre, on foot and free

The natural starting point is Piazza Castello. In the middle stands Palazzo Madama, with a baroque façade at the front and a medieval castle behind; on the north side are the gates of the Royal Palace. From here Via Roma leads to Piazza San Carlo, the city’s drawing room, with its twin churches and cafés under the arcades.

Behind the Royal Palace, on Piazza San Giovanni, is the cathedral. Entry is free and it displays a copy of the Holy Shroud; the original cloth is kept out of sight and shown only at rare expositions. On the other side of Piazza Castello begins Via Po, arcaded all the way down to Piazza Vittorio Veneto and the river. The arcades are what make Turin so pleasant to explore, even in the rain.

The major museums: what to know first

• Egyptian Museum (Via Accademia delle Scienze 6): the most important Egyptian collection outside Cairo. Open daily, Monday mornings only; the official ticket costs about €18 and is sold online only. Allow at least two and a half hours.
• Royal Museums: one ticket, about €15, for the Royal Palace, Royal Armoury, Galleria Sabauda, Museum of Antiquities, Royal Gardens and Chapel of the Holy Shroud. Closed on Mondays.
• Mole Antonelliana: home to the National Cinema Museum, one of the most theatrical museums in Italy; the panoramic lift rises to 85 metres on a separate ticket. Closed on Tuesdays.
• Palazzo Madama: fine and decorative art plus the view from the tower, about €10. Closed on Tuesdays.
• Automobile Museum: near Lingotto metro station, about €15; people who are not car fans enjoy it too.

If you plan to see at least two of these in a day, look at the Torino+Piemonte Card. All tickets and alternatives are summed up on our tickets page.

Along the Po and up the hill

At the bottom of Via Po, below Piazza Vittorio, the Murazzi are the riverside arches where people gather for a drink by the water in the evening. Cross the Vittorio Emanuele I bridge to reach the Gran Madre church and, after a fifteen-minute climb, Monte dei Cappuccini: from the terrace in front of the church you see the whole city with the Mole and, on clear days, the arc of the Alps. It is the place for sunset.

To the south, Valentino Park runs along the Po past the Castello del Valentino, one of the Savoy residences. The Borgo Medievale, a 19th-century reconstruction of a Piedmontese village, is closed for restoration: check whether it has reopened before you go.

Superga

On the hill facing the city, Juvarra’s Basilica of Superga looks down on Turin from over 600 metres. The church is free to visit; the royal tombs and the dome need a ticket. Behind the basilica is the memorial to Grande Torino, the football team lost in the 1949 air crash. Take tram 15 to Sassi and then the rack railway, which does not run on Wednesdays.

Markets, historic cafés and food

Porta Palazzo, on Piazza della Repubblica, is one of the largest open-air markets in Europe: fruit, vegetables, cheese and a covered fish hall, every morning except Sunday and until the evening on Saturdays. Just beyond it lies the Quadrilatero Romano, with the Porta Palatina, lanes full of osterie and Via Garibaldi, a long pedestrian street leading back to Piazza Castello.

Turin is a city of historic cafés: Al Bicerin opposite the Consolata sanctuary, where you drink the bicerin of coffee, chocolate and cream; Baratti & Milano in the Galleria Subalpina; Mulassano on Piazza Castello; Fiorio on Via Po; Caffè San Carlo on the square of the same name. Gianduiotto chocolates and vermouth were born here, and the aperitivo, from 6pm onwards, is almost a ritual. To go further there are food and wine tours, the Lavazza Museum and Choco-Story, the chocolate museum.

One-day itinerary

One day is enough for the heart of the city if you limit yourself to two museums. Avoid Mondays, when the Royal Museums are closed, and remember that the Mole is closed on Tuesdays.

• Morning: the Egyptian Museum at opening time, booked online (a ten-minute walk from Porta Nuova station). Allow two and a half to three hours.
• Lunch: Piazza Carignano or Piazza San Carlo, then coffee under the arcades.
• Afternoon: choose between the Royal Museums, with a stop at the cathedral, and the Mole with the Cinema Museum and the lift. Doing both after the Egyptian Museum is too much.
• Evening: walk Via Po to Piazza Vittorio, watch the sunset from Monte dei Cappuccini and finish with an aperitivo at the Murazzi or on the square.

Two-day itinerary

Day one: as above, with the Egyptian Museum and the Royal Museums. Day two: Porta Palazzo market in the morning, a stroll through the Quadrilatero and a bicerin at the Consolata; then the Mole and the Cinema Museum. In the afternoon take tram 15 to Sassi and the rack railway to Superga (not on Wednesdays), or walk in Valentino Park. If you prefer royal residences, give day two to the Palace of Venaria, closed on Mondays and reached by train or the Venaria Express shuttle.

With this plan, the 48-hour Card at €39.90 covers the Egyptian Museum, the Royal Museums, the Cinema Museum and Venaria. If you would rather not think about transport, use the hop-on hop-off bus; for the metro, trams and GTT tickets, see our guide to getting around Turin.

With children, on rainy days and out of town

With children, the Cinema Museum, the Automobile Museum, Choco-Story with its tasting, and the ZOOM wildlife park all work well; ZOOM is in Cumiana, about 30 km from Turin, so you need a car or a shuttle. Football fans can visit the Juventus stadium with its museum and tour; for a relaxing evening there is QC Termetorino, an urban spa in a central palazzo rather than a natural hot spring.

Out of town the classic trips are Venaria, Stupinigi, the Sacra di San Michele and, for wine, the Langhe. The Langhe are poorly served by public transport, so a car or an organised day trip works best.