The capital of Piedmont, Italy, is less than two hours of transport, three maximum, many cities in the Alps (Briançon, Grenoble, Aosta, Nice, Geneva, Albertville, Chambery or Chamonix). It takes no more time to get there from major European cities via Caselle International Airport and Turin. We offer you in this blog article some good addresses, outings unavoidable or visits of interest.
A weekend or a few days in Turin
The city was completely renovated, especially during the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. The city has many assets and interests. The Turinese and Turinese always confirm themselves very welcoming and friendly.
The city center of Turin vast pedestrian area completely renovated
The city center asserts chic, neat and relaxed at the same time, a Dolce Vita atmosphere reigns in the summer. The long via Roma, entirely lined with wide arches, leaves from the Porta Nova station and allows you to reach the Piazza Castello (museums and tourist office ...), from which you can stroll to the outdoor market area. (Porta Palazzo) or on the long pedestrian and shopping street Giuseppe Garibaldi. Going south-east, you will reach the Po river, which runs through the city, following the Via Po near the Film Museum. The Via Garibadi and Po are more popular, less fixed, less luxurious, than the smart Via Roma real main street and opulent downtown.
The ultra city center is almost completely pedestrianized and in any case inaccessible by car for non-residents. A zone with "automatic PV" called ZTL trap many passing motorists, Italian or foreign.
The parco del Valentino, a little further up the river, is home to the small botanical museum, quiet and relaxing place, to visit in summer, or spring, to enjoy a flowering vegetation. Many restaurants allow you to eat along the river in the park. A small river shuttle makes possible a quick tour on the river.
Turin museums
The museum of Egyptology appears the best known of the city. A small article and some photos of the place, which was renovated in 2015, is waiting for you on this blog, in small part, devoted to Turin in Italy.
The museum of cinema will delight fans of the seventh art (film clips, sets, old cameras, photos, costumes etc ...). The passage through the top of the Mole, to be avoided if you are dizzy, offers a splendid view of the city but also, days of great beauty, on almost the entire Alpine arc from the Alpes-Maritimes to the Swiss Alps in passing through the Hautes-Alpes and Savoy.
The less well-known modern art museum is well worth a visit and is less than a 15-minute walk from Porta Nova Train Station. Some temporary exhibitions attract an incredible crowd.
The Museum of Oriental Art of Turin, free on the first Tuesday of the month, is worth a visit and is still too little known. A page of this blog presents this museum.
A little out of the center, the Lingotto was an industrial test center of Fiat factories, now converted into a shopping center and congress center. Its atypical architecture including ramps and snooks as well as the heliport are worth seeing. The building houses a small museum at its summit called the Pinacoteca Agnelli. The works, properties of Giovanni and Marella Agnelli are extraordinary: Matisse, Picasso, Manet, Renoir, Modigliani etc ....
The museum of natural history of Turin, still closed today because of renovation, has a nice collection, some pictures and words here on this blog. The official website here http://www.mrsntorino.it/cms/
Off center Venaria Reale (small Versailles Piedmontese) completely renovated also worth a visit. We hope soon to be able to write an article adorned with images on this site. It is a royal residence composed of very large gardens and parks (basin, fountain, floral space etc.) but also buildings hosting permanent exhibitions (royal history of the Savoy family) and permanent (contemporary art, photo , painting, etc.). The place deserves a minimum of half a day of visit especially if one takes the time to go to the regional park La Mandria, to go by renting a bike or even on horseback.
Another good idea is to go to the Basilica Superga. A funicular will transport you to the top of the hill overlooking the city. Indispensable to go there by very good weather to enjoy a visibility to see all the almost equidistant alpine arc from Turin to Austria to the Alpes-Maritimes via Switzerland and Savoie.
Shopping and shopping in Turin
Too many Alpine people know Turin only to buy from the famous Swedish manufacturer (Ikea) on the outskirts of the city. Prices are also slightly cheaper than in the French Ikeas (verifiable on both site .it and .fr).
Many hypermarkets, often with French brands, also offer lower rates than in France. Arriving or leaving the city to the Frejus tunnel, and therefore the Hautes Alpes or Savoy, in Rivoli, Auchan shopping center allows all kinds of purchases. A very large Le Gru shopping center also houses a large Carrefour supermarket on two full floors. If you prefer an authentic outdoor market and live appointment in downtown Porta Palazzo, more info and pictures on our blog here.
Good business fans and big brands will surely find their happiness in Torino Outlet Village.
Which season to visit Turin?
The city can be visited as well in winter as in summer. The beautiful season will allow you to walk places in places as well as in the many parks in the center, a handmade ice from Groom for example or more artisanal purchased from Di Un Gelato (Galleria Subalpina, 32, 10123 Torino). Beware of the heat that can be suffocating, not to say suffocating in August. Piedmont remains, despite massive industrial relocation in Asia, a very industrial region (Fiat, metallurgy etc.) and therefore polluted. Do not hesitate to use this tool in order to avoid the episodes of heavy pollution that also spill exceptionally into the neighboring French Alps.
The city protects itself from the rain thanks to the 18 kilometers of broad arcades that line the streets of the city center. The rain and bad weather will not interfere with your strolls in any season.
Some good addresses:
Many hotels and restaurants offer their service in Turin. Difficult to make choices, many tourist guides will enlighten you as thoroughly as possible. Here are some of our good addresses.
In the city center we recommend a good Italian-style brasserie restaurant: fast service, pizza, squid fries, fish, meat, fresh produce, cuisine from different regions of Italy, very good value for money: the Sfashion Cafè 13 Via Cesare Battisti
An address a little more bobo but home very nice, quality food and fair price: "Fiori e Caffé" Via Milano, 16, Torino
Far away from the city center but close to Turin Caselle airport, the restaurant "Le Village", via Lanzo, 125, 10071 Borgaro Torinese, offers fine cuisine, magnificent fish dishes, beautiful setting and decoration.
Not far from there still in the municipality of Borgaro Torinesse, "La perla", Via Antonio Gramsci, 113 / A, 10071 Borgaro Torinese TO, Italy. The cuisine is less refined than the Village, more hearty but good.
Not far from there are two hotels passing through the "Pacific Airport Hotel" and the Atlantic which have the merit of often very competitive rates and 5 minutes from the airport.
In another neighborhood, without any charm either, the Novotel Torino Corso Giulio Cesare regularly breaks the prices. Nice breakfast. Request a high floor to enjoy the view.
If you really want a nice hotel in the city center, the "Turin Palace Hotel" will delight you, for a romantic weekend, to celebrate all kinds of events or just spend a moment a priori unforgettable. Prices may be high in certain seasons, although it is very relative given the quality of the establishment.
By finding good reservations, either on the site of the hotel, or via Booking Génius, you will enjoy, for 130 euros per night, an absolutely fabulous breakfast in a beautiful and large room art deco style, after - noon at the spa in the basement of the hotel (baths, hammam, sauna, jets etc ...) included in the price, a bar on the terrace overlooking the rooftops of the city, warm welcome to the Italian. Some pictures on this blog about Turin Palace Hotel.
