Top 10 Tips for Turin

Published Oct. 28, 2009 at 3:56 p.m.

Travelling through Piedmont, by definition, is a journey of discovery, but in Turin, Italy's first capital, surrounded by the Alps to the north and west and the gentle hills of the Monferrato to the south, you will find treasures galore at your finger tips.

Image via Wikipedia
So here are ten suggestions and top tips including shopping in Via Roma, visiting the Mole Antonelliana, riding the old rack tramway to the Basilica of Superga and chocolate tasting.


1. A walk along Via Roma

Starting outside Porta Nuova station, cross the road and wander through the covered galleries, past designer shops and elegant coffee shops to Piazza San Carlo, a large piazza, flanked by porticoed buildings and centring on an equestrian statue of the Duke of Savoy, Emanuele Filiberto. Continue on up to Piazza Castello.

2. Visit the church of San Lorenzo
Dating from the second half of the 16th century and rising above the Palazzo Reale in Piazza Castello, this church has a baroque dome, well known for its interwoven arches and designed by Guarino Guarini one of Europe's leading mathematicians.

3. Experience Turin Cathedral
Turin's only example of Renaissance architecture. Completed in 1498 and dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. The Chapel of Holy Shroud was added in 1668-1694 and is the current resting place of the famous Shroud of Turin

4. Go to Italy's National Cinema Museum

Located inside the Mole Antonelliana. Turin was once home to a number of major Italian film studios and considered the Hollywood of Italy. The museum's crystal lift, see-through and panoramic, carries visitors up to the roof of the Mole.



5. Visit the Basilica of Superga
From the historic centre you can reach the Basilica of Superga via an electric rack tramway in the original 1934 carriages. The Basilica was designed by Filippo Juvarra in 1717 and completed in 1731. Built to fulfill a vow to the Virgin Mary by Duke Vittorio Amedeo II on the eve of his victory over the French at the Battle of Turin.

6. Sip a coffee or enjoy an aperitif
Turin's historic coffee shops such as Caffe' Baratti & Milano, remain largely unchanged since 1873. Al Bicerin, situated at Piazza della Consolata 3 since 1763, and Florio, opened in 1780, are in the heart and soul of Turin's tradition and culture and once the gathering places for artists, writers and protagonists for political change.

7. Experince the Museo Egizio
Considered to be the most complete museum of Egyptian antiquities in the world after the Museum of Cairo. The decipherer of Egyptian hieroglyphs, Jean-François Champollion, came to Turin in 1824, and famously wrote, “The road to Memphis and Thebes passes through Turin”.

8. Check out Contemporary Turin
Turin is the home to four major institutions dedicated to contemporary art. They are 'GAM' Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (the Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art), Castello di Rivoli (Rivoli Castle), Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo per l’Arte (the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation for Art) and the more recent Fondazione Merz (Merz Foundation).

9. Visit the Mole Antonelliana
This striking building is in many ways Turin's Eiffel Tower, the symbol of Turin. A 167-metre landmark, originally planned as a synagogue by Alessandro Antonelli, today it is home to Italy's National Cinema Museum.

10. Spend a Saturday morning at the Porta Palazzo and Mercato del Balon markets
Porta Pallazo at Piazza della Repubblica is Europe’s biggest open-air market. Here, and in the surrounding streets of Via Mameli and Via Borgo Dora, you will find colourful fruit and vegetables, all kinds of salami, the scent of spices and fresh basil, clothes, shoes, antiques, bric-a-brac and much more.

Top Turin Tips:

Get a Torino + Piedmont Card:
The 'Torino + Piemonte' Card is available in 2, 3, 5, and 7 days versions, offering admission to more than 160 cultural sites including:
* museums
* monuments
* exhibitions
* fortresses
* castles
* Royal Residences

It also lets you travel on the city’s over-ground public transport, tourist transport including the panoramic lift in the Mole Antonelliana, the Sassi – Superga rack tramway and the GTT shuttle buses to outlying areas.

ChocoPass:
The ChocoPass is your passport to the endless seductions of chocolate: gianduiotti, pralines, cakes, biscuits, ice cream and hot chocolate. The best chocolate production awaits you in the historical cafés and patisseries of Turin and the surrounding area. The coupons offer you 22 tastings to be savoured in 3 days for only € 12.

This article was originally published at ItalyItalia, but has now been slightly updated.




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