What to do in Turin

Museums, historic cafés and the hills around the corner.

Turin is a city of arcades and cafés, best enjoyed slowly. The centre is orderly and flat, the museums are worth the trip on their own, and in twenty minutes you are up in the hills looking down on it.

In town

The Egyptian MuseumIt is the most important Egyptian collection after Cairo. Allow half a day and buy the ticket in advance.

The Mole and the Cinema MuseumInside the Mole Antonelliana is the National Cinema Museum, and a glass lift rises to the little temple at the top: Turin and the Alps in one view.

Arcades, squares and historic cafésPiazza San Carlo, Piazza Castello, Via Po: kilometres of arcades and nineteenth-century cafés, where you drink bicerin.

AperitivoIn Turin aperitivo is a meal: from six onwards, above all around San Salvario and the Quadrilatero.

Nearby

The Basilica of SupergaThe rack tramway from Sassi takes you up: from the terrace you see the whole arc of the Alps and the city below.

The Palace of VenariaHalf an hour from the centre: the palace, the Great Gallery and the gardens. A whole day, if the sun is out.

The Sacra di San MicheleThe abbey on Mount Pirchiriano, in the Susa valley. You walk the last stretch, and the view repays the effort.

The Langhe and MonferratoAn hour and a half south: wine, truffles and hills. It works well with a long weekend.

When to come

Turin works all year. Matches, trade fairs and concerts fill the weekends; autumn brings truffles and chocolate; in December there are the artist lights and the Christmas markets, and the mountains are an hour away.

Where to stay