Touring Turin?

August 16, 2012 6:16 PM

Going to Turin for a couple of days in September... probably. What should we see and where should we stay? Or should we go somewhere else close other than Turin? This will be after Venice and Florence and before Milan.
posted by smackfu to travel & transportation around Torino, Italy (9 answers total)

If you are around for Asti's Festival of Festivals , GO. No, seriously, GO.
Asti is about 55km away from Torino proper.
posted by msamye at 7:03 PM on August 16, 2012

My husband and I were there earlier this summer. We enjoyed the elevator at the cinema museum, the palace in the main square and a couple places we found on TripAdvisor for pizza. It is a good city to walk around--lots of shops and incidental things to see (such as the old Roman gates). We found it to be a relaxing weekend.
posted by chiefthe at 8:31 PM on August 16, 2012

The Mole. I loved it.
posted by asockpuppet at 9:03 PM on August 16, 2012

I like Torino, though I'm not sure if there's much to occupy more than a day or two of your time there (other than meandering around small shops and such, which is fun). The countryside around Torino is lovely, with castles and wineries and lovely places to explore. Aosta, which is about an hour north, has fantastic ruins and interesting things to see. About halfway between Aosta and Torino is a mountain town called Traversella - there's a 100+ year old hotel/restaurant where I had one of the best meals of my life (warning, site plays annoying music. Albergo Miniere) - it might be nice to spend a few days exploring the countryside since most of your other time in Italy will be in cities, though you would need a car to do so.
posted by judith at 9:16 PM on August 16, 2012

Between Florence and Turin is (are?) Cinque Terre, a string of really beautiful seaside towns. Highly recommend that.
posted by ikaruga at 10:59 PM on August 16, 2012

I love Torino. In fact, my wife and I try to go back to Torino every year or two.

The Egyptian Museum is can't miss. I used to live next to the British Museum and this is much, much better. It has one of the largest collections in the world, if not by number, then certainly by interest. And its all displayed beautifully. Don't miss the artifacts from the tomb of the Architect Ka. Both my wife and I found it striking.

The Cinema museum is really, really fun. There's these little reconstructions of cinema sets that you walk through. There's also a glass elevator in the middle which ascends to the tower. Here's a video of us descending.

My favorite quirky museum is the Mountaineering museum. Fittingly, you have to climb a hill to get to it. Wonderful views of Torino from there. Mostly artifacts from the Abruzzi expeditions.

We've never been to the Museo Risorgimento since its always closed for construction, but Torino was Italy's first capital city.

Why do we go there every year? We find the center so beautifully monumental, full of palazzos and grand squares really fascinating.

We also go there for the food. It's true that the surrounding Piemonte area is where the best food and wine in Italy is (this is not even debatable). So it is not a bad idea to tour the surrounding area. But, much of this food also finds its way to Torino. It has great street markets (including a really fun antiques market) and some of the most amazing food shops in Italy. It also has the best gelato in Italy. They take it really seriously here and you'll find a gelato maker on every corner.

You can also read a food report I wrote on Chowhound about a visit to Torino.

The city can be grimy in places but to me it feels real. It is not dressed up for tourists. I found that people refuse to speak to you in English, even if they know it. They're very proud here and for good reason.
posted by vacapinta at 1:50 AM on August 17, 2012 [2 favorites]

I basically ate for 72 hours of my 96 hour visit, then went to watch the football for about 10€ I think (Torino AC where the real people go, rather than Juve which is for the tourists, pretend fans and moral degenerates, according to the guy sat next to me). Countryside around is fantastic, the Basilica di Supergais a fun bus/cycle/funicular/serious walk away with a fantastic view. Eataly and the nearby mall is good for shopping, although the markets and little food shops are more fun. And the gelato that tastes of just milk, and the bicerin, and the gianduja, and the aperitifs - you can café hop, people watching, for the whole day until aperitivo time.

I nearly didn't leave, to be honest. It's a brilliant, slightly grubby, very real city.
posted by cromagnon at 2:14 AM on August 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

vacapinta's food report does bring back some good memories. I'd second Tre Galli (the informal offshoot of the more famous Tre Galline) and add the confectionary store Stratta, which is amazing (bonus trivia, the subject of my askme question from 2008). And he's right that the museums are great, and the city is nicely real in contrast to some of the more touristy places you are going. Still, I think I'd use it as a starting point to explore further. And I'm envious.
posted by judith at 2:30 AM on August 17, 2012

Trip report: we really enjoyed Turin! Such a nice contrast to the super-touristy Florence and Venice. No English menus here. The downtown is all pedestrian streets or covered arcades so you can easily walk everywhere and shop at nice little shops that are not just tourist junk or high end brands you can get anywhere. There is a very reasonable museum pass that gets you into everything for free, and we did the Egyptian museum and the auto museum and the cinema museum (but not the glass elevator since it was too windy both days). And we took a trip up to Superga which has fabulous views and nice hiking trails.

I would definitely suggest people include it in their itinerary if they can. We certainly preferred it to Milan.
posted by smackfu at 7:28 AM on September 17, 2012