Once Torino was the Italian capital. A city with a unique character without a massive tourism. It is home to about 880.000 people and the fourth largest city in Italy after Rome, Milan and Napels and in 2022 the host for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. This is the Torino Travel Guide with the most essential Torino Travel Tips to read and watch!
Travel to and in Torino
The Torino airport is around 30 kilometers north of the city center you can travel by taxi. A single journey costs around 30 to 45 euros and takes about 30 minutes. Another way to travel is by bus. A single journey will set you back 6 euros 50. I have to say it’s an easy walkable city but if you want to use the public transportation you can buy your ticket at one of the machines in the metro stations. A single journey will set you back 1 euro 70 and a day card is around 4 euros.
Old City Center
The old center of the city is beautiful with nice squares and old preserved buildings and my advice is to take some time to walk around over here.
A really magnificent building in the city center is the Royal Palace. It was regent Christina Maria who ordered his palace in 1645 as she wanted a new place for the court after her son came back from the civil war. What a story! In 1946 it became state property and a museum and in 1979 it was added to the Unesco world heritage list. You can visit the palace if you want. Something you can do for free is visiting the gardens behind it there’s no entrance fee.
At the same square you have another beautiful building Palazzo Madama. Inside you can admire art from the middle ages till the 18th century. But if you don’t have time for that to go inside just take a look at the outside it’s worth seeing.
Torino Cathedral
The Torino cathedral dates back to the 15th century and is the first example of the renaissance architecture from that time.
The freestanding bell tower dates from several decades earlier.
The main attraction is the holy shroud and it’s located behind the altar. This is the clothe in which according to tradition the body of Jesus Christ was wrapped after his crucifixion.
Porto Palatina
Just beside the cathedral there is a must-see Porta Palatina. This gate is from the first century before christ a really magnificent building it survived more than two thousand years. This is the largest and best preserved city gate of ancient Rome and people are really proud of it. Beside the gate there is a park with excavations.
City of Chocolate
Torino is the chocolate city in Italy. The history of chocolates can be traced back to 1560. After Torino received his first official license to produce chocolate this region has been a leading center for chocolate production in Italy. Actually there is a chocolate store on every corner in the city center and during my stay I visited one of them and that’s Peyrano.
I approached several chocolate companies for the Torino Travel Guide to show chocolate without paying for it and only Peyrano replied. Antonio Peyrano, together with his sister, started producing chocolate in 1920 in this iconic building where the laboratory still stands today.
Best time to visit Torino
The best time to visit Torino and in this case I think the whole year is good to go. In the summer of course it’s warm you can sit in the sun on the terrace and skip the month August then it’s too hot over here.
I visited Torino at the beginning of January. All days were sunny with eight degrees celsius. Check today’s weather in Torino.
Superga (Amazing viewing point)
My favorite place to go in the city is a place for an amazing view around town. It is located on the Superga hill. It’s located 10 kilometers outside the city center. You can go there by a little train or bus but please check the timetable before you go. This is one of the best Torino Travel Tips.
You can see the Alps on a beautiful day and you’ll find the Basilica di Superga over here. This is one of the greatest cathedrals in Italy.
AC Torino Monument
Behind the basilica you’ll find a monument for the AC Torino football team. In 1949 a plane with the whole team crashed into the hill and no one survived.
As you can see people are visiting this monument daily and bringing flowers and other things to remember them.
Monte Dei Cappuccini
When the Superga hill is too far away for you maybe you don’t have time for it you can visit another viewing point. It’s called Monte Dei Cappuccini and it’s only a 15 to 20 minutes walk from the city center.
Museums in Torino
In the city there are many art galleries and museums it’s impossible to show you them all so I made a selection of three of them and the first one is the Egyptian museum.
This museum houses the largest collection of artifacts outside Caïro and actually it’s one of the best museums for Egyptian art in the world.
The second one is the National Library it was founded in 1720 as the Royal University Library.
A big fire destroyed a lot of books and manuscripts in 1904 and it was bombed in 1942. The library is completely rebuilt and nowadays it is a world heritage site. In the National library you can visit different exhibitions.
A part of the library is only accessible for students professional musicians doctors and academics and the national library also houses the largest collection of Antonio Vivaldi’s work.
Italy has a rich film history so it’s not weird that there is a Cinema Museum in town. It’s located in the Mole Antonelliana. This tower is really a landmark in the city.
After your museum visit you can take an elevator to the top. Over there you can visit a panoramic terrace with a beautiful view.
Borgo Medievale (Parco del Valentino)
A great place to unwind is Parco del Valentino. It’s along the Po river and that’s the longest river in Italy. The park was opened in 1856 and the first public garden in Italy.
Inside the park you can visit Borgo Medievale. It’s a medieval village and you can enter it completely free of charge. When you go inside you may think that you’re going back in time for centuries but that’s not completely true because they built it in 1884.
A long time ago Torino was ruled by the “Savoie” family and it was one of the most powerful families in Europe. In 1884 this region in Italy was one of the most powerful areas in Europe and it had to be brought out well during the expo of that year and that’s the reason they built this village.
Shopping in Torino
One of the best places to shop is on Via Roma and the area around it. Via Roma is the main shopping street with all the common brands like Zara and Apple.
Around the Via Roma you also find a lot of boutique shops. Mostly for women…. I’m sorry man.
Street Art in Torino
I really like street art in cities and during my visit over here I saw a lot of nice paintings in the streets. I used this map to find the best spots.
