Turin in a Weekend - where to go and what to see

ALBUM - OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017 by Radiohead

It’s been a good while since I have posted as I wanted to focus on my final year of studies at Edinburgh. I have now finished my studies and have moved to drumroll please… Turin! In my final year of university, I applied for a place as an English Language Assistant in either Spain or Italy. I got placed in Italy and then finally in June I found out I was coming to Turin in the Piemonte region. As you can all imagine the first stint here has been a whirlwind of emotions and struggles with the all too familiar Italian bureaucracy, but I’m pleased to say that by the time I post this I will have done a whole month in Turin! I thought I would break my embarrassingly long hiatus from blogging with a post about what to do on a whistlestop tour of Turin. My best friend (and my very inspiration for having started blogging) Ciara came to visit me when I first got here and we had the most amazing 2 and a bit days exploring the city. So here is what you MUST see in Turin if you only have a short time before you’re off to the next city!

Lonely Planet’s overview of Turin says that there is “a whiff of Paris in Turin's elegant tree-lined boulevards and echoes of Vienna in its stately art-nouveau cafes”. Now, my dear readers, when I read this I was over the moon. Paris is my favourite city without much competition (I think Barcelona is second but it’s not even close to Paris), and when I visited Vienna while interrailing it was the one city I remember thinking that I could live out my true bohemian life in. So to be placed in a city that was the love child of these two stunning cities felt like a dream come true. I could only wait to find out for myself…

Whether you are coming from the airport or from another city by train, you will most likely start out at Turin’s main train station: Porta Nuova, which boasts the title of Italy’s third busiest station, behind Milan and Rome of course. For those who are returning to these posts after the break will remember, I am a sucker for a segue and before I even get into the bulk of this post here I come with my first one! In my pre-trip research the thing that most surprised me was to find that Turin is the 4th largest city in Italy, and yet I had heard nothing of the city before coming here. The odd person would mention a lovely trip they took to Turin once they heard I was going but when we talk of Italy we never talk of Milan’s little sister to the west. I think we should start to talk about her.

Via Roma at Night

Now back to the station: not only is Porta Nuova a stunning example of train station architecture dating back to the 1860s, but it also places us right at the end of Via Roma, the shopping street of Turin. Of course this is not a blogpost about all the shops you can find on a street in Turin - although wouldn’t that be fun?! Via Roma leads from Porta Nuova, all the way to Piazza Castello and brings some very interesting history along the way. Most of Turin’s streets are beautifully typical of the Italian Renaissance and Baroque era, but Via Roma is slightly different. In between Porta Nuova and Piazza Castello is Piazza San Carlo which was inorganically constructed by Mussolini. Without boring everyone too much which my Italian degree, Mussollini’s intention with the cities of Italy was to completely redevelop the architecture and form much larger, wider streets. Via Roma (aptly named as well) is a prime example of this change. Piazza San Carlo, so I’m told, used to be a rabbit warren of small and winding streets but all of this was knocked down to form a large square so that from the train station you have a clear view all the way to the Palace, situated in Piazza Castello. So take a walk through Via Roma and imagine what might have been when you get the Piazza San Carlo. Regardless of political or historical opinions, Piazza San Carlo is one of my favourite squares in Turin and on the weekend it is full of life, as magicians and street performers fill the square with a din of noise.

Old with the slightly newer:
the two palaces

Once we make our way to the end of Via Roma, we come to Piazza Castello, which - of course - has a castle in it. In fact the Palazzo Madama has a very interesting blend of architecture with two towers dating back to the Roman Empire, while other parts are reminiscent of the House of Savoy and the Renaissance. Palazzo Madama and Palazzo Reale, both found in this square are of course great to walk around: there is a tower with a fabulous view of the city in the Palazzo Madama and the gardens of the Royal Palace were a lovely place to sit and sunbathe before we got shouted at for walking on the grass - oops!

Perpendicular to Via Roma at another edge of the Square is Via Po. Via Po boasts many lunchtime restaurants and bars which are perfect to grab an apericena (which you must while in Turin), but it also leads down to Piazza Vittorio Veneto, one of the largest squares in Europe, whose aesthetic really merits any amount of unnecessary lingering: encased on all sides except one by bars and cafes and restaurants and with trams running under the arches that border it, the views are totally Instagram worthy. The bottom of the square leads onto the River Po and across the river is the Gran Madre church, which with its grandiose dome is a spectacle in itself, but when lit up at night it really does loom enchantingly and ever so proudly over this beautiful square.

I of course insist that all visitors to Turin would take a walk along the river Po: it is an oasis of calm away from the busy, bustling industrial city above. There is a walkway that runs along the river and allows passers-by to take a sit and let their feet dangle ever so precariously down towards the rushing water. Perhaps I’m alone in my love for this spot, but as a country girl, to have a little spot of uninterrupted nature in the centre of the city calms me.

At il Monte dei Cappuccini

Unfortunately, turning left from Piazza Vittorio onto the river doesn't lead to much else in the city as the roads make an abrupt end as the hills lead up to the Superga. However il Monte dei Cappuccini situated just to the side of the Gran Madre church, is certainly worthy of a mention. Although undoubtedly a steep walk to the top, this church on the top of the hill in the central city has a very nice view of the city and the Alps behind it - weather permitting of course!

The Mole stands proud

Before I write an entire essay about every single square in Turin, I must limit myself to one more place. Perhaps I have left the best for last as it is revered as the most iconic building of Turin; a major landmark that is on pretty much every souvenir: The Mole Antonelliana. The Mole Antonelliana was originally constructed as a synagogue but is now the National Museum of Cinema and is believed to be the tallest museum in the world. It has a dizzyingly high tower that reaches for the clouds in all skyline pictures of Turin. The lift to the top takes over a minute and you are transported through the wonderful cinema inside before making your way to a 360 view tower with the most marvellous views of the city. It is not to be missed.

Every corner is a picture op!

I will stop myself here, but all I really hope to have done in this post is to inspire some readers to come and visit this beautifully underrated city. I must admit the desire to continue writing about everything and anything was difficult to ignore, because every corner you turn takes you down another beautiful street with beautiful buildings. Turin is everything I had dreamed it would be; it is Paris and Vienna but I can actually speak to the locals and every bar will sell you an Aperol Spritz.

So that is it for this time, I intend to continue writing about my journeys through Turin and other Italian cities throughout the year. As always I will be putting an album or a song with each blogpost, as I am nothing if not a creature of habit and with every journey, music helps me along the way. Until next time!