Turin is located in northern Italy, on the banks of the Po River, surrounded by the Alps and is the capital of Piedmont. But what to see and do at Turin ?
As we always say a free tour is a very good option to visit the city as soon as you arrive. But we leave here all the options of what you can see in the city to visit it more thoroughly and on your own.
Indice:
What to see and do in Turin?
Porta Nuova, beginning of the tour
Our tour of Turin begins at Porta Nuova station. It is the main railway station of the city. It is the third station in number of passengers in Italy, after Roma Términi and Milano Centrale, the latter station we visited in our post about Milan. post about Milan.
Whether you arrive here by train or if you are staying near it (as in our case), this is a very good entry point to the city, since from here you can walk through much of the historic center.
Where do we stay?
We chose the Hotel Concord, located on Via Giuseppe Luigi Lagrange, a few meters from the Porta Nuova station, and very close to the historic part of the city, so you can easily walk around and enjoy all that Turin has to see.
SEARCH FOR YOUR HOTEL IN TURIN
The hotel was comfortable, good breakfast, and the price was not so high, for all these reasons we chose it.
Booking.comEgyptian Museum
If you continue walking from Porta Nuova, or in our case from the hotel, along Via Lagrange towards Piazza Castelo, you will come across the Egyptian Museum on the way.
The building in which it is located is already striking from the outside, designed by Guarino Guarini houses inside a sample of highly valued Egyptian antiquities. It is one of the oldest museums, and the second in importance due to its collection, after the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Cost of admission €18. Hours: Monday from 9 am to 2 pm, Tuesday to Sunday from 9 am to 6.30 pm.►Moreinformation Egyptian Museum.
Piazza Carignano
Just a few steps from the Egyptian Museum, we find Piazza Carignano. This is one of the most famous historical squares in Turin. Built in 1679, it is surrounded by baroque buildings such as the Teatro Carignano and Palazzo Carignano.
Palazzo Carignano
Palazzo Carignano is one of the residences of the Royal House of Savoy, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This palace was also designed by the Italian architect and designer Guarino Guarini and currently houses the Museo Nazionale del Risorgimento Italiano. It is one of the most important Italian museums, and is dedicated to the period of political unification of Italy. The entrance fee is €10. Hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm, closed on Mondays.
If you have no idea of visiting the museum (we didn’t either), go in anyway and cross it, it is very nice to see and you will end up in Piazza Carlo Alberto, another of the many beautiful squares that this city has.
Piazza Castello
Piazza Castello is the main square of Turin, we have here the heart of the historic center of the city, where four of the main roads of the center converge.
During the period of the Savoy court, it was the most important place of the Piedmontese state, that is why we find here the most important buildings of great artistic value. Although Turin has many beautiful baroque buildings in many parts of the city.
In the square we find the Royal Palace, the Palazzo Madama, the Teatro Regio, the Palazzo della Giunta Regionale, the Royal Armory, the Government Palace, the Royal Library, the Church of San Lorenzo, and the Palazzo Chiablese. There are also great monuments in the square.
Mole Antonelliana
Our steps now take us to one of the most iconic buildings we have to see in Turin, the Mole Antonelliana.
Leaving from Piazza Castello via Po, at the intersection with Via Montebello we will see this magnificent structure. We continue walking until we get close enough to take dimension of the imposing structure.
You may be wondering why its name…, this name is due to the fact that at the time it was the highest masonry construction in Italy, and that the name of its architect designer was Alessandro Antonelli, hence the mole Antonelliana.
Its history
With a height of 167 meters it was for many years the tallest building in Turin. Today it houses the National Museum of Cinema of Turin.
At the beginning, when the work was started in 1863 by the Jewish community of Turin, the building was to be a temple with a school attached.
The original project only contemplated reaching a height of 47 meters. Antonelli proposed a series of changes, once construction had begun, including raising it to a height of 113 meters, but these modifications prolonged construction time and costs.
In 1869, after six years, due to lack of funds, the Jewish community ordered the completion of the works with a provisional flat roof about 60 meters high.
Negotiations then began between the city council and the Jewish community, reaching an agreement to cede some land to build the synagogue in another place, where it is located today, and in return the city council finished the work and had the building at its disposal.
Today we enjoy, as we were saying, the cinema museum and a panoramic terrace from where you can enjoy magnificent views of the city.
Entrance fee: museum €11 elevator to the terrace €8, or museum+elevator €15.
Hours: Tuesday closed, Saturday from 9 am to 11 pm, and the rest of the days from 9 am to 8 pm.
Piazza San Carlo
We find in this square the particularity of seeing the twin churches of San Carlo Borromeo and Santa Cristina, known as the twins of Turin.
It reminded us a lot of the ones in Rome in Piazza del Popolo.
Borgo Medievale
Located in the Valentino Park, next to the Po River, the Borgo Medievale is a group of buildings built between 1882 and 1884, evoking a medieval town with all that it includes, streets, squares, churches, and houses. It was built as a pavilion for the international exhibition held in Turin in 1884. It was destined for demolition at the end of the exposition, but like many other cases we have seen, it has been maintained, and has been converted into a civic museum since 1942.
The hours are from 9 am to 7 pm or 8 pm depending on the season.
Valentino Park and Castello Valentino
The Parco del Valentino is a famous public park in the city of Turin and in it we find the Valentino Castle, which is one of the Residences of the royal house of Savoy declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.
Lingotto
Lingotto is a neighborhood in Turin, associated with the Lingotto building, which was once the Fiat car factory.
Today, through a project carried out by the architect Renzo Piano, the old factory has been converted into a complex with a concert hall, cinemas, stores, and hotel. Another area that is important to see in Turin.
We found in Lingotto interesting places to visit such as the Eataly market, the Automobile Museum, or the Olympic Arch.
Automobile Museum
The automobile museum is one of the most famous of its kind in the world. The entrance fee is €10 and the opening hours are from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 7 pm, and on Mondays from 10 am to 2 pm.
Olympic Arch
It is one of the architectural symbols left in memory of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games.
As you can see in the city there is a lot to see, you can’t miss the Church of Santa Croce or the Basilica of Superga, as well as having an aperitif in one of the many bars under the arcades of the central streets.
►A recommendation to do from Turin if you have a day to spare: visit the Aosta Valley
EXTRAS: MAP AND VIDEO
NOTE: The information in this article is based on our own experience, being totally objective. This article contains affiliate links.
