Piazza Castello, the city's political heart, brings together Palazzo Madama and the entrance to the Royal Museums. From there, Via Roma runs to Porta Nuova station by way of Piazza San Carlo, nicknamed Turin's drawing room, with its twin churches and historic cafés. The whole walk, about 1.5 km, stays under the arcades. Allow a full day for this area if you go into the Egyptian Museum and the Royal Museums, each of which needs at least two to three hours.
North-west of Piazza Castello, the Quadrilatero Romano preserves the grid plan of the ancient colony of Augusta Taurinorum. Its narrow streets are now one of the liveliest areas for aperitivo and small restaurants. Just to the north, Porta Palazzo hosts one of Europe's largest open-air markets, Monday to Saturday mornings, with longer hours on Saturday. Come before 11 am to see the fruit and cheese stalls and the covered food hall. Half a day is enough.
Via Po, lined with arcades and bookshops, runs down from Piazza Castello to Piazza Vittorio Veneto, one of the largest arcaded squares in Europe, opening onto the river and the hill. By the water, the Murazzi, old quayside vaults, house bars and clubs at night. To the north, Vanchiglia, a student district at the foot of the Mole Antonelliana, is full of workshops, galleries and affordable restaurants. The area takes two hours on foot, ideally late afternoon so you can move straight on to aperitivo.
Behind Porta Nuova station, San Salvario is a lively multicultural district, with places of worship of several faiths, grocery shops and a busy nightlife. It borders Valentino Park, a long green strip along the Po, with the Valentino Castle, now part of the university, and a reconstructed medieval village. Further south, fifteen minutes by metro, the former Fiat factory at Lingotto houses a shopping centre, a spring book fair and the Pinacoteca Agnelli. Allow half a day for all of it.
Crossing the Vittorio Emanuele I bridge brings you to the neoclassical church of the Gran Madre, then the wooded hill overlooking the city. Monte dei Cappuccini, fifteen minutes' uphill walk, gives the classic view over Turin's rooftops and, on clear days, the Alpine arc. Further out, a rack tramway climbs from Sassi to the Basilica of Superga in about twenty minutes. Pick a clear autumn or winter morning, when the view of the snowy Alps is sharpest.
Turin has a café and afternoon treat culture all its own. Bicerin, a mix of coffee, chocolate and cream served in a small glass, has been drunk in the historic cafés since the 18th century. The city is also the birthplace of the gianduiotto, a hazelnut chocolate, and of vermouth, invented in Turin in the late 18th century. The aperitivo ritual follows on: a drink with a buffet or small plates, generally served from 6 pm to 9 pm in most bars.
The residences of the House of Savoy, listed by UNESCO, ring the city: the Reggia di Venaria, around ten kilometres away, deserves a full day on its own with its gardens. The Langhe hills around Alba and Barolo are about an hour's drive, ideal in October and November during the white truffle season. Some forty kilometres west, the Sacra di San Michele abbey towers over the Susa valley. Add two days to Turin for these trips into the heart of north-west
Italy.
