Once the capital of Italy, and today the capital of the Piedmont region in the north of the country, Turin is a city with a lot of history and status. Despite its past as a capital city for the entire country, Turin has a modesty about it. It feels much more laid back than Rome or Venice. Part of this is because it’s not as widely visited by tourists as the other two cities, but part of it is just Turin’s character.
I love discovering a new city, and Turin has been a revelation for me with so much to see and do. If you’ve already been to Rome, Venice, or any of the other hotspots in Italy, definitely add Turin to your list of places to go. You need to spend a few days in Turin to even scratch the surface of everything it has to offer.
To get you started, here are seven great things to do in Turin, Italy.
1. Palazzo Madama
Once a medieval castle, Palazzo Madama is a stunning Baroque palace that stands in Piazza Castello. It’s possible to still see evidence of the castle once here in three of its facades, though the front facing exterior is the Baroque palace. Inside, it’s now a museum of art and artifacts and there are some incredible old works of art on display. There’s a real sense of what this building once was; the marble staircase transports you back to a time of opulence and grandeur, and the building itself is as much of a museum as the items within it. But there are also still parts of it that hold onto its past as a castle. You can go inside the castle areas and up the tower, which offers amazing views over the city.
2. Mole Antonelliana
The Cinema Museum
When you arrive at the Museum of Cinema, you’ll be struck with how beautiful the building is and how unusual it looks for a museum. It’s clearly an old building with some style that is church-like. That’s because it was originally intended to be a synagogue, but for some reason was never used for this purpose. Instead, the Mole Antonelliana was born.
If you like movies at all, you’ll like this museum, and if you have a love for all things cinema, you’ll love this museum. You’ll walk through the history of cinema, with a focus at points on Italian films, with a wider world view too. A panoramic elevator with transparent walls takes you up to the Mole platform, where you can experience uninterrupted views over the city below.
Pro Tip: Booking A Visit
You’ll need to book your tickets in advance for entry into the museum, as it gets busy and is always booked up well in advance. Order online, and if you want to use the elevator, note that this is at an additional charge. So when you book tickets, be sure to add the elevator experience too. When I was there, some people turned up as walk-ins and they were told it was booked for weeks in advance. This probably depends on the time of year, but it’s better to be prepared.
3. Balon Flea Market
Held every other Sunday, the Balon Flea Market is the biggest open-air market in Italy, and Italians come from all over the country to grab a bargain here. There are more than 300 stalls selling antiques, books, furniture, clothing, art, and all kinds of weird and wonderful things like old cameras and mopeds. The market started out in 1985 and was much smaller than the sprawling set of tables and rails of clothes you see today. It’s gradually gotten bigger and bigger until now it includes just about everything you can think of. There’s even some fruit and vegetable stalls appearing at the market now. There’s a great atmosphere and you really can find some gems and bargains.
4. Cattedrale Di San Giovanni Battista
What at first appears to be a lovely old cathedral set on quiet grounds, Cattedrale di San Giovanni Battista is a lot more than that. For a start, yes, it is a lovely old cathedral with some fine carvings and frescos, and it’s free to enter at any time. You don’t need to join a guided tour or book a ticket, you can just walk in whenever you have a free half-hour to spare.
But, this cathedral has a hidden secret. It’s also where the Turin shroud is kept. If you don’t know what that is, the Turin shroud is a controversial shroud said to have had a negative image of Jesus imprinted on it, and so, said to have been Jesus’s shroud. It’s been widely debunked as a genuine shroud of Jesus, but it’s still a fascinating item and many people around the world still believe it’s a holy shroud and could, indeed, be of Jesus. Unfortunately, it’s not easy to see it. The shroud is well protected and hidden from view in a watertight case with a sheet over it. It is brought out and put on display sometimes, but with no fixed timetable for when visitors can see it, the chances of catching a glimpse are slim.
5. Parco Del Valentino
The Parco del Valentino, a large park next to the River Po, is a lovely calm place for a wander. Inside the park is a botanical garden, lots of sculptures, and a medieval castle, the Castello del Valentino. It’s a great place for a walk by the river in beautiful gardens and there are also cycle paths on the route. It’s unlike any park I’ve ever been to, as it’s so much more than a park. There’s an open-air museum within the park that gives you a taste of the late-medieval architecture of the Piedmont. Don’t miss the Fountain of the Moths. As you might expect, as we’re in Italy, there’s a few fountains and water features. The Fountain of the Moths, the park’s main fountain, is a pretty fountain that’s decorated with impressive sculptures.
6. Via Roma
Via Roma is the main shopping strip of Turin and it’s where you’ll find the most restaurants, bars, and cafés. This is where everyone goes for some retail therapy and to soak up the atmosphere of downtown Turin. There are a lot of shops here, but most of them are very expensive, and, if you’re like me, you might only be window shopping. Still, it’s a lot of fun to browse and see how some Italians go shopping! It is a nice street to stop for lunch or a coffee and watch the world go by. Parts of the street are pedestrianized, so it’s a laid-back street for wandering without a lot of traffic.
7. Museo Del Carcere Le Nuove
There are a lot of museums in Turin, but the Museo del Carcere Le Nuove is one of the more unusual ones. It’s a former prison that operated as such until the late 1980s. It’s run by volunteers who take you on a guided tour and the entrance fee is only a token amount. The guides are all passionate about the history of the place and can relate some harrowing stories of terrible conditions in the prison and the false imprisonment of Jews during WWII, as well as prisoners of war. But be aware, as the museum is run by volunteers, you’re not guaranteed to get a guide who speaks English. There are some, but it just depends on luck, and some of the guides take the entire tour in Italian. It is still a great tour, and seeing the inside of the prison, you can imagine the horrors of it.
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