2 days in Turin: the itinerary
4 minutes
Turin is one of the Italian cities that has the right to be considered an open-air museum: its architecture, the elegant palaces, the arcades... every corner holds surprises and wonders. This is a selection of experiences to enjoy in just 48 hours to tiptoe into a unique urban background.
Torino Porta Nuova is the perfect arrival and departure point for a two-day exploration of Turin. The train station with its famous central vault and large windows, whose construction began in December 1861, is the city's business card. From here, you can stop by the Civic Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, hosting permanent art collections from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. At the end of the visit, take Via Roma and get ready to enter one of the city's most beautiful open-air living rooms: Piazza San Carlo. Stop to enjoy a delightful bicerin, Turin’s iconic hot, non-alcoholic beverage created with coffee, chocolate and milk cream. Unmissable!
The twin churches of Santa Cristina and San Carlo Borromeo, both jewels of Baroque art commissioned by Christine of France and Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy in the early 17th century, stand here. Returning to Via Roma from the opposite side of the square, go past the statue that is the symbol of the city - the Monument dedicated to Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy. The monument is known to the people of Turin as the "Cavàl 'd Brons", or the bronze horse, and enter Piazza Castello, another of the city's noble gathering places where Palazzo Madama stands out and that you will visit on the second day of your stay. Nearby, when lunchtime approaches, you will have the chance to make another important discovery: the street food of Turin, full of fantastic options such as a plate of traditional gofri - crispy honeycomb wafers topped with a variety of ingredients (cold cuts, cheeses, vegetables) or try the absolutely delicious stuffed potatoes. Then follow the signs to the Egyptian Museum.
Considered one of the most important in the world, second only to the Cairo Museum, it exhibits over 3000 artifacts, finds and valuable objects from the culture that populated the banks of the Nile. In its halls, in addition to mummies, sphinxes, papyrus and sarcophagi, to be admired thanks to the lighting designed by Oscar-winning set designer Dante Ferretti, you can witness the live restoration of new finds. Time flies, so by the time you leave the museum it will already be cocktail hour.
Take Via Po heading to the river and you will find venues offering menu choices for every palate, where you will be able to mingle with the people of Turin to celebrate the pre-evening “ritual” of an Italian aperitif. For dinner, we invite you to choose among one of the 10 starred restaurants that the city can boast of, or the many options available among restaurants offering typical Savoy cuisine. Whatever choice you make the important thing is to end with a chocolate dessert, or at least a gianduiotto, to honor one of Turin's treasures. Day "one" could end on a very high note with an evening spent at the Regio Theater, the home of the Opera and Ballet.
On the morning of day two, the tour begins not far from the locations you visited the day before: Piazza Castello, square in shape, at the center of which stands the architectural complex of Palazzo Madama, housing the Civic Museum of Ancient Art.
The perimeter is marked by elegant arcades, built in different eras, that are a distinguishing element of the city. After a coffee downtown, head to the Mole Antonelliana.
Without a doubt the symbolic building of Turin, it is located in the historical center, in Via Montebello, and owes its name to its designer, architect Alessandro Antonelli. Inside is hosts the National Cinema Museum of Turin which is the only one of its kind in Italy. And the view you can enjoy from its 85 meters of height (from the terrace reached via a panoramic elevator) over the Alps and the city is priceless. After spending the morning exploring the secrets of cinema and with your head in the clouds, for lunch you must try another classic of Italian cuisine that originated right here: the tramezzino.
Back on the ground, go to the discovery of the impeccable symmetrical gardens that you have already admired from the top of the Mole. They are the Royal Gardens, the green lung of the city, where you can rest and get your energy back under the fresh shade of the vegetation before heading for a visit to the Royal Museums, which in addition to the Armory, the Savoy Art Gallery and the Royal Library, also include the Chapel of the Holy Shroud. Touring everything in one afternoon is probably an impossible mission, but it is up to you to explore what most intrigues you. Once the visits are over, head back to Porta Nuova to end this intense tour full circle before heading back home.
