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Flights and Hotels in Turin
Italy's first capital and an elegant Savoy city at the foot of the Alps, Turin combines arcaded squares, the Egyptian Museum, historic cafés and a food scene worth the trip on its own.
Turin is an orderly, airy city: the Savoy centre, laid out on a Roman grid, can be walked beneath 18 kilometres of arcades that shelter you from rain and sun. Distances are not tiny, though: from Porta Nuova to the Mole Antonelliana takes a good half hour on foot, and Superga or the Reggia di Venaria each demand a dedicated half day. The Egyptian Museum requires 2-3 hours, the Royal Museums another 2, the Cinema Museum inside the Mole at least 1.5. Two days cover the essentials; three let the city breathe. The river Po and Valentino Park add a green promenade, the hill beyond the Gran Madre delivers the panoramas.
📜 History at a glance
Turin began as the Roman castrum of Augusta Taurinorum around 28 BC: the grid of perpendicular streets in the Quadrilatero Romano is still the same one. Long a border town, its destiny changed in 1563, when Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy moved the duchy's capital here from Chambéry; in 1578 the Holy Shroud arrived as well. In 1706 the city withstood a long French siege, made famous by the miner Pietro Micca. Capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia, in the nineteenth century it became the laboratory of the Risorgimento under Cavour, and in 1861 the first capital of the Kingdom of Italy (until 1865). The Mole Antonelliana, begun in 1863 as a synagogue, reaches 167.5 metres. In 1899 FIAT was founded: in the twentieth century Turin was the factory city that drew hundreds of thousands of workers from the South. 1949 brought the Superga tragedy, in which the Grande Torino team perished. The 2006 Winter Olympics accelerated the post-industrial reinvention into a capital of museums, cinema and gastronomy. In the intact cafés of the centre you can still breathe the Risorgimento's nineteenth century.
📅 Best time to visit
The best months are April-June and September-October: 15-25°C, often crystal-clear skies with the Alps visible as a crown around the city. Autumn is the golden season of taste: between October and November the nearby Langhe host the White Truffle Fair of Alba, while chocolate and elegant mists arrive in the city. July and August are hot and muggy (30-35°C), with many places closed around mid-August, yet the city stays more liveable than other Italian destinations and prices drop. Winter is cold (0-8°C) and sometimes foggy, but between November and January the Luci d'Artista light installations transform the central streets, and the ski slopes of the Via Lattea and Sestriere are an hour's drive away.
Why visit Turin
Mole Antonelliana — the city's symbol, 167.5 metres tall: inside is the National Cinema Museum (around €17 with the panoramic lift, lift only around €9), with views over Alps and rooftops from 85 metres. Egyptian Museum — the most important Egyptian collection outside Cairo and the world's oldest Egyptian museum (1824); tickets around €18, allow 2-3 hours, booking recommended at weekends. Royal Museums — Royal Palace, Armoury, Galleria Sabauda and Guarini's Chapel of the Holy Shroud, around €15. Palazzo Madama — two thousand years in a single building: Roman gate, medieval castle, Juvarra's Baroque façade; around €10. Basilica of Superga — on the hill at 672 metres, with Alpine panoramas, the royal tombs and the Grande Torino memorial plaque; dome and apartments charge a few euros. Reggia di Venaria — 10 km away, a UNESCO site with the Great Gallery and endless gardens; full ticket around €20. Automobile Museum (MAUTO) — over 200 cars telling the story of Italy's motor capital; around €15. Valentino Park — free, along the Po, with the nineteenth-century Borgo Medievale.
Suggested itineraries
1 day: morning at Piazza Castello and the Royal Museums, then the Cathedral and the Quadrilatero Romano; lunch in a piola; afternoon at the Egyptian Museum (booked) and up the Mole; aperitivo in Piazza San Carlo. 2-3 days: add Palazzo Madama, the Valentino with the Borgo Medievale and an evening in San Salvario; on day three Superga in the morning, then the Automobile Museum and Lingotto, closing with a merenda reale in a historic café. 5+ days: half a day at the Reggia di Venaria, a trip to the Langhe (Alba and Barolo, about 1h15 by car) or the Sacra di San Michele, the GAM and MAO museums, and in winter a day's skiing at Sestriere. Take it easy: Turin rewards those who sit down in its cafés.
🍽️ Local cuisine
Rich Savoy cooking, poised between France and rural Piedmont. Starters: vitello tonnato, anchovies in green sauce, Russian salad, tomini cheeses. First courses: agnolotti del plin, tajarin with ragù or with butter and sage. Mains: beef braised in Barolo, Piedmontese mixed fry, bollito misto with bagnetto verde; in winter, bagna cauda. Desserts and coffee: the bicerin (coffee, chocolate and milk cream in layers, around €6-7 at Caffè Al Bicerin, open since 1763), gianduiotti chocolates, and the merenda reale in the historic cafés of Piazza San Carlo such as Baratti & Milano or Caffè Torino; the tramezzino sandwich was born at Mulassano. The aperitivo is an institution: Carpano invented vermouth here in 1786. In the piole (Turin's trattorias) lunch runs €15-25, dinner €30-45 with a Barbera or a Nebbiolo. Porta Palazzo for market shopping, Eataly at Lingotto. Artisan chocolate makers: Guido Gobino, Peyrano. Wines: Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera, Dolcetto.
Neighbourhoods to explore
Centre-Piazza Castello: museums, the arcades of Via Po and Via Roma, historic cafés — the most convenient base. Quadrilatero Romano: lanes on the Roman grid, aperitivo bars and workshops, lively in the evening. San Salvario: next to Porta Nuova and the Valentino, multicultural and nocturnal, plenty of cheap B&Bs. Vanchiglia: students, street art and bars, a few minutes from the Mole. Crocetta: elegant residential district with its historic market, very quiet. Aurora-Porta Palazzo: Europe's largest open-air market and the Nuvola Lavazza, a district in full transformation, low prices. Borgo Po and the hill: from the Gran Madre upwards, villas and viewpoints. Lingotto: the former FIAT factory with Eataly and the Pinacoteca Agnelli, easy by metro.
🎭 Events and festivals
May: the Salone Internazionale del Libro at Lingotto, Italy's biggest book fair. 24 June: the feast of St John, the patron saint, with fireworks or a drone show over the Po. July: Kappa FuturFestival, electronic music in the post-industrial spaces of Parco Dora. September: MITO SettembreMusica, a classical festival shared with Milan; in even years Terra Madre Salone del Gusto, the worldwide Slow Food gathering. October-November: in the nearby Langhe, the International White Truffle Fair of Alba. November: Artissima for contemporary art, the Torino Film Festival and the Nitto ATP Finals tennis; across the city the Luci d'Artista light installations switch on until January. February: an hour away by train, the historic Ivrea Carnival with its Battle of the Oranges. Autumn is also the season of chocolate events.
How to get there
Turin Caselle 'Sandro Pertini' airport (TRN) is 16 km from the centre. Ryanair has a base here, with domestic flights from Naples, Bari, Brindisi, Palermo, Catania, Lamezia and Cagliari (1h20-1h50, often €20-80); ITA Airways connects Rome Fiumicino (1h15, €50-150). From Europe: London about 2h, Paris 1h30, Frankfurt and Munich 1h20, Madrid and Barcelona 1h45-2h, with Wizz Air, easyJet, Vueling, Lufthansa and British Airways; in winter many extra flights for the ski season. Alternatively, Milan Malpensa (MXP), about 110 km away, offers the intercontinental routes. From most of northern Italy the train wins: Frecciarossa and Italo from Milan in 1h (€10-30), from Rome 4h-4h30 (€30-90), from Bologna about 2h.
🚇 Getting around
The centre is walkable under its arcades; beyond that there is the GTT network of trams, buses and one automatic metro line (M1) from Fermi/Collegno to Bengasi via Porta Nuova, Porta Susa and Lingotto. A standard ticket costs €2 (100 minutes, metro included), with handy carnets and day passes; at the metro gates you can also pay with a contactless card. From Caselle airport: the SFA line train reaches Porta Susa in about 30 minutes for a few euros, or the direct bus runs to Porta Nuova in 45-50 minutes (around €7-8); a taxi costs €30-40. For Superga: tram 15 to Sassi, then the historic rack tramway when in service (otherwise the bus). The central ZTL restricted-traffic zone applies on weekday mornings: if you drive, leave the car in underground car parks (around €2-2.50 per hour) or at the metro's park-and-ride lots.
Budget and prices
Turin costs less than Milan, Florence or Venice. Return flights from southern Italy €40-120, from Europe €60-200 in low season. Hotels: hostels and B&Bs €25-50; central 3-star €70-120 a night, €120-180 on big-event weekends; 4-star €110-200; boutique hotels in noble palaces above €250. Tourist tax around €2-5 per night. Meals: bicerin €6-7, tramezzino and coffee €5-8, lunch in a piola €15-25, dinner €30-45 with wine, aperitivo with snacks €10-15. Museums: Egyptian Museum around €18, Royal Museums €15, Mole with museum €17, Venaria €20; the Torino+Piemonte Card (1, 2, 3 or 5 days, from about €30) pays for itself with three entries. Transport: €2 per ticket, day pass a few euros. Weekend for two (flights excluded): €280-450 in low season, €450-700 in high season or during the ATP Finals and the Book Fair.
📋 Practical info
Currency euro, language Italian. Type F/L sockets, 230V. The tap water, of Alpine origin, is excellent: in the streets you will find the 'torèt', the typical green fountains with a little bull's head. Tipping is not compulsory: the cover charge (€1.50-3) is already on the bill, rounding up is appreciated. Safety: a calm city; watch for pickpockets at the Porta Palazzo market and around the stations late in the evening. EU citizens need no formalities; for others Schengen rules apply. EU SIMs roam at no extra cost. Many museums close on Mondays: check before planning. The Torino+Piemonte Card also includes discounts on tourist transport. Useful apps: GTT and Moovit for public transport, the museums' official apps to skip the queues. Free municipal WiFi in many central squares.
💡 Practical tips
- Book the Egyptian Museum online for weekends and holidays: morning slots are the quietest.
- The Torino+Piemonte Card pays for itself with three museums: do the maths before you leave.
- Aperitivo, yes — but the real experience is the merenda reale in a historic café on Piazza San Carlo.
- Take the Mole's panoramic lift at sunset, when the Alps turn pink behind the city.
- Superga early in the morning: sharper views and a quiet moment at the Grande Torino memorial plaque.
- The best free panorama is from Monte dei Cappuccini, a 10-minute walk from the Gran Madre.
- Gianduiotti to take home: artisan chocolate shops such as Guido Gobino or Peyrano, not the supermarket.