Touring Turin

I was surprised by Turin, the city was much nicer and welcoming than I anticipated. For Italian standards it’s a clean and well-structured city, with a very nice central pedestrianised main street with arcades along both sides. As a city with a rich history and a former Italian capital there are plenty of historic sights, buildings and museums to explore, as I was only there for a day I made a selection of what interested me most.

As Turin is the homecity of FIAT (Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino), the Italian National Automobile Museum is located there. To get there I used the automated metroline, also using the VAL system like in Toulouse. The museum follows the history of the car in Italy and the world with clear explanations also in English. It doesn’t matter whether you are a car fanatic or not as the exhibition has a lot of different aspects that are talked about and it is beautifully set in scene. It is an example of how a modern museum is built like. I was lucky to be there when there where little visitors so I had plenty of time to soak everything up in peace and quiet.

Once I finished the automobile museum I went to the nearby former FIAT factory of Lingotto, now turned into a shopping and exhibition centre. The most famous part of the building is of course the test track on the roof. When you go and visit the art museum located in the top floors of the museum you can exit and make a walk on the roof, which is must when you are in the area.

After enjoying a lunch in one of the restaurants in the Lingotto shopping centre I returned to the city centre and visited the Royal Palace. Located right next to the Giovanni Batista Cathedral is the vast complex. Inside you can find some beautiful rooms and spaces used in the time when there was still a king to host and entertain guests. You also have a wing with the exhibit of the royal armoury as well as some rooms with various pieces of art and a part covering all sorts of historic artifacts dug up in the city.

I really liked Turin and I will most likely pass there again on a future trip in Northern Italy as there where clearly some more interesting buildings and museums I missed out on. If you are looking for an interesting place to spend 1 or 2 days in northern Italy, Turin sure is not to be missed.