“This reminds me of Paris,” said my husband as he pushed our luggage along the tree-studded avenues towards our apartment.
We were fresh off a 13-hour flight from Singapore to Milan (treated ourselves to business class, so we weren’t altogether spaced out), followed by a 1h30m bus ride from Milan airport to Turin (suggested by our Italian friend as the best way rather than taking the train).
It was a peaceful Saturday morning, not many Torinese up and about, the remains of autumn leaves parting as we made our way to our home for the next four nights, Luxury Loft.
The Parisian reference is easy to observe in Turin. Wide, stately boulevards with charming arcades and cafes perfect for people watching abound in the former capital of Italy. Apartments exude a Haussmann vibe with courtyards and I suspect, large interiors contrasting with petite balconies.
Tennis, Tipples and Truffles.
We had decided on a Piemonte and Milan trip for our 19th wedding anniversary for three reasons: The ATP Men’s Finals in Turin, our wine journey in the Langhe region (home of Barolo and Barbaresco) and the International Alba White Truffle fair. And I discovered later that Turin is the home of hazelnuts and chocolate—my favourite combination (I grew up on Nutella).
Five days in Turin saw us covering the interconnected grand piazzas, royal palaces, the cathedral which houses the Holy Shroud (we didn’t get to see the actual shroud, that’s only out on display on rare occasions) and three of the best museums I’ve had the fortune to visit in my life—the Cinema museum, the Car museum and the Egyptian museum.
Mole Antonelliana, the symbol of Turin.
Watch The Law According to Lydia Poet, the series about Italy’s first ever female lawyer (and wannabe investigator in the show) set in 1880s Turin, and every episode will feature the symbol of Torino, the Mole Antonelliana. The art deco design of the 167m-tall building with its dome and spiral dominates the skyline and it doesn’t stop there. We spent nearly the entire day with a break for lunch in between, riding the “Panoramic Lift” up to the rooftop for views of the city and the surrounding Alps, then having the most informative visit in the Cinema museum, a detailed and engaging showing of how movies came about, from shadow puppetry to magic lanterns and slides to photography to chronophotography to live action.
I won’t even get into the countless movie memorabilia, there’s just so many things to look at. I zoomed into some of my favourites. Yes, that’s real Chewbacca “hair”.
By no means am I a movie production geek but it was all so fascinating. And the story of how the Cinema museum was born, from the vision of Maria Adriana Prolo, a woman whose first love was movies, makes the whole experience altogether more significant.
I also spent way too much time trying to capture the perfect video of the lift with its glass walls gliding up and down, this is another must-do in the Mole Antonelliana. You could climb up to the rooftop but I say take the lift, it’s just fun!
The Journey You Must Take!
The Car Museum was an unplanned pit stop, no puns intended. I know my husband would have loved to visit the Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile but thought I wasn’t interested. But I figured, Turin is the automobile capital of Italy and while I don’t know much about the place, I know that the industry was the backbone of Turin’s modern-day prosperity so why not visit the museum?
Once again, I was enthralled. There are over 200 vehicles taking us on a journey from steam-carriages to the supercars of today and tomorrow. I had such a great time looking at the intricate designs of the old cars, love those lamps for headlights and some of the really cool 1950s designs. And of course, all the red cars including our beloved Alfa Romeo.
It’s not just a drive-by of the cars, each panel tells the story behind the people, whether the creators or the drivers. This is truly a Turin highlight!
An Egyptian In Torino?
Next to the Egyptian Museum of Cairo, the Museo Egizio in Turin holds the second most important Egyptological collection in the world. In fact, this is often quoted as being the world’s oldest Egyptian museum. This year is the 200th anniversary of the museum which has over 40,000 artefacts dating back to 4000BC. Past visits to historical museums have taught me one thing—after a while, there’s just too much information and too many things and they all start to look the same. So, getting a guide is the best way to keep the visit manageable. Anything that interests me, I can always go back to read up on it post-tour.
The museum guide was a young Egyptologist whose ability to recall information astounded me, as did her passion for the subject. It was around two hours and she explained about the dynasties, the archaeological digs, told us many juicy stories, showed us a few dead bodies, mummified and otherwise, leaving us to conclude that it’s a good thing the Egyptians had such a focus on preserving the dead and ensuring a happy afterlife, allowing us to learn much more about ancient history.
Sinner, Winner, Chicken Dinner.
We love our tennis and have gotten into the habit of shaping our vacation plans around watching the best in action. The decision to visit the Piemonte region and its capital, Turin, was cemented by the fact that the ATP Finals were being held here.
So we bought tickets to the tennis first, then the airfare, then the hotels and car rentals. We didn’t know who we would end up watching but luck was on our side. We saw homegrown talent Jannick Sinner, who won the match and eventually the title and the atmosphere in the stadium was electric! And I’m not just talking about the colour here. Unfortunately, as of the publish date, I have learned that Sinner is in the midst of a doping controversy and will possibly be facing a ban.
Wine Trippin’ around the Langhe.
After Burgundy and Bordeaux, what was next on my list was Barolo. Or to be more accurate, the Langhe region where vineyards appear to grow wild in every direction on every rolling hill. Check out my Barolo, Barbaresco & Beyond article for more.
Accommodation Recommendations in Turin:
Our accommodation, centrally located in Turin was Luxury Loft. It’s a two-storey apartment, funky decor, has a kitchenette (we didn’t use except for the coffee machine) and a washing machine, though they had run out of detergent. An easy fix, just ask the host who I think lives nearby because he came quite quickly when we called.
The apartment is less than ten minutes walk to Piazza Castello where the Royal Palace, Church of San Batista Giovanni (Holy Shroud is there) and also the main shopping stretches of Turin. The Egyptian Museum is also less than ten minutes away and the Mole Antonelliana is a lovely stroll of around twenty minutes.
Turin Eats:
Figuring that Turin was a big city plus the fact that we did not have much time to research restaurants, we did not bother with making reservations. We went with the flow depending on where we were and what looked good from online reviews on the spot.
As usual, we didn’t account for the fact that once we are engrossed in a museum, we tend to go way past lunch and then end up in a quandary because some museums do not allow for re-entry. Luckily, the Cinema museum did, it was well past 2pm, we were starving so we just stepped across the lane to a bunch of casual restaurants and landed in Magno. We wanted a quick bite and their foccacia piled with scrumptious toppings looked really good, so we stepped in. Staff are friendly and they warm up what’s on display so it was extra enjoyable.
Near the Egyptian museum is a Sicilian restaurant, Antica Focacceria S. Francesco, which was a great find and a welcome change to experience different flavours. I had to have the pistachio pesto pasta and that cannoli was the best I’ve had, ever! (Next stop in Italy, Sicilia!)
A 7-minute walk away from Luxury Loft is the buzzing area around Giardino Bottera with several casual restaurants offering up traditional Piemontese cuisine, pizzas and aperitivo hours, too. We had two dinners here. A proper dinner at Casa Broglia and the next night, aperitivo at Piola da Cianci where we ordered too much cheese and cold cuts and the poor staff had to find a way to let us take away our tiramisu! It’s not a norm to takeaway leftovers, but they were so kind.
Now, what you need to know is that Turin is the Chocolate Capital of Italy, well, in my and Torineses’ opinions at least! I am not kidding when I said I tasted the best chocolates here. Try Caffarel for a hot chocolate by the bar and to takeaway the best gianduiotto (chocolate and roasted hazelnuts) and truffles. If you’re after a sit-down service with old-school glamour vibes, Baratti e Milano (heritage cafe from 1858) is a must. The bicerin (melted chocolate and espresso and cream) is the drink to try! Other places include Al Bicerin and Guido Gobino.
Well, I’ve run out of the chocolates I brought back, and I’m already wishing I could just fly to Turin just to buy more! Seriously though, Turin was a beautiful, cultural and foodie city to visit and I am sure, I will return one day. Hope you enjoyed the read and feel inspired to visit, too! And try to time it during White Truffle season (September-December) because the home of the most-prized truffle is right here in Piemonte. Read about my visit to Alba, White Truffle Capital of the World for tips on visiting.
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