Top Things to Do in Turin

Turin, the elegant capital of Piedmont, is Italy's most underrated major city -- a place where baroque grandeur meets modern contemporary culture beneath a dramatic backdrop of snow-capped Alps. Once the first capital of unified Italy and the engine room of Fiat, Turin has reinvented itself as a city of excellent museums, exceptional cuisine, and a cafe culture that rivals Vienna's. First-time visitors are often astonished by the sheer density of cultural riches packed into its grid of porticoed streets. The city's royal heritage is everywhere. The House of Savoy left behind a constellation of palaces, churches, and piazzas that earned UNESCO World Heritage status, while their passion for collecting seeded institutions like the Museo Egizio, which holds the most important Egyptian collection outside Cairo. Turin is also the birthplace of Italian cinema, the spiritual home of gianduja chocolate, and the city that gave the world the aperitivo ritual -- that civilized pre-dinner hour of vermouth and small bites. Spring and autumn are the ideal seasons to visit, when the Alpine air is crisp, the outdoor markets are in full swing, and the cultural calendar is at its richest. Turin rewards the walker: its 18 kilometers of arcaded sidewalks mean you can explore in comfort regardless of weather, ducking into historic cafes and artisan chocolate shops as you go.