Torino (Turin) was the first capital of unified Italy (1861-65) and the city of the Savoy dynasty, who left behind a UNESCO system of royal residences (Palazzo Reale, Palazzo Madama, Reggia di Venaria, Stupinigi hunting lodge) and a grid of porticoed boulevards that extend for 18km — the longest covered walkway system in Europe. The Museo Egizio (Egyptian Museum) is the second-largest collection of Egyptian antiquities in the world after Cairo — and many Egyptologists consider it better organized. The Mole Antonelliana (167m — originally a synagogue, now the Museo Nazionale del Cinema) defines the skyline. Torino is Italy's chocolate capital: bicerin (the hot drink of coffee, chocolate, and cream, served since 1763 at Caffè Al Bicerin), gianduiotto (the hazelnut-chocolate praline invented here by Caffarel in 1865), and the cioccolaterie of Via Roma and Piazza San Carlo. Piedmont →
Plan my Torino trip →Museo Egizio: 30,000+ artifacts — the Tomb of Kha and Merit (complete 15th-century BC burial), the Temple of Ellesiya (rock-cut temple reconstructed inside the museum), sarcophagi, papyri, the Statue of Ramesses II. Recent renovation (Isolarchitetti) made it one of the most modern museums in Italy. €15. Mole Antonelliana / Museo del Cinema: Take the panoramic elevator inside the Mole to 85m — the view of Turin with the Alps behind. The Cinema Museum inside (screens, projectors, Cabiria — the 1914 Turin-produced film that invented the epic) is excellent. €15 combo. Palazzo Reale + Cappella della Sindone: The Savoy royal palace — state apartments, armory, and Guarini's Cappella della Sindone (a mathematical dome of interlocking arches that is the most extraordinary baroque ceiling in Italy). The Shroud is in the chapel (displayed rarely — last in 2015; a photographic reproduction is always visible). Palazzo Madama (Piazza Castello): Juvarra's baroque facade + medieval castle — Museo Civico d'Arte Antica. €10. Piazza San Carlo: "The drawing room of Turin" — twin churches, porticoed palazzi, Caffè San Carlo and Caffè Torino.
Caffè Al Bicerin (Piazza della Consolata, since 1763): The bicerin — layers of espresso, hot chocolate, and whole cream in a glass. €6. Guido Gobino (Via Cagliari): The finest modern cioccolatiere — gianduiotti, cremini, tasting. Cioccolat-ieri (November-December): A month-long chocolate festival in Piazza San Carlo and Piazza Castello — tastings, master classes, and chocolate sculptures.
Getting there: Torino Porta Nuova/Porta Susa stations (Milan 1h by Frecciarossa, Rome 4h). Torino Caselle airport (Ryanair, others). Stay: €55-110/night. Eat: Tre Galline (€30-45 — tajarin, vitello tonnato, bagna cauda), Porto di Savona (€25-35). Aperitivo: Turin invented the modern aperitivo culture — Piazza Vittorio at sunset, spritz or vermouth (Carpano was invented in Turin, 1786). Combine with: Langhe/Barolo (1.5h — wine country), Sacra di San Michele (40min), Reggia di Venaria (30min — Versailles of Italy), Alba (1.5h — truffle capital).