After going 4 times to Turin, and every time visiting new places, I wanted to share with you Top 20 things to do in Turin. And all the tips are for families who travels with kids.
Turin, as far as you know, is a former industrial city that was completely redesigned for the 2006 Olympics. Lots of people see interests in coming to Turin only for a weekend getaway. But, believe me, this city deserves much more days to be discovered.
With all the royal residences it has, magnificent squares, museums, here you can find everything you need from a real travel.
In order to help you plan your stay, I will enumerate the top 15 things you can do in Turin, and you can choose the places you would love to visit during your stay and your budget.
Things to Do in Turin: The 15 Best Places to visit. Visit Turin: The 15 Must-See Attractions
- Museo dell’automobile.
- The cinema museum / Mole Antonelliana.
- Museo Egizio (Egyptian museum).
- Piazza San Carlo.
- Parco del Valentino.
- Borgo Medievale di Torino.
- Monte dei Cappuccini.
- Basilica of Superga.
- Villa della Regina.
- Reggia di Venaria Reale.
- Palazzina di Caccia of Stupinigi.
- City center and Christmas Markets.
- Take the historic tram number 7.
- Turin Eye with kids.
- Go ice skating with kids.
1. Museo dell’automobile.
The Automobile Museum is on the famous museums in Turin. On our first visit to Turin, it was our one and only place we had time to visit. And all the effort was worth it. We were so impressed of this museum, that cannot describe you our excitement.
According to The Times magazine, it’s one of the 50 best museums in the world.
With nearly 200 cars from 80 different brands ranging from steam cars to the latest models, the museum presents one of the world’s finest collections of rare vehicles.
2. The cinema museum / Mole Antonelliana.
This museum is worth to be visited, only because it is the authentic building that you see on every postcard of Turin. Located in the Mole Antonelliana, the National Museum of Cinema is for many the best museum of the city.
Very few people know this: Turin is the birthplace of Italian cinema. It’s no wonder that the city needed to have an amazing museum dedicated to the 7th art.
The queue to get there is just impressive. We went in winter time, and were already chilly at the moment we had to enter the place. But, believe me, this place was worth all the efforts.
Once you enter you see all around exhibitions that retrace the history of cinema with all kinds of objects, from the first cameras to the helmets of the Star Wars saga.
In the huge main room, cinema seats are even arranged to watch movies displayed on 2 giant screens on the ceiling.
3. Museo Egizio (Egyptian museum).
Egyptian museum, is one of the places that are very well promoted in Turin. And when you look for best places to visit in Turin, you will always find as a recommendation to visit this place.
It is impressive indeed, but be prepared to spend there a great amount of time, as it is simply huge. Another tip, be prepared, that there are lots of tourists every day visiting this place.
It is considered one of Turin’s greatest museums. With its 4 floors and numerous exposition rooms, this recently renovated Egyptian museum is the second largest in the world, after the one in Cairo. That is why, there are so many people inside, you will see.
The collection includes statues, sarcophagi and mummies, so you can immerse yourself in ancient Egypt for at least 3 hours.
4. Piazza San Carlo.
Piazza San Carlo (San Carlo Square) is one of my favorites, and in winter time it is priceless. I can imagine, how beautiful it is in summer time. It is Turin’s main squares.
With its arcades, its 2 twin churches (the church of Santa Cristina and the San Carlo Borromeo church) and the equestrian statue of Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy. Under the arcades, you can go shopping or have a coffee in one of the peaceful coffee shops. It is a pedestrian only area, so kids can run there and forth.
5. Parco del Valentino.
Parco del Valentino is considered the second largest park in Turin. Spreading over 42 hectares, the Valentino Park is a popular picnic or stroll spot for Turinese families. For us it was a great walk along the Po river.
We went there with kids, and they enjoyed the time playing with squirrels.
6. Borgo Medievale di Torino.
Right after Parco del Valentino you will find Borgo Medievale. The medieval village of Turin created in 1884 for the general Italian exhibition that took place in Turin. It recreates the atmosphere of a typical 15th century Piedmontese town: you can see a drawbridge, craft shops and even a chapel.
We also visited the fortress, a reconstruction of a Seigneurial residence. Inside, you can see the weapons room, the dining room, the kitchens and undergrounds housing the prison.
As I said it on my previous place, the place take you back in centuries and it is a great feeling.
7. Monte dei Cappuccini.
On our second visit to Turin, we went to this place by day. I want to mention, that I think all postcards of Turin, are made in this place. On our latest visit, we went by night, due to a recommendation, and we thought why not. The place is simply magical by night. So, our advice is to visit it by day and by night.
On the one side is the Turin city, and on another side is the Gran Madre di Dio church, you can take the road leading to the Monte dei Cappuccini.
At the top, you will find a beautiful scenery overlooking the city and the Alps on the horizon.
8. Basilica of Superga.
This is another beautiful place where you can see Turin from above. The scenery is so amazing, that you can see the city and Alps that are on the back. The 670m height hill with the basilica di Superga built at the top catches the eye.
We went there by car or you can try to get by funicular for a more typical experience.
The basilica is remarkable for its huge circular facade with a dome. Inside there is the crypt with the House of Savoy king’s tombs as well as those of princes and princesses. You can also go up a narrow spiral staircase to access the balcony at the top of the dome and enjoy a view of the surrounding hill.
As well, the basilica is famous for the tragedy that took place there in 1949. The plane that carried the Turin football team (Torino football club), crashed on the hill, demolishing a part of the convent. Since then, a funerary monument has been erected and Turinese people come to visit it every year on the anniversary of the tragedy.
9. Villa della Regina.
The Villa della Regina (Queen’s villa in english) is worth a visit in summer. My parents went there in summer, and the experience was different to ours. They were permitted to enter the gardens and enjoy the walk through. But we, as we went there in winter time and all were snowy, we had only the opportunity to see the palace. It is another great place to admire a beautiful view of Turin
It was built in 1615, following the Roman model, to serve as a residence for Savoyan queens.
10. Reggia di Venaria Reale.
Reggia di Venaria Reale was one of the largest royal residences in the world. As a visitor you can see it by yourself how big it is, as there are almost 2km to walk. We had a lovely museum journey that relates a thousand years history of former royal residential quarters of the Savoy Clan.
It is located outside of Turin, and we went there by car. But, I am sure, there is public transport to get there.
11. Palazzina di Caccia of Stupinigi.
The Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi (Italian: “The hunting residence of Stupinigi”) is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list. Built as a royal hunting lodge in 18th century, was a perfect place to go away from city rush :).
Inside the palace is a beautiful baroque place frescos and nice paintings. The main hall, which is located right in the centre of the palace, in particular, leaves you breathless. Then from the hall you can go to all the rooms that has the palace. Every room has it´s special design, paintings and of course very impressive furniture.
12. City center and Christmas Markets.
As always, we go there for Christmas time and New Year´s Eve, we love to walk through the city center. It is great to visit all this places full of palaces and why not, to enjoy some street food of Christmas Markets.
13. Take the historic tram number 7.
This tram, takes you only to the main tourist attractions. With it, you can also get to Monte dei Cappuccini. It is difficult to get there, as it has a very limited open hours. We were lucky enough to get the ride on it. And it costed us, only 1,5EUR per person.
14. Turin Eye with kids.
Turin Eye is a great experience if you want to see the city from above with 2 little kids. And of course, you don’t have great expectatives. This hot air balloon experience, is just going up and down, and see Turin from above. The views, one get to the top are just marvelous, and we loved it.
15. Go ice skating with kids.
In winter time, there are so many amazing place to go skiing with kids, that you will be wondered. Some of the places, even permit you to skate for free, if you have your skating shoes. And renting those it is not expensive.
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