Is Turin worth the trip?

Yes, is the answer. For a day visit at least. It’s not the biggest most spectacular city in Italy but it’s deserves a visit in its own right.

Turin was the first stop on our Italy tour and whilst there wasn’t a huge amount of attractions to visit or things to do, there was more than enough to keep us occupied for a couple of days.

Mole Antonelliana & the Glass Elevator

A giant spire that rises up above the city, the Mole Antonelliana was once the tallest brick building in the world.

It’s a spectacular sight and so is the view from the top.

The best part is to get to the top, you have to take a ride in a floating glass elevator. It was definitely a tick off my childhood bucket list that’s for sure.

Museo Nazionale del Cinema

The Mole sits on top of the Museo Nazionale del Cinema and is actually a really good visit. With nearly six floors, you could easily spend all day in the interactive museum. We spent a good couple of hours there but hunger got the better of us so we ducked out in search of some of Turin’s delicacies.

Gelato & Historic Cafes

One of the best things about Turin is the gelato and confectionery. We dropped in to Grom for the ‘best ice cream in Italy’, it was pretty damn good I’ll give them that. The best though? Hmm, that’s yet to be tasted!

As we wandered through Turin we noticed a few of the cities historic cafes which are all fantastically old school inside still. We noticed everyone seemed to be drinking cups of hot chocolate, which we later found out were actually Turin’s signature drink; a mix of thick hot chocolate with espresso and topped with whipped cream. Trust me, everybody should have this in their lives!

The Shroud of Turin

We visited the Shroud because well, when in Turin, right and we love a good religious con. Twelve euro it cost us to visit said con and it turned out the old, tatty piece of cotton wasn’t even there. Chancers. After being robbed by the church in broad daylight, we wandered down the road and into the city cathedral only to see the Shroud (or more accurately, the covered glass box it’s kept in) for free! What a joke.

It can be a bit hit and miss sometimes trying to find somewhere decent to stay in a city in a Moho, most of the time you find yourself in a dingy aire that they charge the earth for just because they can. Grinto Urban Eco Village was a welcome change however. Randomly located on the side of the motorway a few kilometres before the city centre, this Urban Eco Village was a small rather tranquil area. The facilities were top notch and the bus into Turin stopped just outside. Perfect.

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C x