Turin's central square is lined with museums, theatres and cafes. The city's Savoy heart, although laid out from the mid-1300s, was mostly constructed from the 16th to 18th centuries. Dominating it is the part-medieval, part-baroque Palazzo Madama, the original seat of the Italian parliament. To the north is the exquisite facade of Palazzo Reale, the royal palace built for Carlo Emanuele II in the mid-1600s.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
8.57 MILES
Some 21km west of Turin, the Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art is a giant of modern art in Piedmont. Its ambition and reach, not to mention…
5.29 MILES
OK, it may not enjoy the weighty publicity of its French counterpart, but this is one of the largest royal residences in the world, rescued from ruin by a…
0.21 MILES
Opened in 1824 and housed in the austere Palazzo dell'Accademia delle Scienze, this Turin institution houses the most important collection of Egyptian…
16.86 MILES
This Gothic-Romanesque abbey, brooding above the road 14km from Turin, has kept sentry atop Monte Pirchiriano (962m) since the 10th century. It housed a…
Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile
2.79 MILES
As the historic birthplace of one of the world's leading car manufacturers – the ‘T’ in Fiat stands for Torino – Turin is the obvious place for a car…
0.12 MILES
Statues of the mythical twins Castor and Pollux guard the entrance to this eye-catching palace and, according to local hearsay, also watch over the…
0.81 MILES
Architect-designer-artist Carlo Mollino is perhaps Turin's most intriguing son and a quintessentially 20th-century Torinese. The little-known Museo Casa…
4.04 MILES
Vittorio Amedeo II's 1706 promise, to build a basilica to honour the Virgin Mary if Turin was saved from besieging French and Spanish armies, resulted in…
Nearby Turin attractions
0.05 MILES
A part-medieval, part-baroque castle built in the 13th century on the site of the old Roman gate, this palazzo is named after Madama Reale Maria Cristina,…
0.12 MILES
Statues of the mythical twins Castor and Pollux guard the entrance to this eye-catching palace and, according to local hearsay, also watch over the…
3. Cattedrale di San Giovanni Battista
0.14 MILES
Turin's cathedral was built between 1491 and 1498 on the site of three 14th-century basilicas and, before that, a Roman theatre. Plain interior aside, as…
0.18 MILES
These royal gardens, freely accessed via the Palazzo Reale, make a tranquil setting for a bit of down time in the city centre. Flower-lined pathways,…
5. Museo Nazionale del Risorgimento Italiano
0.18 MILES
After extensive renovations, this significant museum reopened in 2011 to coincide with the centenary of the Risorgimento (reunification period). An…
0.21 MILES
Opened in 1824 and housed in the austere Palazzo dell'Accademia delle Scienze, this Turin institution houses the most important collection of Egyptian…
0.22 MILES
Razed to the ground by Napoleon's armies, little remains of this 1st-century amphitheatre, but it's still an atmospheric spot to stroll around.
0.25 MILES
The low-key and little-visited Porta Palatina is, in fact, one of the best preserved 1st-century BC Roman gateways in the world. Together with the remains…