Turin Attractions
A Walking Tour of Turin

Next stop is one of the great Turin attractions Palazzo Reale – the home of the Italian King up until 1865 – the Royal apartments are splendidly opulent. The gardens are by Andre le Notre – apparently the same chap who did the Versailles gardens.

Heading toward the back of the piazza you’ll come to the church of San Lorenzo built by Guarino Guarini between 1666-1680 and the Cappella della Santa Sindone (Shroud Chapel) built by the same Guarini and housing that best known of Turin attractions, the famous shroud.

From here take via Garibaldi which is one of the great Turin shopping streets. Via Garibaldi is a pedestrian only street and has a terrific atmosphere with a good vibe and lots of energy. Follow the street in the direction of piazza Statuto. A number of the gems of Piedmont baroque await you along the way (and on nearby side streets).

Piazza Statuto was in Roman times the site of the necropolis and also the last Italian piazza you would ever visit on your way to the gallows of Turin. Head to the nearby chiesa della Misericordia (the Church of Misery) in via Barbaroux where prisoners sentenced to death were given their last rites. Visitors can see the list of people sentenced to death, the black hoods, etc.

If you then head toward via Sant’Agostino, you can walk down the small via Bonelli where the executioner of Turin once lived – very convenient for his work and next to nothing in terms of a commute home after a stressful day head-hunting.

From there, in just a few minutes, you are in piazza Solferino, one of the main piazzas of the city where the dreadful Olympic atrium was added to what was a lovely piazza. This 2004 horror is a definite carbuncle on the face of a much-loved friend if ever I did see one.

Continuing a little way in the same direction, you’ll come to the lovely little piazza Corpus Domini and the Corpus Domini church, built on the exact spot of the “Miracle of Turin”. In 1453 a thief was attempting to sell sacred goods stolen from a church in Val di Susa when a ghost rose up from the thief’s sack and hovered suspended in the air. Only the prayers of the faithful and the words of Bishop Ludovico di Romagnano brought it back to earth again. The church is now famous as a good place to come back down to earth for people like me who tend to be up in the air most of the time. Before returning to Piazza Castello explore the atmosphere in the little alleys of the old historical centre – the Quadrilatero Romano. This is one of the Turin attractions that has been extensively refurbished over the last few years and is now a very trendy part of the city. It is full of cafés, craft shops and great restaurants. The Tre Galline is my favourite here.

From Piazza Castello head down via Po towards the river. Follow the road down to Piazza Vittorio and then find a table at Caffè Elena. This lovely caffe under the arcades offers marvellous views over the Po to the church of the Gran Madre (Big Mamma in English) and the collina (hill) of Turin. This is a great place to end your walk. With the vast selection of wines that you can taste here you won’t be much in the mood to go any further. Enjoy the wine, have something to eat and watch the passing parade.

For another Turin walking tour click here.