Weekend in Turin

Last weekend was our 6th wedding anniversary and the perfect excuse for a weekend in Turin! We caught the train from Asti to Turin on Friday, a much easier option than negotiating the city centre traffic in Turin. As always the Italian trains were cheap and efficient, a 35 minute journey with no stops cost us €5 each.

We stayed in a great hotel right in the centre, Townhouse 70 (www.townhouse.it), close to the shops, museums, historic buildings, restaurants & bars. Although the 2006 Winter Olympics raised the profile of the city & brought a lot of investment to the area it is still something of an undiscovered gem. Better known for it’s industrial heritage and home of Fiat the city was also the Savoy capital from 1563 and the seat of the Italian parliament for a brief period and boasts a fantastic array of palaces, piazzas & grand boulevards.

During our trip we managed to get a bit of Christmas shopping in, we visited the Museo Egizio which is considered to house the best collection of ancient Egptian art outside Cairo & London, we visited the Christmas market & antiques/flea market market in Borgo Dora and we managed to find time to enjoy some great food and wine. Turin has a wide range of bars and restaurants and the evenings are very lively. The free aperitivi buffets served in many of the bars shouldn’t be missed and if you find a good one then you can skip your evening meal! On Saturday night after our aperitivi and a lovely meal we went for a walk round the centre of Turin to look at the Christmas lights, we were amazed at the number of people strolling round at midnight, it was a great atmosphere.