Is Turin worth visiting? Top 5 reasons why you’ll love it
Key reasons why Turin is worth visiting: 1) its stunning Baroque architecture, 2) its renowned high culinary standards (46 Michelin stars), 3) its popular fine wines, 4) the strong Espresso Coffee heritage and 5) its Italian Aperitivo history. Last but not least Turin is Italy’s Chocolate capital with its Gianduiotto and the famous Nutella.
Italy is full of marvelous cities which are often overlooked by tourists who tend to focus on Rome, Venice and Florence.
Turin is definitely a no miss and it is totally worth a visit, you won’t regret it. Let me summarize below the top reasons why you should visit Turin:
- Baroque architecture
- Food Heaven: 46 Michelin-stars, Slowfood HQ and the White Truffle
- Fine Wine: The prestigious Barolo & Barbaresco
- Capital of Italian Chocolate
- The birthplace of Italian “Aperitivo”
- The birthplace of the Espresso Coffee Machine
1. Turin is a Baroque architectural gem
One can admire its marvelous public squares, magnificent castles, outstanding gardens and elegant Palaces thanks to two Baroque architects genius such as Guarino Guarini and Filippo Juvarra.
Taking a coffee in Piazza San Carlo, admiring the Castello del Valentino, strolling through the Royal Gardens near Piazza Castello and admiring the beauty of Palazzo Carignano . Have a look yourself at the picture below.
To learn more about Turin architecture, read the following article from NY Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/29/travel/turin-s-baroque-splendors.html
2. Food Heaven
The area of Turin is a gastronomical treasure and a true heaven for “foodies”. Few things most people ignore:
Turin hosts the most important international SlowFood event, “Terra Madre Salone del Gusto” (~220,000 visitors). The SlowFood International headquarters are located in this area.
The area is known as the capital of the world for White Truffle, the prestigious diamond of the kitchen. The whole Piedmont region hosts a total of 46 Michelin Star restaurants according to the 2020 guide.
Key gastronomic delights from Turin: Tajarin and Agnolotti del Plin fresh made pasta, Robiola and Castelmagno Cheese, the birthplace of delicious Vitello Tonnato, Brasato al Barolo meat and Italian grissini.
3. Finest Italian Wine
Two internationally renowned red fine wines Barolo and Barbaresco are from the Turin region. You will also be surprised also by the quality of its more accessible and less popular wines such as the red Nebbiolo, Barbera Superiore and Dolcetto and the white wine Roero Arneis. To go with desserts, don’t miss the opportunity to try the local white sparkling wine Moscato D’Asti.
4. Turin is the capital of Italian Chocolate
Few centuries ago Turin was Europe’s chocolate capital and where chocolatier from all over Europe used to go to learn their craft
In 1865 the Gianduiotto chocolate was created which inspired Nutella, which is currently produced by Ferrero nearby Turin.
You should try the Italian gourmet chocolate manufacturer Venchi founded in 1878, Peyrano 1914 and Guido Gobino 1964.
5. Enjoy the best Italian Aperitivo in the city of Martini & Vermouth
The Cinzano Vermouths were invented in Turin in 1776, while the famous Martini & Rossi company was founded in Turin in 1863.
Tasting one of these iconic drinks while eating the savoury “stuzzichini” before dinner is an absolute no miss and one of the reasons why you will love Turin.
6. You can taste the real Espresso Coffee
The first Espresso coffee machine was invented by Angelo Moriondo in 1884 in Turin. In addition to that also the Moka coffee machine was invented in Turin (Alfonso Bialetti in 1933).
The major coffee company Lavazza was founded & still operates from Turin since 1895.
Turin is also home to many stunning Historical Coffee Houses like the one in the video below, sipping a coffee here will take you back in time:
I know I said top 5 things rather than top 6 but as an Italian it really didn’t feel right to leave coffee out 🙂
To conclude, I hope the above is enough to persuade you that Turin is worth a visit. If not keep the reading the other posts on this blog to lean more.
