If you’re in Turin you might want to consider stopping by the nearby village of Pralormo. It is a nice way to spend half a day in an alternative way visiting its beautiful Castle and admire their stunning Tulip gardens with their famous Messer Tulipano Festival. Pralormo is also a smart stopover on your way to the beautiful UNESCO Langhe vineyards or to the sunny beach in Liguria.

1.  How far is Pralormo from Turin?

Pralormo is 42kms south of Turin, which makes it a perfect candidate for a half-day trip out of the city.

2.  How to get to Pralormo from Turin?

2.1 BY CAR: 40 mins & 2.70 €

By car, it will take you about 40 mins, the fastest is to take the A6  highway also known as the “Torino-Savona” up until the city of Carmagnola, where you would exit the highwawy and take the SP134 road up to Pralormo. This road has tolls and it will cost you 5.40 euro for a return trip.

2.2 BY PUBLIC TRANSPORT: 1 hour & 3.80€

If you don’t have a car, the alternative is to go via public transportation. The best option here is to take the Metro from Turin Porta Nuova up to Lingotto. From there you can take the bus called “Linea 2014” and get off  at Pralormo. The best way here is to but the ticket for “6 zone” which will cost you 3.80 euro one way or 7.60 euro return ticket.

TIPS: HOW TO FIND THE BEST BUS TICKET

If you’re staying in Turin and relying on local public transportation to travel outside the city of Turin, the so called “tariffe extraurbane” it can be confusing to understand which exact ticket you should be buying. As you know GTT is the official company who is in charge of managing local transportation in Turin.

At the following link you can simply put departure & arrival location and it will tell you exactly what ticket to buy and at what price: https://www.gtt.to.it/cms/biglietti-abbonamenti/biglietti/tariffe-extraurbano

2.3 BY BIKE: one way is 2 hours

If you’re a sporty guy you might consider getting to Pralormo by bike. It  will take you 2 hours and you’d need to follow the “Via Bosco d’Orto” road. You can reach this Via also from the cycling road “Le Vallere”.

3.  Best itinerary for a smart Pralormo stopover

If you’re staying in Turin, Pralormo can be a smart stopver to a day trip or weekend getway to the fantastic UNESCO Heritage vineyards of Langhe or to a sunny beach weekend in Liguria.

This is exactly what I did.

We went for a weekend in Barbaresco for relax & wine tasting and on our way back we stopped in Pralormo. You can read more about this at Barbaresco Travel Guide / Exciting weekend beyond possible.

What I love about this idea is that it will allo you to reach your end destination in the smartest possible way, you will avoid traffic jams and you will save money.

For example, if you want to get from Turin to Barbaresco the most common option is to take the A6 highway (also known as Torino-Savona), this will cost you 20€ for a return trip.

However, if you take the SR 29 (Strada Regionale), which passes by Pralormo it will take you the same amount of time and it will cost you nothing!

If you are looking for other intersting stopovers ob SR 29, you may want to consider either the Guarene Castle or the Agrigelateria in Poirino.

If you have kids, you should opt for the Agrigelateria as it would allow you to taste an incredible ice-cream made from healthy lical ingredirents., Furthermore, you can see their animals and have some fun in the outdoors of their family run farm.

4.  Why visit Pralormo?

Here is why I suggest to consider visiting Pralormo:

• The Medieval Castle
• Its breath-taking Tulip Gardens (open in April)
• The perfect smart stopover to the Langhe or the Beach
• Good & affordable food
• A good excuse to get out of the city & spend time outdoors

5.  Pralormo’s Castle

The Pralormo Castle was built in the Middle Ages, specifically in the XIII century. Its purpose was to allow the military defense of the territory.

Throughout time the castle became the residency of different aristocratic family which transformed it into a Palace.

Today it is still used as a home by the Beraudo family which took ownership back in the years 1600. The owners of the Castle today are the Count Filippo Beraudo of Pralormo and his wife Consolata.

6.  Pralormo Mister Tulip

Each year in the month of April, the Castle of Pralormo’s gardens is covered by thousands of Tulips.

This event started in the year 2000 and goes by the name of Mister Tulip. The idea came to Consolata and Filippo after a trip in Holland in 1999.

My wife and I visited the Tulip garden and we were blown away. The cost of the ticket for the garden is 9 euro per person.

In addition to the tulips you are literally free to wander around the gardens for as long as you want. There is also a flower stand that sells flowers.

There are also exhibitions of local artisans who sell their handcrafts or food delicacies.

Here we discovered the local chocolate artisan Fabaro who was awarded the “Maestro del Gusto” title, we bought an amazing amazing dark chocolate with Langhe hazelnut.

 You can also have lunch in the garden. There were some fresh pasta stands and menu at really affordable prices which is where we ate.

As my wife and I are quite picky with coffee. We didn’t take our Espressos at the stand but rather took it in a bar on the main square of Pralormo.

The place is called Bar Villa, although it looks horrible from the outside, it has a nice terrace with a tremendous view. Fully recommended! See pictures below.

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