The Torino+Piemonte Card, the smart pass for your stay
The Torino+Piemonte Card is a pass offering numerous advantages in Turin and Piedmont, and is available in several formulas (1, 2, 3 and 5 consecutive days, at €29, €39, €45 and €50). It offers free entry to no fewer than 80 sites, including the most important ones such as the royal residences, as well as discounts on museums, guided tours, shuttle services to and from the airport and public transport (the Torino+Piemonte Card entitles you to a 2-day transport pass for €7, or a 3-day pass for €9)... So it pays for itself very quickly, and is essential for a successful stay! The pass can be purchased in advance online from the Turin Tourist Office website, which also allows you to book entrance to museums and sites (www.turismotorino.org/fr/torinopiemonte-card-0), or it can be bought on site at the Tourist Office offices (Piazza Castello and Porta Nuova).
Explore Turin with the guided tour La Tua Prima Volta a Torino
To find out about the city's places of interest, there's nothing better than reading your favorite Petit Futé. But that doesn't mean you don't want to spend a couple of hours on the spot, without hesitation or stress, with explanations tailored to your needs, and the chance to ask questions too... In short, a guided tour of the city's historic center is the ideal complement to reading your guidebook, especially if you're visiting Turin for the first time or if you're accompanying people who don't know the city, like your children for example. This guided tour is aptly named La Tua Prima Volta a Torino ("Your first time in Turin"). If you're coming for a long weekend, book it on Friday before 5 p.m., and you'll have time on Saturday morning to lie in bed and linger over breakfast, or even drink a second cappuccino on the way, as the tour doesn't start until 10 a.m.. You'll be accompanied through the city streets until midday by an attentive and fascinating guide. And even if it's not your first time in Turin, this guided tour is so well done that you really learn aspects you didn't know you had. The tour takes you back in time to the city's Roman past, with vestiges such as the Palatine Gate, and then identifies the succession of different eras that have structured Turin, especially the Baroque period with its royal constructions around the court of the House of Savoy, with spectacular churches, grandiose palaces and flamboyant residences. The 19th century was also an intense period for the city, as it was at the heart of the construction of Italian Unity, which took place in part in its historic cafés, and the city achieved the status of first capital of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Nor should we forget Turin's contemporary wealth, from the automobile industry of the early 20th century to today's ebullient art and design scene. Turin is truly a city that never stops creating! Booking this tour online is easy (www.turismotorino.org/it/esperienze/eventi/welcome-tourr-la-tua-prima-volta-torino). The tour is free, lasts two hours, leaves from the tourist office in Piazza Castello, and can be conducted in French.
Made in Torino. Tour the Excellent: to discover the industrial wealth of Turin
Turin and Piedmont are of course today a source of tremendous creativity and activity in all sectors of innovation. It is also about the age-old companies that have made the Piedmontese capital so powerful and famous. Are they not also part of the city's living heritage? In 2005, the project was born to be able to visit them in order to promote them as one would do with religious or artistic heritage. An avant-garde vision of tourism was born, in line with the innovative spirit of Turin. The tourist office, in association with the city's Chamber of Commerce, is therefore offering you the opportunity to discover 70 of these companies that are both heritage and innovative, and to dive into the heart of their skills and know-how. All fields are concerned, from aeronautics to the environment, including textiles, arts and crafts, cosmetics and of course food production. What a pleasure it is to watch an issue of La Stampa, the city's legendary newspaper founded in 1867 and the third largest daily in Italy, being written in the middle of the newsroom and printed in the evening! Or follow all the steps of the coffee making process in the Lavazza factory, one of the biggest roasters in the world! But you can also follow the making of musical instruments in the workshop of a violin maker, cosmetics, beer in the Birrifico Torino brewery in the heart of the city with a nice final tasting, or go and see the work of the famous tailor and fashion designer Michele Mescia... These visits to companies allow you to get to know the whole production process of an object, a product! It's really exciting! A special treat is a visit to a chocolate factory followed by a tasting, a must in the Italian capital of chocolate! In Turin, opt for the very central Guido Gobino or Boello and Sorrisi! But there are so many others in Piedmont... If it is essential to book any activity in advance, the visits are very diverse, whether in duration, price, or content, so do not hesitate to inquire to select the companies that you will discover during your stay in Turin(www.turismotorino.org/fr/experiences/visites-dentreprises, information: [email protected]).
La Merenda Reale®: a delicate and comforting royal snack!
Unless you've opted for a culinary tour with a hearty tasting at the end, you've got to admit that pacing the city's streets, museum halls and company headquarters is pretty exhausting! So why not stay in the typical Turin mood by treating yourself to a MerendaReale®, otherwise known as a royal snack? Yes, the House of Savoy had instituted a real break in the afternoon to savor all the sweets that the royal city was, and still is, the specialist in. There are two ways to enjoy this deliciously retro chic moment: you can choose the 18th-century version, with a hot chocolate accompanied by a variety of cookies(amaretti, canestrelli, lingue di gatto, savoiardi...), or the 19th-century version with a bicerin (the quintessential Turin drink, consisting of a strong espresso, thick hot chocolate and a creamy milk foam) and pastries, as the intellectuals from all over Europe used to do in the literary cafés. On weekends, between lunch and dinner, come and sit down at the Café du Castello di Rivoli or the Palazzo Reale in Turin, or in one of the historic cafés (find out more about the participating cafés at www.turismotorino.org). The cost is €14 per person for the Merenda Reale® 1800, or €12 for the Merenda Reale® 1700, and must be reserved at least the day before.
Extra Vermouth™: vermouth time in Turin, a well-deserved aperitif!
Later in the day, try your hand at another Turin ritual:aperitivo. Here, you'll savor the city's queen beverage since the 18thcentury , a true local heritage that has since conquered the whole world: vermouth! Or rather vermouths, as there are several different types. And to help you discover them, and learn how to enjoy them to the full, some twenty bars and cafés have revived the "ora del vermouth di Torino", an hour devoted to aperitifs in the tradition of the Savoy court: a real moment of pleasure to experience during your stay! This white wine, flavored with herbs and spices, spiked with alcohol and sugar and then distilled, was first served in Turin in 1786 by Antonio Carpano, who had prepared it in his distillery in Piazza Castello. Its success was immense, and the number of producers in Piedmont multiplied. Vermouth comes in white, rosé and red for color, and in sweet, dry and extra-dry depending on its sugar content, and is used as a base for some of the world's most famous cocktails, such as the Manhattan, or the famous Vodka Martini immortalized by James Bond. But here in Turin, vermouth is celebrated in all its purity, with an incredible variety of notes, from the bitterness of gentian to the mellowness of dates, the power of saffron and nutmeg. Vermouth has many facets, but in every case it is a concentrate of aromas and flavors.
In cafés celebrating the ora del vermouth di Torino, you'll be served exclusively vermouth di Torino, with 3 distinct brands and 5 different varieties. The vermouth is served cold, with or without ice, with organic lemon or orange zest. You can choose to enjoy vermouth neat or as a cocktail. Alongside these delicious beverages, for complete gastronomic pleasure, you'll be served a selection of typical Piedmontese products, including cheeses and cured meats, anchovies and tomini al verde (small fresh cheeses seasoned with spicy parsley), russian salad, vitello tonnato (slices of roast veal with tuna mayonnaise) and grissini, of course, but also sweet delicacies such as gianduiotti, those famous, inimitable hazelnut chocolates (discover participating vermoutheries at www.turismotorino.org). Reservations are of course highly recommended, and should be made at least the day before with the chosen establishment. The tasting costs €18 per person (over 18).
Turin's tourist office has a wealth of resources and boundless creativity to make your stay in Piedmont a moment of well-being and discovery. You can rely on our teams to advise and pamper you. Enjoy your stay in Turin!
