Good morning -
We are a family of 3 adults visiting Italy for the first time. We will be attending a wedding in Stresa at the end of the trip. We definitely want to stay in Rome for 4 nights but are now torn between Florence and Turin. I am leaning very heavily towards Turin since we love to hike, bike and enjoy serenity. We are now leaning towards spending 3 nights in the Turin area before heading out to Stresa. Since none of us want to drive, we are not sure how best to enjoy Turin, Alba and the surrounding areas. Any ideas and itinerary suggestions are welcome. We love good food and two of us enjoy wine. Hubby does not drink but will participate to some extent.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11765 posts
The area is easily visited by public transportation and Torino is a delightful city. It is museum-rich and several should not be missed, or at least offer a bad weather option.
- Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile is a nice ride on the Metro from downtown. I a, not even a car fan and I loved it.
- Egyptian Museum has the biggest collection outside of Egypt
- Savoy Residences. There are 7 palaces of this royal family. I have only been to Reggia di Venaria Reale, which is almost like Versailles, out n the country, easily visited by bus from the city center. One of my Italian friends told me the hunting lodge at Stupingi is even better. Hoping to visit myself in September.
Alba is an easy train ride and fun to wander. In autumn it is all about the truffles and it is always focused on wine.
You will love the Piemontese cuisine! We had a delightful, low key, typical meal here https://www.ristorantelaviadelsale.com/ and contrasted that with a higher end more sophisticated dinner here http://www.sottolamole.eu/en.
Posted by
Italy
3812 posts
Turin has 900,000 inhabitants, so you can easily visit the city moving around with buses, the metro and trams. The city center is partially pedestrianised.
You can take a direct train from Turin to Alba and to many other middle sized towns, but visiting the wine country surrounding Alba without a car would be complicate.
Posted by
Fort Myers, FL
1878 posts
Florence and Turin are very different cities. Given your stated enjoyments and the fact you will be in Stresa for a wedding, I would choose Turin over Florence. I think Turin is a very nice city and doesn't get the hype of other Italian cities. Turin is not a small city, so you will have to take some public transportation to find hiking and "serenity". It is easy to transport yourself or walk Turin and an easy train to Stresa or Alba. I also found extremely nice hotels which are very reasonable.
However, if you choose Florence, you will certainly not be disappointed. It is highly cultural and you can train to Stresa in a little over 3 hours.
Another option after staying in Rome is staying in Como, Italy on Lake Como. It is a very enjoyable city with the opportunity for a boat trip on the Lake and the ability to visit other small towns such as Varenna or Bellagio. Enjoy Italy!
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17405 posts
We will be in the area in July to hike in Gran Paradiso National Park, and I am thinking of adding 2 nights in Turin. I would like in particular to visit il Forte di Fenestrelle:
https://www.turismotorino.org/en/forte-di-fenestrelle
There is a bus to get there but it is slow, so we may rent a car for the day and drive from Turin and back.
Posted by
Boston
1793 posts
You'll greatly enjoy Turin. For hiking, across the Po from the center is the Park of the Superga Hill (Parco Naturale della Collina di Superga) atop which is the wonderful Basilica of Superga by the Savoy architect Juvarra. It would make a nice hike (or a bus up / walk back combo). https://www.guidatorino.com/come-arrivare-alla-basilica-di-superga-da-torino-auto-bus-tranvia-e-a-piedi/