Turin: Look No Further (Literally)

Looking towards the alps from Giancarlo’s (Airbnb).

I think a break from blogging every day was a good idea. Turin was been a great 3-day stopover as I make my way towards the most anticipated part of my trip: The Cinque Terre…

Today (October 7) has been the first sunny day where I can see the alps from the apartment. I snapped about 1/2 of my pics from Turin within this apartment.

Giancarlo’s second balcony, with the Museum of Cinema right in the middle. I have fantastic pictures from my camera as well.

When I first arrived, I was lost. I did not write down the good instructions that my host, Giancarlo, had sent to me. Instead of taking 25 minutes to walk from Porto Nuovo station, it took me over an hour. This was the first time I felt the weight of my clothes and regretted packing so much. Thankfully, a cab driver pointed me to the right street and it has been smooth ever since.

My host gave me all the good spots to visit, and yesterday I spent around 7 hours walking the town. Turin is way easier to get points of reference when compared to milan. It’s easy to correct a bad step.

Today, I spend a lot of time strolling the streets. At no point in these three nights have I felt the need to purchase any public transport. Turin is very walkable and I enjoyed doing so.

Museum of the Mountain from across the river

The highlights of my stay were abundant. I really enjoyed walking along the Po river parks. Here, you can get great shots of the Museum of the Mountain (a solid walk up to that in 20 degree weather), and looking back at the heart of the city as well:

View of city from Museum of the Mountain

I enjoyed walking through the markets at Piazza de Repulica every morning as hundreds of people bartered for food. I enjoyed the Museum of Cinema, where I wasted 3 hours learning about technology and cinema.

Most of all, I enjoyed being relaxed. Even though I’d consider Turin to be more gritty/blue collar, Turin is worth the stop. In fact, outside of the Duomo in Milan, Turin is the better city.

I urge all to look past the sometimes gritty sides of Turin, past the graffiti on the walls, and you will be rewarded with great walks, interesting museums, nice shopkeepers (who pull you into their place for pasta), and some of the best views Europe has to offer.

Let Turin be your gateway to/from France, and take a day or two to walk this beutiful and safe city!

I’ll write about all the spots I visited when I get home

Ciao!

Thanks for reading,

Colin

Categories: Current: Europe 2015

Tagged as: Backpacking, Europe, Italy, Travel, Turin