Getting There

By Plane -- Domestic and international flights land at the Caselle International Airport (tel. 011-567-6361), 16km (8 3/4 miles) north of Turin. Buses run between the airport and the city's main train stations, Porta Nuova and Porta Susa. The trip takes about 40 minutes. A taxi from the airport takes about 30 minutes and costs around 35€ ($46).

By Train -- Turin's main train station is Stazione di Porta Nuova, just south of the center on Piazza Carlo Felice, which marks the intersection of Turin's two major thoroughfares, Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Via Roma. From this station, there are two dozen trains a day to and from Milan -- the trip takes 1 3/4 hours each way (a few trains to and from Milan also stop at Turin's other station, Stazione di Porta Susa); 16 trains a day to and from Venice, 4 1/2 to 5 hours; 20 trains a day to and from Genoa, 2 hours; 20 trains a day to and from Rome, 6 to 7 hours. Stazione di Porta Susa, west of the center on Piazza XVIII Dicembre, connects Turin with many outlying Piedmont towns; it is also the terminus for TGV service to and from Paris, with three trains a day making the trip in about 6 hours.

By Bus -- Turin's main bus terminal is Autostazione Terminal Bus, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 131 (near Stazione di Porta Susa). The ticket office is open daily from 6:30am to 1pm and 2 to 7pm. Buses connect Turin and Courmayeur (4 hr.), Aosta (3 hr.), Milan (3 hr.), Chamonix (3 1/2 hr.), and many smaller towns in Piedmont.

By Car -- Turin is at the hub of an extensive network of autostradas. A4 connects Turin with Milan, a little over an hour away; A6 connects Turin with the Ligurian coast (and from there, with Genoa via A10, with a total travel time between the two cities of about 1 1/2 hr.); A5 connects Turin with Aosta, about an hour away; and A21 connects Turin with Asti and Piacenza, where you can connect with the A1 for Florence (about 3 1/2 hr. from Turin) and Rome (about 6 1/2 hr. from Turin).

Visitor Information

Tourist offices are at Piazza Solferino (tel. 011-535-181; fax 011-530-070) and are open daily from 9am to 7pm. There's also an office in the airport, open daily from 8am to 11pm. If you're coming to Turin on the weekend, check in with the tourist office's website, as you may be able to take advantage of a "Torino Weekend" deal, which offers 2 nights in a nice hotel room plus two Torino+Piemonte Cards , often for as low as 59€ ($77) per person.

Getting Around

It's easy to get around central Turin by foot. There's also a vast network of GTT trams and buses (tel. 800-019-152 in Italy, or 011-57-641). Tickets on public transportation are available at newsstands for 1€ ($1.30) and are valid for 70 minutes. With the Torino+Piemonte Card, you can ride the city's public transportation for free for 48 hours. Longer periods are available as well.

City Layout -- You will get a sense of Turin's refined air as soon as you step off the train into the mannerly 19th-century Stazione di Porta Nuova. The stately arcaded Via Roma, lined with shops and cafes, proceeds from the front of the station through a series of piazzas toward the Piazza Castello and the center of the city, about a 15-minute walk.

Directly in front of the station, the circular Piazza Carlo Felice is built around a garden surrounded by outdoor cafes that invite even business-minded Torinese to linger. Walking farther along the street will lead you into the Piazza San Carlo, which is flanked by the twin churches of San Carlo and Santa Christina. At the end of Via Roma, the Piazza Castello is dominated by the Palazzo Madama, so named for its 17th-century inhabitant Marie Christine. Just off the piazza is the Palazzo Reale, residence of the Savoys from 1646 to 1865, whose gardens now provide a pleasant respite from traffic and paving stones.

From here, a walk east toward the river along Via Po takes you through Turin's university district to one of Italy's largest squares, the much-elongated Piazza Vittorio Veneto and, at the end of this elegant expanse, the Po River.