Before we could visit our family in Italy we had several days free in the end of September 2019. Initially we planned to spend them in Florence, but the weather changed our plans. We picked the only sunny place for those days, which happened to be Turin. We have no regrets!
Road to Turin
To get to Turin we took a train to Milan and then a FlixBus to Turin. In general the trip was ok. However at the bus station in Milan we couldn’t find our bus for quite a long time.
Organization of information there was not clear. There was a table of arrivals and departures, but it did not work. Luckily we didn’t miss our bus. It just was a bit late.
The travel through Italy was amazing! We saw mountains on the way.
The bus arrived to a station in Turin that had no signs of being a bus station. Good we knew its location when we moved to our next location.
Our apartment in Turin
To get to our apartment we took metro. It was quite simple to understand which stations we needed. The trains in metro are automatic, so they have no drivers.
Places at the very beginning of the train are reserved for kids. If there are none you can use the chance and feel like a train driver.
Our host was supposed to come by a certain time to give us the keys. She didn’t. We had no network in Turin, so no Internet. After a while of waiting Martin asked for WiFi password at some store and we finally reached out our host.
The apartment was in a quiet part of the city. We reserved it on Booking.com, it was the only time we used the service. I must admit we did not read carefully the apartment’s description, so we were a bit surprised.
First of all, the studio was tiny. Super small. The sink that is supposed to be in the kitchen was on the balcony. Go figure. The kitchen was right in front of the bed. It was inconvenient, so we only made tea for breakfast with cookies.
Inside the apartment there was some very strong chemical smell. We couldn’t find the source, so it was there the whole time. The bathroom was inconvenient too.
The apartment was on the ground floor, and the only window it had had a “nice” view on the garbage bins right in front of it.
Don’t be like us: always pay attention to apartment descriptions
The final touch of this inconvenience was that there was no Internet. Yes, it was our fault that we haven’t read the description, but it was surprising anyway.
We planned to work quite a lot during those several days, but we couldn’t. In the end we solved it by buying a sim-card of Iliad network, it served us well until the very end of our long journey through Europe.
However, the good things were location of the apartment and the most comfortable bed in the whole trip. The best sleep we’ve had in our journey!
Parks of Turin, Italy
In Turin we’ve been to two parks. My favorite is the first one.
Parco del Valentino
We lived close to Parco del Valentino. It lies on the bank of the Po river. The park is spacious, nicely made and very green. It is full of squirrels who do not hesitate to come close to you and see what you brought for them 😀
The Park of Valentino has fountains, great landscape design, beautiful architecture and even horses.
We enjoyed a lot walking through it.
Giardini Reali di Torino
We came to Piazza Castello to see it during the day. It is a very spacious place.
The Palace at the square is one of the most popular places to visit. Entrance to the Royal Park is next to the palace.
This park seemed smaller than the other one. It was still nice, though, but I liked the Valentino park more.
Mole Antonelliana
La Mole is one of the most recognizable symbols of Turin. Originally it was built as a synagogue, but ended up as a National Museum of Cinema.
The construction of La Mole was started back in 1863, when Turin was the capital of Italy. The building had to correspond with the status of the capital. It is one of the highest buildings in Europe (168 m).
Best view on the city
The best view to the city is just across the river. It is called Piazzale Panoramico Monte Dei Cappuccini.
From there you can see the whole city and the mountains if you are lucky. We were not, the mountains were hidden behind clouds. However, the view was still great.
General impression of Turin
The city is very spacious. This is the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of it. It has magnificent architecture, beautiful parks, nice river sides.
Turin is also a calm city. We have spent two beautiful days enjoying the colors of Autumn and yet a lot of sun.
I’m sure there is still a lot to see, and I hope we will come back there one day.