Leeds to Turin - 4 nights in Winter
Itinerary At A Glance
4 night independent itinerary for Turin, Piedmont, in Northern Italy
Based on flying from Leeds in December
Highlights include a visit to the Museo del Auto (MAUTO) and the rooftop Lingotto race track in the former Fiat factory, a marvellous deluxe food tour and some tasty sweet treats
Based on a couple travelling, with a focus on leisurely cultural activities, interspersed with time to just relax and soak up the atmosphere
Honest verdict
Did I enjoy the holiday? Does the place live up to expectations?
Truthfully, I got a middling kind of enjoyment out of this holiday. Some of my enjoyment was dampened by Covid rules - Omicron swooped in just before we left adding quite a bit extra testing stress. Once there, everyone everywhere was wearing masks, even outside, which made for a sort of dystopian, walled-off, disconnected feeling to the city for me. Then there was the tedium of having to show your Covid pass everywhere - not into that. Plus the whole city just kind of felt subdued………..just not quite enough atmosphere which I think stemmed from both Covid stuff and the cold winter weather.
I feel the online imagery paints a picture of a properly grand and regal city which is only really true of the very very centre and even then, just a few blocks. The lovely parts are very wide and long, almost boulevard-type streets, with large ornate buildings and piazzas with the most improbable view of the snow-capped alps at the end of the street - they look close enough to walk right up to them. Beyond this though, it just felt like any city - not particularly beautiful, nor original, nor atmospheric. Parts of it were also very ugly; I have never been in any city with as many graffiti-marred buildings as there were in Turin.
Would I make another visit?
Now that I have been, I don’t think I would go back.
Did the itinerary work for the trip?
We had a pleasant few days but if asked, my advice would probably be to make Turin a 1-night 2-day stop-off on a longer trip or even a day trip from a stay in the Italian Lakes.
Itinerary Details
WHEN
December
Expect cold weather
TRAVEL MEANS
KLM from Leeds, with a hop in Amsterdam.
Very easy, with excellent layover times that weren’t too long.
ACCOMMODATION
A beautiful beautiful place, with original painted ceilings from the 1800s and a deliciously reassuring eclectic vibe. It was warm and cosy with all the mod-cons. Recommended.
FOOD
Had coffee and chocolates at Mara Dei Boschi - just on the outskirts of the city centre proper and we got lucky enough with a cold afternoon warmed up with a sunny sky while seated at their outdoor tables
Bought Roman-style pizza from Tellia which was FANTASTIC! Roman pizza is like foccacia that is baked first, then toppings added before another brief bake - it is very different from the round Neapolitan style pizza we are used to
Went to Pfatisch, a traditional pasticceria just outside the city centre. Highly recommended for traditional miniature pastries with coffee at the bar. I particularly loved the bombolone alla crema
Ate at Michelin-starred Magorabin. This was high-end seven-course tasting menu, with very very attentive and knowledgeable service…….. but I wasn’t bowled over by this. The dining room lacked atmosphere, not helped by covid rules and the food felt a bit too try-hard
ACTIVITIES
Visited the Automobile Museum
Took a Deluxe Street Food Tour of Turin - this was excellent, the highlight of our trip
Went to the Pinacoteca Agnelli, specifically to gain entry to the famous rooftop Lingotto test track - not, bad but not great. We could not walk the length of the test track - blocked off presumably due to some stupid covid rules - so were constrained to just stepping out onto it then back in again
Wandered around Turin itself
Lessons Learnt
I have realised that our city break in Tallinn (which was also in early December) lulled me into thinking that I love the winter, and I love cities in the winter - this is not true - I loved Tallinn specifically. Turin, by comparison, didn’t live up to the utter cosiness of the Estonian capital.
Refinement is making me realise that city breaks don’t hold the same charm for me as they once did. I have had some absolutely knock-out city breaks in the past, but after having enjoyed several, I am feeling like any city offers basically the same thing as the next so I am less enthralled by the museums, food tours, shows and restaurants as they are starting to feel familiar. I also think the pandemic has put paid to much of the energy and vibe one might enjoy in the city so my thought is that I should leave them alone for a while and make cities either a day trip destination or a one-night stop-off.
Sewing & Wearing
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