How to spend 12 hours in Turin

After spending Christmas with my family in the UK, I headed back to Bari. Instead of getting a direct flight, I decided to stop over in Turin for a day or two. The capital city of Piedmont, Turin is known for its architecture, grand squares, The Holy Shroud and The Italian Job. And, I couldn’t wait to set my eyes on them all.

 Getting there

From Birmingham, I took a flight to Turin Airport. A single tickets, with a checked bag, cost me around £50. 

When I touched down in northern Italy, I jumped on a bus transfer from the airport into the city, so I could dump my bag. While it might be tempting to hop in a taxi from the airport, I’ve always found public transport links from Italian airports easy to navigate.

Things to do

The Holy Shroud

Turin has a host of activities to keep every tourist entertained. During the winter, travellers flock to Piedmont for skiing, snowboarding and other winter sports. However, I opted for my own kind of adrenaline rush.

Arguably, one of Turin’s most famous attractions, The Holy Shroud was top of my tourist list. For those of you that don’t know, The Holy Shroud is a piece of linen cloth that bares the image of a man. Many people believe this to be Jesus at the time of the crucifixion.

On my visit, a replica was located in the Royal church of St. John the Baptist. However, this isn’t always the case, so do your research.

NB: The real Holy Shroud is locked away in a vault away from tourists prying eye.

The Egyptian Museum of Turin

The largest Egyptian museum outside of Cairo, this museum houses a large collection of relics and artefacts. Situated on Via Accademia delle Scienze, it’s a stone’s throw from Piazza San Carlo. It’s well-trodden tourist path, but that doesn’t make it any less interesting.

Entry to the museum costs seven euros but you’ll be wandering around the exhibits for hours.

Eating and drinking

Like with the rest of Italy, the cuisine is tantalisingly good. You can opt for the obvious and indulge in some dreamy pasta (Agnolotti) and indulgent pizza, but there are a few local delicacies you should aim to eat. These include: Truffles, Fritto Misto and Bagna Cauda. As for something sweet, you’ll never be sort of some chocolate to sink your teeth into.

Other things to do

My time in Turin was short-lived, but here’s what I’d do if I headed there again:

• Explore the underground tunnels
• The National Cinema museum
• Basilica di Superga