'No, sorry, we haven't got a Turin guidebook'.
So said the chap at Waterstones Piccadilly.
'What about Stanfords?' (Specialist travel bookshop in Covent Garden, for those unfamiliar).
'Sorry, no, not them either' (said as though he had been asked this question a few times).
So why would Turin be a tourist destination? Answer: it has a lot going for it, and because it is not prime tourist territory air fares (in a normal world) are reasonable, flight time is 1 hour 20 minutes, and hotel prices are competitive. What's not to like?
'Things to do'
There may not be guidebooks, but there is a good Tourist Information office, and anyway these days we do so much on the internet. Below are my selections.
Centrepiece is the principal piazza. Reale (as in Royal), leads to the Royal Palace, effectively a series of connected museums, and you end up in the pleasant Giardini Reali.
Next door to the Palace, but only accessible from within it, is a superbly preserved Roman amphitheatre. Outside this and in the public domain, is the Roman settlement - Quadrilataro Romano - more of a walk through, but if you walk through you reach the Porto Palazzo. This is billed as Europe's largest open air market, with highpoint being the Saturday flea and antiques market. We duly did Saturday, but to be honest it was totally overwhelming for this non-market fanatic.
For those who might wonder what an Egyptian museum is doing in Turin, shelve your prejudices and visit the city's offering, one of the largest outside Cairo, and beautifully lit and arranged. School trips abound, and the impressive thing was groups of kids hanging on to every word from the presenting curators - class.
Looming above the City and just outside it is the Basilica Superga - if enquiring about it locally try to put the accent on the second syllable or otherwise it will sound like something from a Marvel comic. The church is lovely, but the fun bit is reaching it. Buses get you to the foot of the hill (see below on ease of transport) and then you can take a funicular to the top. Latter runs around once an hour, so check timetables.
After the general stuff (how unkind to stereotype it so), is there a standout special? I say yes, as long as you are not so 'green' that the sight of 200 vehicles together requires you to enter counselling. The National Automobile Museum has everything from horse-drawn carriages to futuristic models, and if you are a serious petrol head there is a whole gallery devoted to engines - be still my beating heart. This place is more than just a car museum - effectively it's a story of transportation history and Italy's industrial culture...
...but that is not the highlight - this sits 15 minutes walk away in, or rather on top of, the former Fiat Lingotto factory. And on that roof is a test track, complete with banked corners a la Brooklands that are enough to make a fertile imagination explode nightmarishly over the risk of a car going 'over the top'. You can take a walk round it, and the harshness is softened by art installations and street art. Perched on stilts above it is a random small building containing part of the Agnelli art collection. It would grace any city exhibition, and gently reminds us of the family's historic wealth.
Transport
The centre is pretty walkable, and great news - UK cards appear to work on the buses. Uber operates also.
Eating out
It is perhaps disloyal to the cultural riches of Turin to treat eating out as a highlight, but this place has a first-rate selection of restaurants without needing to proffer an arm or leg to a Michelin star establishment. Massive generalisation, but in Northern Italy outside coastal areas one can be driven towards meat, but here there is a super balance of meat, fish and seafood. Local wine is decent, and reasonably priced.
Small insight: VAT at 10% for hospitality, not our 20% - same in France and Spain. Looks like the Europeans have not learnt from our Government that the point of running a restaurant and providing at least basic starter employment for a host of youngsters is masochistically to be hit with all-round taxes that render it difficult to make a modest profit. End of rant.
Where to stay
I don't normally recommend a hotel, but Turin does not have a great range, and the one we stayed at ticks the boxes. The NH Collection in Piazza Carlina appears corporate, and is so, but somehow manages to cope well with tourist travellers, and is in a great location.
And finally
There was a bonus to staying in Piazza Carlina. On the other side of it are a series of bars, each with a smallish inside area and a large outside area: cafe society, way before the Brits discovered global warming and maintained their post-Covid external tables forced on to pavements where there was no other convenient space and when weather allows. Here, as in many European cities, there are squares aplenty, and thus no problem.
Add the ingredient of Turin being a University city, and you have a bar mob, but a delightful bar mob, intent on chat and laughter, and eschewing oblivion pints and competitive inebriation. Would a 'senior couple' be welcome for their post-supper digestivo? 100%, and we felt very comfortable.
We loved Turin, and if you have not tried it why not give it a go?
The author is a writer, speaker, historian, occasional tour guide, and former Managing Partner of a City law firm