Turin
Turin (Italian: Torino), a large city of about one million inhabitants, is set in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, a one-hour drive from the French border and slightly more than that from the Mediterranean sea.
Turin was the first capital of modern Italy, and was the host of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games. While it's not a famous cultural city like Florence or Rome, the setting is pleasant, with the Po River flowing through the city, the genteel hills overlooking the city and scattered with pleasant villas and the Italian Alps off in the distance.
Turin is an important city of technology and industry, and the FIAT automobile company is based here. (The 'T' in the name stands for Torino).
Turin inhabitants are well known across Italy for their understatement and confidentiality and the city reflects this attitude.
Somebody says it's the European capital of Baroque: many palaces and churches were built in this style during the kingdom of the Savoia. It isn't the typical Italian city, with red and yellow buildings: is a bit more French; wide boulevards with white buildings make the city centre more similar to Paris.
Turin is trying to attract more tourists, and so there are many events that worth a visit.
Turin's modern international airport is placed 15 km north of the city and is named after Italy's former President Sandro Pertini. It is located in the town of Caselle, connected to Turin city by a convenient motorway. The main carrier is Alitalia, Italy's flagship airline, which operates flight from every major European and Italian city. Caselle is also a destination for some low fares airlines, for example Ryanair. The airport is connected to the city by bus and taxis.
Turin is also easily reached from Malpensa airport, which may be cheaper to fly to. There is a bus service running several times daily between the city and the airport [2]. The ride lasts 2 hours and costs 18 Euros (as of April 13th, 2007).
Turin has two main railway stations, Porta Nuova and Porta Susa. There also a smaller station near Lingotto area.
Generally speaking, Porta Nuova is a station dedicated to mid-range and long-range trains. Porta Susa serves some local trains, but the trains for Milan - leaving from Porta Nuova - also transit there. You'd better check in advance where you need to go. Many trains also stops in both stations.
Both stations are managed by Trenitalia, the Italian state railways.
Turin has an efficient system of city connections with buses and trams managed by GTT [3]. Currently, the first driverless, ultra-modern underground line was opened for the Olympics in 2006. Both urban and suburban areas are served by an efficient network. Buses and trams cross the city from morning to late at night.
The City of Turin has recently completed a network of bicycle paths throughout the city. However, a lot still has to be done, and cycling outside the paths (and sometimes even on them) can be quite tricky.
Car Rentals If you would like to rent a car, you can find all the main car hire companies at Turin Airport. Car rentals companies are grouped together immediately in front of the Domestic Arrivals, Ground Floor-Level Zero.
Taxis in Torino start the meter the moment your call is received. It is not customary to hail a taxi on the street.
Turin's main attractions include important baroque palaces and churches, a regular and attractive street grid, an extensive network of arcades, famous coffeeshops and a number of world-renowned museums.
