wandering in Turin

In the blink of an eye, May is almost gone, as well as the 37th International Book Fair of Turin where 'Lucia of Turinepi' was invited as a guest speaker by Dr Naila Clerici, the Italian expert about the Native Americans, First Nations and Aboriginal People of North America. In 2026 the Turin Book Fair will be on May 14-18.

If you can read and understand Italian, this is the perfect event for you because you'lI find all the Italian publishing houses, including the indie ones, plus tons of guests, presentations, talks and events within the book fair AND many more all around Turin. So, you'll get to hear many authors and will also have the possibility to buy many Italian books, often, those you don't usually find in bookshops.

Photo by Mr B. Menegatti: Dr Naila Clerici, Lucia Hannau and Maura Valleri

The 3rd season of "The Law of Lidia Poët" is currently being filmed around Turin and it will be on Netflix in 2026: if you are planning to visit Turin or moving over, it is a great way to discover our city. All details count: the royal 1800s architecture that looks like it's built in CGI but it is real; the elegant sense for fashion and design - after all the ministry of fashion was based here in Torino AND our wider region of Piedmont is the European cashmere hub!

The weather has been warming up: we are in full asparagus and strawberry season, and cherries have just made it to our tables. Traditionally, our local cherry season is only one month long, up to St John's Day on June 24th.

the garden of Palazzo Cisterna

Finally, you can now also visit the garden of Palazzo Cisterna in Via Carlo Alberto. Palazzo Cisterna is one of our many aristocratic palaces built in 1675 in Baroque style (read decorations). The Palazzo itself is now closed for renovation but its gorgeous 'secret garden' is open! 

This is a real peaceful corner of quiet in the bustling heart of Turin with 200 year old trees that reach the fifth floor of the nearby buildings.

As we often mention in our IG / FB stories, Via Carlo Alberto is one of our 3 luxury shopping streets, one wasn't enough in Turin 😅and it is also one of our many pedestrian streets that connects Via Po - near Piazza Castello, near our 1400s University - to Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, a couple streets to the Porta Nuova train and subway station.

Museo del Risorgimento in Piazza Carlo Alberto

Compared to Via Lagrange and Via Roma, our other 2 luxury shopping streets here in Turin, Via Carlo Alberto is not fully commercial because real people live and work in those historical buildings, yet you can still find many eateries of different kind: restaurants, bistrots, street food, ethnic restaurants, cafés, shops and, in the Piazza Carlo Alberto, right in the final stretch before reaching Via Po: the Biblioteca Nazionale in front of Museo del Risorgimento aka the resurrection of the Italian nation.

In fact, Turin was the very first capital of Italy and the political and intellectual movement that brought to the unification of the Italian kingdom in 1861 started right here in Turin, in our royal cafés.

famous Kirkuk Kaffé in Via Carlo Alberto, Kurdistan cuisine and gallery

When in Turin, do it like the Turinese do: get lost in Turin's many central streets, walk without checking the time, peek through all the courtyards you can find open and enjoy gelato, hot chocolate or a cappuccino whenever your stomach calls for one. There's really no schedule for pleasure in Turin 😎

On google maps you'll see how Palazzo Cisterna has actually a front entrance in Via Maria Vittoria  while you get into its garden from Via Carlo Alberto. Following Via Maria Vittoria you'll see many interesting shops - fashion, forniture, art galleries and more - leading you to Piazza Carlina where you can board the restautram or eat in one of the many restaurants, bars, tapas / aperitif places before resuming your stroll ending up to the river banks. 

the bridge leading to the Gran Madre church

Right here, by the Po River aka the Mississippi of Italy, you can see the hills surrounding Turin with their churches and our very Parisian-like bridges. And yes, this is the beginning of more waderings for the days to come. 

For instance, you can go to the right, and walk along the river till Parco Valentino or even up to the Automobile Museum - and you can come back by subway; or you can go to the left up to Piazza Vittorio, cross the bridge and then walk up to the Queen's Villa. If you can read Italian, you'll enjoy our Italian short story about the Devil vacationing in Turin.

Walking around is the best way to get to know a city, its rhythms, organization, lifestyle, vibes and in Turin, this is truer than ever: wherever you end up, you'll love it! 

As you get a sense of how to easily move around through the grid of our streets, you'll realize how Turin is unique: we have virtually only high quality restaurants, beautiful museums, great designer shops and stores, and the nightlife areas are spread out over different hoods that have enough to see and visit during the day too!

take advantage of Turin's pedestrian streets

This is why we always recommend you to spend 5-7 days in Turin - because yes, you will have enough to do, see, eat and drink! 

If you are considering a move over here and maybe even buying real estate, do your homework: learn Italian, its culture and get acquainted with Turin's different hoods, so that you'll make an informed choice based on your personal needs.

waiting for the restautram

📧Email Lucia: turinepi@gmail.com 

to book your private tours, tastigs, private classes, relocation services and more!

 

Turin will amaze you, amici 😍