An Easy Day Trip: Torino

There is a certain art to the “day trip.” The simplest definition is when one visits a place and returns in the same day. But a definition that is more true to life is this: the process of attempting to cram every location, attraction, restaurant, museum, and type of food into the span of 8 or so hours. It can become an exhausting, tedious thing. However, if you plan well, it can be a trip well worth it –and often one that helps you save some money for some longer trips!

            Northern Italy has so many amazing places to visit that are easily accessible by train from Milan. Often, these are local or regional trains that sell tickets for as low as 7 or 9 euros…an amazing deal and opportunity to explore a new city or town without emptying your whole wallet or dealing with the hassle of an airport!

            The first trip upon which I embarked after arriving in Milan was a day trip to…(drumroll, please!)…Torino aka Turin! Torino is an important city in northern Italy and is the capital of the Piemonte region. This region is surrounded on three sides by the Alps and Torino itself is situated along the river Po, providing really beautiful views at sunset! It takes about an hour to arrive to the city from Milan and there are train tickets for around 13 euro each way.

            Torino is well known in Italy for many things: firstly, and perhaps most importantly to many Italians, it is home to the very skilled soccer team Juventus (which is arguably the best team in Italy!). Torino is also a type of industrial center and home to much of the automobile industry, including FIAT. And, much to my delight, Torino is famous for its chocolate!

            In general, it is a very beautiful Baroque-style city, and I think it was a good choice for easing myself into traveling! Almost upon leaving the train station, you’ll hit Piazza San Carlo, which has some very old cafes. The city also has two palaces, one of which is called Palazzo Madama that housed the first Senate of the Kingdom of Italy. It was very impressive and majestic and also had a nice garden. Another very cool place that is unique to Torino is its Egyptian Museum, which has one of the largest collections of Egyptian artifacts outside of Egypt! And of course, this day trip ended with a relaxing stroll at sunset along the river Po before hopping back onto the train back to Milan. It’s definitely worth it to master the art of the day trip when you’re studying in Milan….the options are endless for places to go and clearly worth it!