
We’ve compiled this guide of things to do in Turin on a small budget for shoestring travellers looking to enjoy the best of the Italian city. Turin‘s historic centre is very easy to explore on foot, so you can explore its ornate Baroque architecture and grand piazzas.
The city has around 18 km of covered walkways, along with elegant arcades housing cafes and boutiques. You can also explore historic buildings dating back to the 15th century, many of which are free to enter – proofs that holidays in Turin don’t have to be expensive.
A UNESCO World Heritage site with charming codices and gorgeous designs
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The Royal Library of Turin was founded by Carlo Alberto in 1831 to expand his book collection, which comprised volumes from antique dealers across Europe. You can find it on the ground floor of the Royal Palace of Turin.
Along with over 200,000 titles, the library contains drawings by famous artists from the 15th to 17th centuries, including Raphael, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, and da Vinci. The Royal Library of Turin is part of the Musei Reali (Royal Museums) complex, which requires an entry fee. However, you can peruse the reading room for free – its decorated vaults are lined with elegant wooden shelves.
地址: Piazza Castello, 191, 10122 Torino TO, Italy
开放时间 Monday–Friday from 8.15 am to 6.45 pm, Saturday from 8.15 am to 1.45 pm(closed on Sundays)
电话: +39 011 1921 1630

Royal Library of Turin
An iconic place surrounded by mystery and legends
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The Devil’s Door (Portone del Diavolo) is a mysterious landmark dating back to 1850. Located on Via XX Settembre in Turin, it’s a beautiful door with carvings of flowers and animals, with a knocker that depicts a demon with 2 snakes in its jaws.
This sparked popular imagination and inspired myths and legends, from a ghost who supposedly haunts the building to skeletons hidden in the walls. The Devil’s Door is part of a building that served as a tarots factory (it’s now Banca Nazionale del Lavoro).
地址: Via Vittorio Alfieri, 5, 10121 Torino TO, Italy

Devil’s Door
A 19th-century industrial village in Collegno
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Villaggio Leumann is a historic neighbourhood in Collegno, about 16 km east of Turin. It’s a great place to step back in time, as the village has Liberty-style architecture, a vintage train station, and a church with different architectural styles.
Villaggio Leumann was built between the late 19th and early 20th centuries by a Swiss entrepreneur, Napoleon Leumann. The picturesque buildings are still inhabited, so it feels you’re inside a living museum.
地址: Villaggio Leumann, 10093 Collegno, Italy

Villaggio Leumann
A bizarre building by Alessandro Antonelli
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Fetta di Polenta is a yellow and triangular structure in Turin’s Vanchiglia district. Formally known as Casa Scaccabarozzi, it’s the work of Alessandro Antonelli, who also designed the Mole Antonelliana in the 1860s.
You can easily spot Fetta di Polenta, thanks to its incredibly narrow shape – the front is over 5 metres wide, but the back is just 54 cm wide. For years it was occupied by Antonelli and his wife Francesca Scaccabarozzi, which gave the building its official name.
地址: Via Giulia di Barolo, 9, 10124 Torino TO, Italy

Fetta di Polenta
A popular meeting point in Turin
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Fontana Angelica (Angelic Fountain) is a historic monument and meeting point on the northern edge of Piazza Solferino. It was built in 1929 to honour the will of the minister Bajnotti, who left 150,000 lira to construct a monument to his parents. Art lovers can admire Giovanni Riva’s beautiful sculptures, which represent the 4 seasons.
Those interested in Masonic symbolism can appreciate the figures’ obscurer significance. The females represent the virtue and vice of love, while the males guard the Pillars of Hercules, watching over the way to knowledge, depicted by the water flowing from their wineskins. From a certain distance, you’ll notice the sculptures form a perfect rectangle.
地址: Piazza Solferino, 10121 Torino TO, Italy

Fontana Angelica
A Catholic church containing the famous Perpetual Calendar
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Cappella dei Mercanti dates back to the 16th century, displaying many artworks and artefacts from the 17th and 18th centuries. This baroque masterpiece was built for a congregation that worked in finance and commerce.
It contains 11 frescoes of the Nativity and the Epiphany, which date back to the 1700s, as well as a wooden organ in its marble altar. Cappella dei Mercanti is most famous for housing Giovanni Plana’s Perpetual Calendar, one of the world’s oldest calculator machines. It calculates the exact time for 4,000 years, starting from year 0.