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Turin: What It Is and What It Offers
Turin (Torino, population 850,000) occupies a specific position in Italian cultural geography that is unlike any other Italian city: it is simultaneously the most French-influenced (the Savoy dynasty, which unified Italy, was originally French-speaking, and Piedmontese dialect is halfway to Occitan), the most industrially powerful (FIAT, Olivetti, Lancia, the Italian automobile industry was created here), and the most politically significant city in modern Italian history, the first capital of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1865) before the capital was moved to Florence (1865) and then to Rome (1871).
The specific Turin aesthetic: the arcaded streets (portici) that run for 18km through the city center, the longest continuous arcaded street system in Europe, were built to allow the Savoy court to promenade in any weather. The city grid is Roman (the Roman camp Castra Taurinorum underlies the current street pattern), the superstructure is baroque (17th–18th century Savoy palace building, the Palazzo Reale, the Palazzo Madama, the Palazzo Carignano), and the industrial overlay is 20th century. The combination is disorienting and extraordinary.
Milan: What It Is and What It Offers
Milan (Milano, population 1.4 million) is Italy's largest city by economic output, the financial capital, the fashion industry hub, the publishing center, and the city where Italy's European identity is most fully expressed. It's a working city in a way that Rome and Florence, both primarily tourism and administrative economies, are not. The streets of the Porta Nuova financial district, the fashion week crowds in the Quadrilatero della Moda, the morning Metro commuter density. Milan operates at a pace and scale unlike any other Italian city.
The specific Milan cultural offer: The Last Supper (Leonardo da Vinci, 1495–1498, refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Via Caradosso 1, book months ahead, 15-minute timed entry, €15 plus €3 booking fee, the most controlled viewing experience in Italian art tourism). The Duomo (the most dramatic Gothic cathedral exterior in Italy. 135 spires, 3,500 marble statues, and the rooftop walkway with close-up views of the sculpture, €15 for rooftop access). La Scala (the world's most prestigious opera house, see the La Scala guide for tickets, museum access, and the November jazz festival). The Pinacoteca di Brera (Via Brera 28, €15, the finest painting collection in Milan, including Raphael's Sposalizio della Vergine and Mantegna's Cristo Morto).
Turin vs Milan: The Practical Comparison
The key differences for a visitor making a choice:
Food culture: Turin's food tradition is Piedmontese, the most refined Italian regional cuisine, with the white truffle (October–December), the Barolo and Barbaresco wines, the specific cold antipasto (starter course) tradition (vitello tonnato, insalata russa, carne cruda), and the bicerin (Turin's layered coffee and chocolate drink, since 1763). Milan's food tradition is mixed, the city has absorbed immigrants from across Italy, producing a varied restaurant landscape that is less regionally specific but enormously varied. The specific Milanese dishes (risotto alla milanese with saffron, the costoletta milanese, ossobuco) are extraordinary but the city's best restaurants often specialise in other Italian regional traditions or international cuisine. Pace: Milan is faster, more commercial, more international. Turin is slower, more elegant, more specifically Piedmontese in character. Cost: Turin accommodation and restaurants are 20–30% cheaper than Milan equivalents. Art: Both have excellent collections. Milan's Last Supper is the single most important work in either city. Turin's Egyptian Museum (Museo Egizio, the most important Egyptian collection outside Cairo) is Turin's equivalent, and more accessible (no months-ahead booking required).
Turin and Milan: Three-Day Combined Itinerary
From Milan Malpensa airport, covering both cities efficientlyDay 1 (Milan): Arrive Malpensa, Metro to city center. Afternoon: Duomo rooftop (book online, €15), Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Evening: aperitivo (pre-dinner drink with snacks) in Porta Venezia or Navigli, dinner at a Milanese trattoria (informal family-run restaurant).
Day 2 (Milan): Morning: The Last Supper (pre-booked), then Santa Maria delle Grazie church. Afternoon: Brera gallery (€15) or the ADI Design Museum (€10, for design history enthusiasts). Evening: Quadrilatero della Moda window shopping or La Scala concert (if scheduled).
Day 3 (Turin): Morning train Milan Porta Garibaldi to Turin Porta Nuova (1 hour, €14–22). Turin day: Museo Egizio (Egyptian collection, €18, allow 2.5 hours), afternoon walk through the arcaded city center (Via Po, Piazza Castello), aperitivo at Caffè Al Bicerin (Via Consolata, the original bicerin café, since 1763). Evening train back to Milan (€14–22) for airport connection.
Is Turin or Milan better to visit?
Turin and Milan serve different visitor profiles. Milan is better for: the Last Supper (Leonardo da Vinci, the most important single artwork in Italy accessible to the public), La Scala opera, the fashion industry context, and the scale and international energy of Italy's financial capital. Turin is better for: the Museo Egizio (the most important Egyptian collection in Europe outside London and Paris, better than any Egyptian collection in Italy), the Savoy palace culture (the most complete royal palace complex in Italy. Palazzo Reale, Venaria Reale outside the city), the Piedmontese food tradition, the bicerin, and the most French-influenced Italian city experience. For a 3-day northern Italy visit: both. For one city: Milan for the Last Supper. Turin for everything else.
What is Turin famous for?
Turin is famous for: the Shroud of Turin (the medieval linen cloth bearing a figure corresponding to Christ's burial shroud, kept in Turin Cathedral, not normally on public display but a photographic reproduction is visible in the chapel). The Museo Egizio (the most important Egyptian archaeological collection in Europe outside London and Paris, €18). The FIAT automobile industry (the Lingotto factory with the test track on the roof, now a shopping and conference complex, and the Automobile Museum). The Juventus football club. The Savoy royal palaces. The bicerin (the layered coffee, chocolate, and cream drink invented at Caffè Al Bicerin in 1763). And the white truffle from Alba (October–December, the most expensive food ingredient in the world).
How far is Turin from Milan?
Turin and Milan are 140km apart. 1 hour by Frecciarossa high-speed train (€14–35 depending on booking time and class) or by regional train (1.5–2 hours, €12–15). Direct trains run every 30 minutes during the day from Milano Porta Garibaldi to Torino Porta Nuova. By car: 1.5 hours via the A4 motorway. Turin and Milan are efficiently combined in a 3-day northern Italy itinerary. 2 days in Milan, day trip to Turin on day 3 (or vice versa). The A6 motorway also connects Turin to Genova (2 hours) for a Piedmont-Liguria combination.
Turin's Savoy Royal Legacy
The House of Savoy (Casa Savoia) ruled Piedmont from the 11th century, unified Italy in 1861 under Victor Emmanuel II, and reigned as kings of Italy until the 1946 referendum (51.8% to 48.2%) abolished the monarchy. The Savoy legacy in Turin is everywhere: the Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace, Piazzetta Reale, €15), the Palazzo Madama (the medieval fortress converted to a baroque palace, now the Museum of Ancient Art, Piazza Castello), the Palazzo Carignano (where Charles Albert signed the Statute and where the first Italian parliament met, now the Museum of Italian Risorgimento), and the Reggia di Venaria Reale (the most elaborate Savoy palace complex, 25km from Turin, the Italian Versailles, €20, book via lavenaria.it). The Savoy collection of art, furniture, and military objects distributed across these buildings is one of the finest royal collections in Europe, less internationally known than Versailles or Schönbrunn, and significantly less crowded. Related: Milan travel guide, Northern Italy guide.
Plan Your Turin and Milan Visit
Last Supper booking, Museo Egizio Turin, Savoy palace circuit, and the Piedmontese food tour from Alba white truffle to Barolo.
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