Turin

Turin is done in two or three days, almost entirely on foot, from Piazza Castello, where a royal palace and an old castle stand side by side, to the Superga hill on the far side of the Po. The city was the first capital of unified Italy, from 1861 to 1865, before Florence and Rome, and today holds the world's second most important Egyptian collection after Cairo.

The walk starts at Piazza Castello, the city's centre since Roman times. On it stands Palazzo Madama, which began as a Roman city gate, became a castle of the House of Acaja in the Middle Ages, and gained a Baroque façade by Filippo Juvarra in the 18th century — today a museum of ancient art, €10, closed Tuesday. Across the square are the Musei Reali, the official residence of the House of Savoy for two centuries and part of the UNESCO list since 1997, with an armoury, a library and a staircase also signed by Juvarra. Entry €15, closed Wednesday.

A few minutes south of the square stands the Egyptian Museum, founded in 1824 by decree of King Charles Felix and today the world's second most important such collection after Cairo, with over 40,000 objects including the tomb of Kha and Merit. Entry is €18, online ticket only, with no closing day (Monday 9–14; Tuesday–Friday and Sunday 9–18.30; Saturday 9–20).

From there the route heads east to the Mole Antonelliana, a tower that in 1863 was meant to become a synagogue. Construction stopped in 1878 at about 47 metres over cost, the city bought the building, and architect Alessandro Antonelli raised it to 167.5 metres by 1889 — today Turin's symbol and home to the National Museum of Cinema. A combined ticket with the panoramic lift is €18, closed Tuesday.

North of Piazza Castello, in the Quadrilatero Romano, the streets still follow the grid of the Roman castrum of Augusta Taurinorum from the 1st century BC — same direction, same width, now full of bars and small shops. The district runs into the Porta Palazzo market, the largest open-air market in Europe, where a quick breakfast or lunch runs €4–6.

Across the river, in Parco del Valentino, stands the Borgo Medievale, a reconstructed medieval village from 1884, entry: free (village), castle separately. From here tram 15 runs to Sassi station, where an old rack railway (line 79, no service on Wednesdays) climbs 3.1 kilometres to the basilica Filippo Juvarra built between 1717 and 1731, under a vow by Duke Victor Amadeus II after his victory over the French in 1706. Inside lie the tombs of the whole House of Savoy, €6 (tombs), €4 (dome), closed none, and from the terrace the Alps show on a clear day.

The city has its own airport, Turin Caselle, SADEM (Arriva) bus to Porta Nuova and Porta Susa stations; alternative is the SFM regional train (lines 4/6/7) to Porta Susa, about 45 min by bus to the centre. From there, city transport, €1.90 a ride, is mostly needed for Superga and back — everything else on this loop is on foot.