BY INDER RAJ AHLUWALIA
( THE WRITER IS AN INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED , MULTIPLE AWARD – WINNING TRAVEL JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR)
NEW DELHI | 17 OCTOBER 2025
I guess true class does get noticed!
And so it has, in this quaint town that is long on culture and history.
With its colours, lights and unique tastes, Torino isn’t just interesting. It is one big seduction. By the look of things, the world seems to have given its tacit approval, resulting in the fact that all the wheels are ‘turning’.
It’s been quite a journey. From a Roman and Medieval culture to a Baroque capital, from the coffee and chocolate culture to global tastes, it’s all part of the local deal. With its 18- km of arcades providing an ideal ‘umbrella’ for all-weather shopping, and its buildings, courtyards and streets as elegant as stately lounges, the city sports a heady character.
Fondness for sweets is an old tradition that just refuses to die, which makes it an exciting city discovery platform. From the Café Storicis with its robust ambience, to trendy outlets like Gattodolcione, the city’s ‘sweet-tooth’ tag remains rakishly elegant, pleasing and startling.
My first look at the city was through its small Sunday Market in the square, featuring trinkets, herbs, flowers, jams, cookies, and cakes. Stalls lined one side of the road, facing the regal looking Town Hall. It was the proverbial Italy of the ‘Fifties’.
Torino lives in the shadow of its destiny. It was the first Italian capital in 1861 and memories and artifacts remain. The Piemontese baroque-style Carignano Palace located in the square bearing its name, and currently the headquarters of the National Museum of the Italian Risorgimento, is a compulsory stopover, as is the hall of the first Sub-alpine Parliament-a historical relic. Across the square, you find the famous restaurant del Cambio.
For several generations, Torino’s architecture, greatly augmented by famous local architects like Guarino Guarini, Ascanio Vitozzi and Filippo Juvarra, constitutes a remarkable collection of royal residences, magnificent church domes and stately mansions that have made the city a European Baroque capital. Blocks of buildings line arrow-straight streets. Also famous is the local Liberty Style, with floral decorations over bay windows embellishing the beautiful 19th and 20th Century mansions, adding an artistic twist.
Amidst all this is a cuisine that has stamped itself globally. This is the right place to indulge your gourmet desires. The Café Storici (historical cafes) excel, as do other outlets. Go out for an aperitif (a Tourinese invention) or a glass of wine, or some vermouth (invented by Benedetto Carpano in 1786). The place for this is Quadrilatero Romano. Try a Bicerin-a typical Torino coffee, chocolate and cream based beverage, drunk hot and steaming, mentioned by Alessandro Dumas as being “among the good and pleasant things of the city.” Add to this the Marocchino (from Marocch), a coffee cup or hot chocolate, and you’re talking serious business.
Bolliti, bonet and Agnolotti! Worthy of royal feasting! Choose a typical ‘Trattoria’ that offers everything that’s brought fame to Turinese and Piemontse cuisine. Or try a renowned eatery like Restorante Sotto la Mole, with lots of light, lots of chatter, plain walls, a brick ceiling, and truly sumpous Carred’agnello in crosta di rubata (lamb chops), washed down with Barbera D’Alba (red wine) and then some Pedovena Beer. This done, down a small brandy!
Now turn your attention to chocolate. Torino is chocolate turf, a sweet-toothed city that invented the famous ‘Giandujotti’. Numerous pastry shops produce homemade ‘tourinot’ (nut chocolate mignon shapes that weigh only 2 grams); truffles, pralines, creams, alpines; and marrons glaces.
Impelled and goaded by my notorious sweet tooth, I discovered and honed in on two particularly famed, irresistible outlets-Peyrano Cioccolato, where Signor Antonio Peyrano explained how his chocolates are the products of original mixtures, and Gattodolcione, a huge shop brimful with several top-quality chocolate products and local specialties like bars, truffles and hazelnuts, laid out under the watchful eye of Signor Sergio Arzilli.
With such an illustrious gastronomy history, it isn’t surprising that the city is hailed as being the Italian wine capital. Rich and full-bodied reds, and sparkling, full-flavoured whites predominate. You can sample the best Piemontese labels, accompanied with ‘grissini’ (bread sticks) with cheese. With its stunning hall, pillars, domed roof, and spotless linen, Arcadia, (Italian Restaurant & Sushi Bar), is quite the place to frequent, and I recommend ‘Riso con pollo e verdurine (chicken with mixed vegetables and rice) and ‘Misto vegetariano’ (mixed vegetables), washed down with Pedovena Beer. You won’t regret my choice.
Can’t say that I yarned for Indian food, but I did end up at Red Fort, a quality Indian restaurant. Sporting a Rajasthani and Mughal décor and Indian music, this outlet was the brainchild of the enigmatic, India-conscious Dr. Paolo Powdi. With 130 covers, with different floors featuring different themes, this is where you go for Tandoori Chicken, Raan, Indian breads and Mixed Pakoras.
Inspired by a long tradition and by famous designers like Bertone, Pininfarina, and Giugiaro setting up studios in the city, local shopping is typically thematic and elegant. The shopping centre piece area, Via Roma, features outlets of famed designer brands. And via Garibaldi, a mile-long pedestrian street, is home to dozens of upscale boutiques. Via Po and the area around the Mole Antonelliana and the University area sport an intellectual air, with antique bookshops, record shops, and clothes. For more fancy goods, try Belle Epoque in Venaria; Radadan ‘n Piassa in Moncalieri; and the Mercantico in Carmagnola. For casual shopping, where stallholders have been plying their trade since the mid-19th Century, stop by at Porta Palazzo and Balon.
Celebrating and enhancing the local arts scene, are some 40 museums that satisfy the passions. In the magnificently restored Rivoli Castle is the Museum of Contemporary Art, Italy’s foremost. Second in importance only to Cairo’s, the Egyptian Museum contains over 30, 000 pieces that narrate 5, 000 years of history through art, religion and daily life in the time of the pharaohs. Located in the same building, the Sabauda Gallery houses Flemish and Dutch paintings, work of Piedmontese artists and Tuscan and Venetian masterpieces. The GAM includes temporary shows and also permanent collections, showcasing masterpieces by Modigliani, Chagall and Picasso.
The National Automobile Museum merits a visit. As does The Museum of Decorative Art, that contains period furniture, pictures, decorations, sculptures and carpets of great historical and artistic value.
At the top of the pyramid is the National Museum of Cinema at the Mole Antonelliana, which pays tribute to the fact that cinema was born here. This is a veritable treat for cinema buffs, an absolute ‘must-see’.
Auditoriums, some ten theatres that offer the best of famed musicians and artists, and an opera theatre function alongside world-famous concert halls like the Auditorium of Lingotto and the Regio Theatre where in 1896 Giaccomo Puccini triumphed with ‘La Boheme’ directed by Arturo Toscanini. Carignano Theatre, is also worth visiting.
Event follows event, making it a packed cultural calendar. An international jazz festival, the film Festival, the Book Fair, the International Biennial of Young Creativity, the International Car Exhibition, the Food Fair, Torino Danza, Artissima, and the month-long Settembre Musica, collectively form a formidable package.
Cultured and gourmet, magical and enchanting, squared but creative, reassuring and intriguing, the grand old city awaits you with ‘sweetness…’
Travel Fact:
Torino is connected with several European air hubs.
Accommodation is wide-ranging and diverse.
The city is a jump-off point for exploring Piemonte Region, an odyssey of fine wining and dining and close look at prime local products, notably cheeses, wines and chocolates.
Visit any time. There’s something going on year-round.
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