Turin - the Undiscovered Jewel in Italy's Crown

While Turin is regarded as the industrial powerhouse of Italy, I absolutely defy anyone to fail to be delighted by the historic city centre.

One of the surprising things about Turin is that it has been so underdeveloped as a tourist destination to date, and until the advent of the 2006 Winter Olympics most people associated the city with the Shroud, perhaps Juventus football club, but little else.

That all may be about to change, as although the Olympics is well and truly over and no more than a distant memory to most inhabitants, the legacy of the games is one that could set Turin up to be one of Europe’s hot destinations.

The improvement in infrastructure, such as a completely refurbished airport designed to cater for the thousands of visitors arriving for the games means that Turin can easily deal with a large increase in tourists. Many hotels have been refurbished to a much higher standard as a direct result of the games and the opening of a number of quality hotels has added 3,000 rooms to the city since 2000.

Turin’s reputation for industry is based on the fact that Fiat was founded there towards the end of the 19th century and was to a large extent responsible for the rebuilding of Italy’s economy after the Second World War. What is often missed, though, is Turin’s remarkably rich history, including being Italy’s first capital when it was first unified under the House of Savoy.

Known as “Capital of the Alps”, Turin is also capital of Piedmont and the home of some culinary traditions that we usually accept as being typically Italian. Take the humble breadstick for example – legend has it that they were originally baked to cure a sickly child prince. Breadsticks, or grissini as they’re known in Italy, are made in a variety of shapes and sizes in Turin and they seem to have done their job as the prince grew up to be the first Savoy king.

If you’ve ever seen the original 1969 version of The Italian Job staring Michael Caine then you’ll have taken a tour of Turin. This popular British film is about a heist on a shipment of gold bullion using three Mini Coopers as getaway cars.

The cars zoom around the streets and arcades of Turin and even make an appearance on the old test track of Fiat, on the roof of the giant factory! Although seen at high speed, you do get an impression of the beauty of the city and some of the fantastic architecture on offer.

Both EasyJet and Ryanair have daily flights from London, or you can fly via Rome or Milan.