Why go?
With its thriving cafe society and pristine piazzas, a summer weekend in Turin is always going to be a sip-back-and-relax affair. Chocolate and coffee are local passions, cocktail hour a crucial rite. With shady arcades and a mountain-fresh climate, the straight streets are made for walking – which is good news, as a Turin dinner demands an appetite.
The perfect weekend
Breakfast at Al Bicerin (Piazza della Consolata 5), a tiny mirrored caffè that’s been serving the eponymous confection – espresso, hot chocolate and cream – since the 18th century. Across the square stands La Consolata church, a beautiful Baroque bauble with an elliptical hall and walls covered with a quarryful of marble. Nearby, the best Gorgonzola in town is to be found at Porta Palazzo (Piazza della Repubblica) – the biggest open-air market in Europe, it even has individual stalls for parsley, olives and lemons. At aperitivo hour, bar counters across the city are blanketed with baby bites – aubergine parmigiano, bruschetta. Try Caffè San Carlo in the eponymous square and wash down your nibbles with Vermouth, another Turin speciality. For grown-up grub, try La Dyza (Via Alfieri 16F; 00 39 011 547882; mains around £12), where robust regional and Mediterranean recipes – marinated rabbit, prawn kebab with curry sauce – get an exotic makeover. Sunday morning, visit the Egyptian Museum (www.museoegizio.org; £6.50) to see mummified cats and millennium-old bread. Wind down with a light lunch of squid, ginger and chilli in the tropical garden at Torpedo (Via Nizza 262; 00 39 011 664 2714; mains from £22), part of a hotel-shopping complex that has breathed new life into the old Fiat factory at Lingotto.
Where to stay
The home-from-home mantra at Hotel Boston (00 39 011 500359, www.hotelboston.it; doubles from £95, B&B) applies only if you have a world-class art collection in your sitting room. If not, the presence of Andy Warhol’s Marilyn in the lounge-bar is even more of a treat. Hotel San Carlo (00 39 011 562 7846, www.albergosancarlo.it; doubles from £73, room only) is cheap, clean and most importantly centralissimo.
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BA (0844 493 0787, www.ba.com) flies from Gatwick from £98 return. EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) flies from Luton. Orbitz (0866 540 7058, www.orbitz.com) has three nights, room only, from £280pp, with flights from Stansted.