Turin city panorama with autumn trees river Po and Alpine backdrop Piedmont northern Italy

🇮🇹Piedmont & Turin

Discover Piedmont and Turin with your family: Baroque palaces, the Egyptian Museum, hazelnut chocolate, and easy day trips to the Italian Versailles and the Alps.

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Your family guide

Piedmont and Turin: Italy's most underrated family adventure

“Royal palaces, chocolate history, and Alpine views: all in one region your family will want to come back to.”

— San & Jo

Piedmont and Turin are the kind of discovery that makes you wonder why everyone heads straight to Rome or Florence. Turin is a former royal capital with grand arcaded boulevards, sweeping piazzas, and Baroque palaces that genuinely impress kids and parents alike. And behind the city, the Alps rise up in a dramatic backdrop that never gets old.

What makes this region work so well for families is the variety. You can spend a morning at the Egyptian Museum marvelling at 40,000 ancient artefacts, grab a Bicerin hot chocolate at a historic café in the afternoon, and be hiking in the mountains the next day. The pace here is relaxed, the crowds are smaller than in southern Italy, and the food is extraordinary.

Piedmont also makes a brilliant road trip base. Day trips to the 'Italian Versailles' at Venaria Palace, the mountain monastery of Sacra di San Michele, or the hazelnut and truffle country around Alba are all within easy reach. This is a region that rewards families who love to explore slowly and eat well.

Northwest ItalyBordering France and Switzerland

Best April to OctoberWarm summers, snowy Alpine winters

Mid-range to premiumGood value outside peak season

Cities and places in Piedmont & Turin

1 place

Turin

Discover Turin with your family: the Egyptian Museum, the Mole Antonelliana, Parco del Valentino, and Piedmontese food your kids will love.

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What makes it special

Why families love Piedmont and Turin

Royal history your kids can actually see

Turin was the capital of the Savoy dynasty, and the evidence is everywhere. The Royal Palace, Valentino Castle, and the nearby Venaria Palace, often called the Italian Versailles, give families a real sense of royal grandeur without the crowds of Rome.

Chocolate and hazelnut heritage

Turin is the birthplace of Gianduiotto, the foil-wrapped hazelnut chocolate that inspired gianduja. The city has a deep chocolate culture, with historic cafés serving Bicerin, a gorgeous layered drink of espresso, hot chocolate, and cream, that kids absolutely love.

Alps right on your doorstep

The Alpine backdrop is visible from the city itself, and the surrounding region stretches from riverside parks and rice paddies to mountain valleys and national parks. Piedmont gives your family genuine nature variety without long drives between them.

Museums that genuinely impress

The Egyptian Museum holds over 40,000 artefacts including mummies, a Ramses II statue, and ancient temples: it is one of Italy's most visited museums for good reason. The Mole Antonelliana tower houses the National Museum of Cinema and has a glass panoramic lift that thrills children of all ages.

Less crowded, more relaxed

Piedmont and Turin attract fewer tourists than the big southern destinations, which means shorter queues, more breathing room in piazzas, and a more genuine local experience. You will feel like you have discovered something real here.

Your kind of holiday

History and culture explorers

Turin's Baroque palaces, the ancient Palatine Gate, the Egyptian Museum, and day trips to Venaria Palace and Sacra di San Michele monastery give history-loving families more than enough to fill a week. The city's covered arcades and grand piazzas feel like walking through a living museum.

Foodie families on a slow road trip

Piedmont is one of Italy's great food regions. Thin tajarin pasta, stuffed agnolotti, pizza al padellino, and chocolate at every turn make mealtimes an adventure. A road trip through the hazelnut hills, truffle country around Alba, and the wine villages of the Langhe is a feast for the whole family.

Nature and outdoor adventurers

Beyond the city, Piedmont opens up into Alpine valleys, national parks, and lakeside landscapes. Val Grande National Park, the Biellese Alps, the Vigezzo Valley, and Lake Viverone give active families real outdoor variety. Parco del Valentino in Turin itself is a 125-acre riverside park with a medieval village replica and botanical garden.

Fun facts

Things your kids will love knowing about Piedmont and Turin

Those thin breadsticks? Invented here.

Grissini, the ultra-thin crispy breadsticks you find in Italian restaurants all over the world, were invented in Turin. Legend has it they were created for a young Duke of Savoy who had trouble digesting bread. Now they are everywhere, but Turin is where it all started.

Turin has one of the world's best Egyptian museums outside Egypt.

The Museo Egizio in Turin holds over 40,000 ancient Egyptian artefacts, including real mummies, a giant statue of Ramses II, and reconstructed ancient temples. It is the second largest Egyptian collection in the world after the Cairo Museum: not bad for a city in northern Italy.

White truffles worth their weight in gold.

Every autumn, the forests around the Piedmontese town of Alba produce some of the world's most prized white truffles. Hunters use specially trained dogs to sniff them out underground between October and December. A single truffle can sell for hundreds of euros: making them one of the most expensive foods on the planet.

Taste Piedmont and Turin

What to eat with kids in Piedmont and Turin

Bicerin

Turin's iconic layered hot drink combines espresso, thick hot chocolate, and whipped cream in a small glass. It is served in historic cafés around the city and is genuinely one of the best things you will taste here. Kids love it, and so will you.

Kids love it

Pizza al Padellino

Forget thin-crust Neapolitan pizza for a moment. Turin's version is thick, soft, and fried in a small pan until golden and crispy on the bottom. It comes in squares from local bakeries and is the perfect quick lunch for hungry families on the move.

Kids love it

Agnolotti del Plin

These small pinched pasta parcels are filled with slow-roasted veal, rabbit, or pork and served in butter or a rich ragù. They are a Piedmontese classic and one of the most comforting pasta dishes you will find anywhere in Italy. A safe and delicious choice for kids who love pasta.

Safe choice

Gianduiotto

The foil-wrapped hazelnut chocolate that put Turin on the sweet map. Made from Piedmont's prized Nocciola Piemonte IGP hazelnuts blended with chocolate, Gianduiotto is the original gianduja confection. Pick some up at any chocolate shop in the city centre.

Must try

Brasato al Barolo

Beef slow-braised for hours in Barolo wine until it falls apart, served with creamy polenta or mashed potato. This is Piedmont's great comfort dish and a wonderful introduction to the region's wine-driven cooking culture. A proper Sunday lunch that feels special even on a Tuesday.

Local favourite