Stand on Piazza Castello and turn a full circle: the arcaded frontages of Palazzo Madama and Palazzo Reale close the square on two sides, and the grid of streets beyond them still follows the line the Romans laid down. Turin rewards the traveller who walks rather than dashes, because so much of what is worth seeing sits within a few blocks of this one square.
The city suits people who like their sightseeing mixed with coffee, porticoes and long lunches, and who would rather spend three unhurried hours in one museum than tick off five. It also suits families, since the museums here hold everything from Egyptian tombs to film props, and much of the centre is flat and walkable under the arcades when it rains.
This guide covers the principal sights of the historic centre and the museums that anchor it, with a one-day plan at the end for anyone passing through briefly.
Top things to do in Turin
1. Museo Egizio
This is the museum that draws people to Turin from far away, and it earns the trip. The collection was assembled by Bernardino Drovetti during his time as French consul in Egypt, and King Carlo Felice di Savoia bought the whole of it in 1824 and housed it in the 17th-century palace that still contains it. The route through the building is long and deliberate, running from the history of the museum on the lower floor up through the material culture galleries, the intact Tomb of Kha and Merit, the coffin gallery and the Late Period rooms, before finishing among the statues of the Gallery of Kings and the Temple of Ellesiya.
Buy your ticket online before you go, as the museum suggests, and allow several hours rather than one. It sits on Via Accademia delle Scienze near Piazza San Carlo, so pair it with the Risorgimento Museum next door if you have the energy left, or with a coffee on the piazza if you do not.
2. Palazzo Reale
The Royal Palace on Piazza Castello was built in the 16th century, modernised in the 17th and turned into a museum in 1946, and the result is a strange and enjoyable mixture of medieval, baroque and outright display. A single ticket covers five attractions: the Galleria Sabauda with the art collection of the rulers of Savoy, the Chapel of the Shroud, the Royal Apartments, the Royal Armoury and the Royal Library. The library is the quiet highlight, holding Leonardo da Vinci's Codex on the Flight of Birds among its manuscripts and drawings.
You enter through the palace gardens to reach the ticket office, which is easy to miss if you are looking for a grand front door. The palace is closed on Mondays, so plan this one for another day of the week.
3. Mole Antonelliana and the National Cinema Museum
The Mole is the city's landmark, built in 1888 as a synagogue, though the size and cost ran away with the project and the Jewish community never used it. A lift carries you to the cupola at the top, and the tower is the highest work of masonry in Europe. Inside, the National Cinema Museum spirals up five floors, covering the archaeology of cinema, the video camera, a collection of cinema posters and video installations, and ending in the Great Temple, where you recline in red chairs and watch Italian film classics projected on giant screens overhead.
Museum entry and the lift are ticketed separately, so decide whether you want the view, the collection, or both. Saturday opening runs later into the evening than the rest of the week if you want to spread the visit out.
4. Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile (MAUTO)
Turin's automotive story is told here through a collection of over 170 vehicles, running from 18th-century carriages to Formula 1 racers, with a good showing of red sports cars along the way. It is the natural counterpart to a city that has been the base for Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo.
The museum is on Corso Unità d'Italia, reachable on the metro at Lingotto, so it sits away from the historic centre and is best treated as its own outing. Note that Monday hours are shorter than the rest of the week.
5. Museo Nazionale del Risorgimento Italiano
This museum occupies Palazzo Carignano, the building where Carlo Alberto and Vittorio Emanuele II were born and where the first Italian parliament sat, so the setting carries much of the story it tells. The exhibition covers the tumultuous birth of modern Italy, and because the age was a literary and graphic one, the events come across vividly in film, photographs and political cartoons.
It is next to the Egyptian Museum on Via Accademia delle Scienze, which makes the two an obvious pairing if you have a full day for museums. It closes on Mondays.
6. Palazzo Madama and the Museo Civico d'Arte Antica
Palazzo Madama stands on the south side of Piazza Castello, and the Museum of Ancient Art is housed within it. The name is a little misleading, since the collection is Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque rather than truly ancient, but the rooms are rewarding and the building itself is one of the city's baroque set pieces.
Because it opens onto Piazza Castello, it combines naturally with Palazzo Reale and the square itself in a single morning. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
7. Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GAM Torino)
GAM holds a large permanent collection of 19th and 20th-century art on Via Magenta, and it gives you a change of register if you have spent your first days among baroque palaces and Egyptian antiquities. The collection is substantial enough to fill an afternoon without rushing.
It is closed on Mondays, so slot it into the middle of a stay rather than the start. Check what is on before you commit a half day to it.
8. CAMERA – Italian Centre for Photography
CAMERA on Via delle Rosine is a photography centre of real quality, mounting three or four exhibitions a year rather than a permanent display. That means what you see depends entirely on when you visit, but the standard is consistently high.
It opens Friday to Wednesday from 11:00, with a late Thursday closing at 21:00, so a Thursday evening is a good moment for it. Under-12s go free, which makes it an easy stop for families.
9. Galleria d'Italia
This is the Turin branch of a museum chain showing the art collection of the Intesa Sanpaolo bank, opened in 2022 in the Palazzo Turinetti di Pertengo on Piazza San Carlo. The Turin space concentrates mostly on photography, and the setting on one of the city's finest squares is part of the appeal.
It is closed on Mondays. Since it sits on Piazza San Carlo, it works well as a short stop before or after the Egyptian Museum nearby.
10. Foundation Accorsi-Ometto
The Decorative Arts Museum on Via Po holds an extensive display of furniture, painting and other decorative work, and it is the kind of collection that shows you how the interiors of the city's palaces were actually furnished. It is a useful complement to the grander state rooms elsewhere.
Opening runs Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday to Sunday from 10:00, with a late Thursday closing at 20:00. Via Po is one of the arcaded streets laid out in the 17th century to connect Piazza Castello with the bridge over the Po, so walking here is part of the pleasure.
11. Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali
The regional natural history museum on Via Accademia Albertina occupies a former hospital and presents a traditional display of rocks and stuffed animals. It is a straightforward, unfussy museum and a reasonable choice if you are travelling with children or want something lighter between the larger collections.
It opens daily from 10:00 to 18:00, which makes it one of the few options here that does not close on a Monday. Entry is inexpensive.
12. Museum of Criminal Anthropology
This small museum on Via Pietro Giuria preserves the work and ideas of Cesare Lombroso, who believed criminality was inherited and that criminals could be identified by physical features. It is a troubling collection, and it is worth seeing precisely because the theories behind it are now discredited and the museum does not pretend otherwise.
It opens Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 18:00. Go with an interest in the history of ideas rather than expecting a conventional museum experience.
If you only have one day
Morning: Start on Piazza Castello and go straight into Palazzo Reale, entering through the palace gardens to reach the ticket office. Work through the Royal Apartments, the Galleria Sabauda and the Royal Library, then step across the square to Palazzo Madama and the Museo Civico d'Arte Antica before lunch.
Afternoon: Walk to Via Accademia delle Scienze and spend the afternoon in the Museo Egizio, following the route from the lower floor up through the tomb galleries. If time allows, the Museo Nazionale del Risorgimento Italiano is next door in Palazzo Carignano.
Evening: Head to Via Montebello for the Mole Antonelliana. Take the lift to the cupola while it is still light, then stay for the National Cinema Museum and finish in the Great Temple watching Italian classics on the overhead screens.
Frequently asked questions
Is a museum card worth buying in Turin?
The Torino+Piemonte Card gives access to the museums and most other city attractions, and includes the bus to and from Venaria Reale with palace entry, the rack-railway to Superga, selected city tours and a discount on the airport bus. It does not cover regular public transport, though holders can buy a supplementary transport pass. At these prices you may struggle to break even given the regular entry fees and the hours each top sight deserves, so count up what you actually plan to visit first.
Which day of the week should I avoid for sightseeing?
Monday is the difficult day. Palazzo Reale, the Museo Egizio, the Risorgimento Museum, Palazzo Madama, GAM Torino and the Galleria d'Italia all close, and the Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile runs reduced hours. The Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali and the Museum of Criminal Anthropology both open on Mondays, so keep them in reserve.
How should I plan around the Egyptian Museum?
Give it several hours rather than one, and buy your ticket online as the museum suggests. It sits near Piazza San Carlo, which puts the Risorgimento Museum next door and the Galleria d'Italia on the piazza itself within easy reach for the same day.
Can I see the city's landmark and its museums in one evening?
Yes, if you go to the Mole Antonelliana. Museum entry and the lift to the cupola are ticketed separately, and Saturday opening runs later than the rest of the week, so an evening visit lets you take in both the view and the National Cinema Museum.
Pick your dates, check which museums close on which days, and start building the trip around the Museo Egizio and Piazza Castello.