As an ancient Celtic-Ligurian city, Roman colony, and glittering capital of Savoy from the 16th century, Turin is an obvious destination for museum buffs. The elegant metropolis was the engine room of Italian unification in 1861, and the first capital of the Kingdom of Italy adds to its historical appeal.
Booming center of industrial production in the early 20th century and linchpin of contemporary Piedmont, Turin sports a mixed bag of thrilling, high-octane cultural vices: cars, film, football, serious coffee, and an edgy design scene. Each has its own dedicated museum.
State museums are free to under 18s; be mindful that many museums shut on Mondays. If you’re intent on packing in several museums and monuments, the Torino+Piemonte Card (costing €29/38/44 for 24/48/72 hours) is a sound investment. Advance online reservations are required for some museums, such as the wildly popular cinema museum. Of Turin’s mind-boggling 40-plus museums, these are ten of the best.
Reggia di Venaria Reale: Best Palace Museum
It’s impossible not to gasp in awe and disbelief at La Venaria Reale, a UNESCO-listed baroque palace of monumental proportion where Savoy kings and duchesses hunted, played, and entertained in the 17th and 18th centuries. Think 196,000 sq m of stucco and 1600 sq m of exquisite wall and ceiling frescoes, 14,800m of decorative frames, 1300m of balustrades, and 10 hectares of immaculate vegetable patch and orchard in Italy’s largest potager (kitchen garden).
No museum better lives up to its name than the palace’s Museum of Theater and Magnificence. Historical figures and members of the court, created by Welsh film director Peter Greenaway, ‘accompany’ visitors on a dazzling 2km-long waltz through the recreated 17th-century kitchen and other basement rooms up to the royal apartments awash with Rubens and Van Dyck paintings, tapestries, silverware, and various collectibles.
Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli: Best Avant-Garde Art
No museum evokes the city’s rich industrial heritage as dramatically as Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli – an elevated art gallery filled with works by Renoir, Picasso, Matisse, and other modern masters on the rooftop of one of Italy’s most hallowed pieces of 20th-century architecture. The Fiat factory was Europe’s largest car factory when it opened in 1923, and exploring the original rooftop test track and recently landscaped La Pista 500 garden is very much part of the unique gallery experience.
Museo Egizio: Best Ancient Egyptian Treasures
Hauntingly beautiful anthropomorphic coffins, animal mummies, glittering funerary masks, foodstuffs buried with kings for their afterlife, manuscripts crafted from wild papyrus plucked from the Nile riverbanks: the collection of artifacts from ancient Egypt inside Turin’s Egyptian Museum is truly extraordinary. The vast collection is second only in size to Cairo’s Museum of Egyptian Civilization, and it’s renowned as the world’s oldest collection.
Museo Lavazza: Best for Epicureans
In a city where everyone begins the day with a fueling shot of espresso, it’s only fitting that it should boast a museum dedicated to the beloved coffee brew. Historic coffee chain Lavazza presents a strikingly modern Museo Lavazza that highlights the journey from Lavazza’s humble beginnings to contemporary bean cultivation and coffee production.
Museo Nazionale del Cinema: Best for Families
Situated in the eclectic Mole Antonelliana, the National Cinema Museum captivates visitors of all ages. Exhibitions cover the history of filmmaking, movie production, and cinema poster art, allowing families to immerse themselves in the magic of film.
Museo Nazionale del Risorgimento Italiano: Best for Modern History Buffs
Delve into Turin’s compelling backstory and understand the city’s role in the unification of Italy at the Museo Nazionale del Risorgimento Italiano. Knowing that key events of the Risorgimento unfolded in this very building only adds to the intrigue of this wonderful history museum.
Museo Casa Mollino: Best Unsung 20th-Century Design
To peek into the extraordinary home of Turin’s great 20th-century artist-designer-architect Carlo Mollino, it is advisable to arrange a tour in advance. His villa on the Po River reveals a fascinating glimpse into this eclectic creative mind.
Juventus Museum: Best for Soccer Fans
Visiting Turin’s Juventus Museum is a must for soccer enthusiasts. Timing your visit around a match day offers a unique opportunity to see the team’s match prep and possibly catch a glimpse of some star players.
Museo della Sindone: Best for Curios
The touching narrative of the Holy Shroud is documented at the Museo della Sindone. Located in the crypt of the 18th-century Chiesa del Santo Sudaro, this tiny museum explores the burial cloth in which Jesus’ body was said to be wrapped.
Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile: Best for Car Buffs
No need to be an automobile aficionado to appreciate Turin’s National Car Museum, which provides insightful exhibits exploring car-manufacturing history and the evolution of design. Key highlights include a wooden ‘cart’ by Leonardo da Vinci and the first Fiat 500 from the 1950s.
