Elegant, compact and full of surprises - Turin rewards good timing. Here is when to come, how to get here and how to move around on foot and by tram.
Turin's climate is continental: cold winters with frequent morning fog rolling off the Po plain, hot summers, and mild, pleasant shoulders in between. April through June and September through October are the sweet spots - warm enough for café terraces, light enough for long walks under the arcades. July and August can feel heavy, while December brings Christmas markets and, some years, a dusting of snow on the hills.
Turin is easy to reach: Turin Airport (TRN, Caselle) lies about 16 km north of the center, with a frequent shuttle bus to Porta Nuova and Porta Susa stations. High-speed Trenitalia trains put Turin 50 minutes from Milan and about 4 hours from Rome, which makes it a natural add-on to any northern Italy itinerary.
The historic center is flat, compact and crisscrossed by more than 12 km of arcades - you can walk from the station to Piazza Castello almost entirely under cover. The GTT network adds one metro line and an extensive tram and bus system for the hills and outer districts, where the grid of straight avenues makes orientation easy.