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TURIN
(TORINO) - THE CITY |
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The grid street-plan of Turin's
Baroque centre makes it easy to find
your way about. Via Roma is
the central spine of the city, a
grand affair lined with designer
shops and ritzy cafés, although
nowadays on the grubby side. It is
punctuated by the city's most
elegant piazzas, most notably Piazza
San Carlo , close to which are
some of the most prestigious
museums. Piazza Castello
forms a fittingly grandiose, if
hectic, conclusion to Via Roma, with
its royal palaces awash in a sea of
traffic. From here you can walk in a
number of directions. To the west, Via
Pietro Micca leads to a cluster
of pedestrianized shopping streets,
more relaxed than Via Roma and a
good area to head to during the
evening passeggiata in summer. North
lies Piazza della Repubblica
, a vast and rather shabby square
given over to a daily market. To the
southeast, the porticoes of Via
Po forge down to the river, a
short walk along which is the
extensive Parco del Valentino
, home to some of the city's best
nightlife. Beyond lies the engaging Museo
dell'Automobile , while the
hills across the river ,
which are peppered with the Art Deco
villas of the richest Torinese,
shelter the Basilica di Superga
and the Stupingi Palace.
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