"Torino aka Turin" a Torino Travel Page by ant1606

As a Torino (Turin) native and resident, I may be considered impartial when defining it an interesting place to visit. As many other cities with a long history, Torino doesn't always cope with recent progress. The city's Roman standard grid street layout survived the years and it definitely makes it easy to move around. Most roads are as straight as a "Grissino Torinese", a traditional and renowned type of breadstick. Unfortunately this great advantage doesn't help the driving visitors as direction signs don't do a great job. A simple city map is recommended.
Public transportation and parking availability are somehow insufficient and I'm sure most residents or visitors would share this statement. Public works and road construction in preparation for the Winter Olympic Games have caused daytime nightmares. The games certainly deserved the city's image to be improved and it was good work for buildings cleaning and urban network.
The city's rapid industrial growth, mainly in the 50s, 60s and 70s, took away some of the original baroque magic. Despite pros & cons, Torino can enchant the visitor who walks around the city center. Step inside an old cafe' or gaze at amazing buildings. Or both at the same time while sipping a cup of thick chocolate.
Comprehensive multilingual info at:

www.comune.torino.it
www.provincia.torino.it
www.regione.piemonte.it/lingue/english
www.turismotorino.org
www.torino2006.org

Excellent video presentation, unfortunately only available in Italian language:
www.grmsit.com/grandtour

As of 11 Feb 06 I was in Detroit, USA, and forced to watch my own city on TV. I missed the opening ceremony as I was flying from Mexico City but I could later view it on tape.
It was somehow sad to be away during the opening of this once-in-a-lifetime happening in Torino but a few days later I could fly back home to find the city was simply fantastic. Hordes of fans from around the world, packed streets and live concerts every night at the Medal Plaza starting right after the honors ceremonies. I heard general positive comments about the city and the games' organization, and whenever I saw a visitor in awe in front of some city feature I found myself to be a prouder Turinese than I had expected to be.
What goes up must come down and the flame has now been extinguished for good. Two weeks of glory to be remembered forever!

If you fly to or from Turin across the mountains, you may want to choose a window seat for a great view of the Alps. Sit on the right side of aircraft for a bird's-eye view of the city center just minutes before landing.