Turin, Italy — Activities
Turin Culture
Turin has a lively cultural life and cinemas, theaters and concert halls all attract knowledgeable crowds. The main cultural venue is the Teatro Regio, Piazza Castello 215 (tel: (011) 8815 557; website: www.teatroregio.torino.it), where operatic and classical music concerts are staged. The Auditorium Giovanni Agnelli, Via Nizza 280 (tel: (011) 664 0458; website: www.expo2000.it), is currently the home of the classical Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI (website: www.orchestrasinfonica.rai.it), while the Orchestra Filarmonica di Torino hold chamber music concerts at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi, Piazza Bodoni 6 (tel: (011) 817 8458; website: www.conservatorio-torino.it).
Teatro Carignano, Piazza Carignano 6 (tel: (011) 547 048; website: www.teatrostabiletorino.it), is a stunning 18th-century theater. Plays can also be seen at Alfa Teatro, Via Casalborgone 16/l tel: (011) 819 3529; website: www.alfateatro.com).
Ballet and dance performances take place at the Teatro Nuovo, Corso Massimo d’Ageglio 17 (tel: (011) 650 0200; website: www.teatronuovo.torino.it), many of them avant-garde in style. Ballet can also be seen at the Teatro Regio (see above).
The main venue for mainstream musicals is Teatro Alfieri, Piazza Solferino (tel: (011) 562 3800; website: www.torinospettacoli.com).
Cinemas in the city include the Massimo, Via Montebello (tel: (011) 812 5658), which shows many films in English. There is also the 11-screen Pathe complex at Lingotto, Via Nizza (tel: (011) 667 7856), or Romano, Galleria Subalpina (tel: (011) 562 0145).
Listings appear on Fridays in La Stampa, the main local newspaper.
Turin Tours
A variety of walking tours are offered by Turismo Torino (tel: (011) 535 181; website: www.turismotorino.org). General tours (in Italian) leave on Saturday mornings from the Atrium Torino, Piazza Solferino and cover the historic center. On Saturday evenings, they run special tours on themes such as cinema or contemporary art. These also leave from the Atrium. Turismo Torino also run the TurismoBus Torino, a hop-on, hop-off tour bus which covers the main attractions and runs daily from July to September and at weekends otherwise. Tours stops include the Atrium and Porta Nuova station. Visitors can also take a boat tour on the River Po with GTT (tel: (011) 576 4733 or 800 019152 (freephone Italy only); website: www.gtt.to.it).
