Espresso, Art, and Timeless Streets

In this Italian city, baroque beauty and avant-garde spirit blend into something irresistibly real

- By RUPALI DEAN

Forget Milan's catwalk.

Turin in Italy has soul, stories, and an espresso habit that I could start a revolution. Its beauty isn't loud or flirtatious it's the kind that pulls you in quietly, the kind that stays. Here, chandeliers drip from grand old coffeehouses, royal palaces stand with baroque swagger, and tree-lined boulevards hum with a Parisian undertone. Walk its hushed streets and the city reveals itself slowly, like a secret shared over coffee. Avant-garde galleries hide behind weathered courtyards.

Indie bookshops beg you to lose your afternoon inside them.

Gardens seem to shift personalities with the seasons. The rhythm here is unhurried.

The Mercato di Porta Palazzo is the beating heart of TurinEurope's largest open-air market, a sensory explosion of colour, sound, and flavour. Here, the air smells of cheese, truffles, and ripe tomatoes. Vendors pile their stalls high with cured meats, local honey, and seasonal produce. On the third Sunday of every month, vintage lovers descend upon Vintage della Gran Madre, circling the steps of the Gran Madre di Dio church in search of 1950s dresses, delicate lace gloves, and quirky antiques.