Explorer Turin

The Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians stands at the centre of the Salesian complex of Valdocco. It was built for Saint John Bosco to designs by Antonio Spezia and opened in 1868, became a minor basilica in 1911, was enlarged in 1934–1942, and holds the remains of Don Bosco in a side chapel.

Porta Palatina is the northern gate of Julia Augusta Taurinorum, the Roman town beneath Turin, and the city's main surviving Roman monument. Its brick front with two rows of windows stands between two sixteen-sided towers, with bronze copies of statues of Augustus and Julius Caesar in front; it lies in the Archaeological Park opened in 2006.

Turin Cathedral, dedicated to St John the Baptist, is the city's only Renaissance church, built in 1491–1498 beside a bell tower of 1470. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Turin and has kept the Shroud of Turin since 1578; Guarino Guarini's Chapel of the Holy Shroud, with its tiered dome, was added behind the choir in 1668–1694.

The Royal Palace of Turin on Piazzetta Reale was the main residence of the House of Savoy from the 17th century and has belonged to the state since 1946. Its state rooms and royal apartments form the core of the Musei Reali, whose single route also includes the Galleria Sabauda, the Museum of Antiquities and the Royal Gardens.

Palazzo Madama is a palace on Piazza Castello that grew from a Roman gate of Augusta Taurinorum into a castle of the Acaja princes. Filippo Juvarra added the white stone Baroque façade and grand staircase in the early 18th century. It houses the Museo Civico d'Arte Antica, with medieval and Renaissance art, ceramics, glass and decorative arts.

Palazzo Carignano is a Baroque palace designed by Guarino Guarini in 1679 for the Savoy-Carignano princes, known for its undulating red-brick façade. Its hall served as the Chamber of Deputies of the Subalpine Parliament from 1848, Italian unity was proclaimed here in 1861, and today it houses the National Museum of the Italian Risorgimento.

The Museo Egizio is a museum of ancient Egyptian archaeology, founded in 1824 when King Charles Felix bought the collection of the French consul Bernardino Drovetti. It occupies the 17th-century Collegio dei Nobili in central Turin and shows more than 40,000 objects in total, among them statues of pharaohs, papyri, coffins and mummies.

QC Terme Torino is a day spa run by the Italian wellness group QC Terme in Palazzo Abegg, an 1875 villa on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II that housed the Torino football club's offices from 1963 to 1994. Since 2011 its four floors hold saunas, baths and relaxation rooms, and the garden has outdoor whirlpools.

The National Museum of Cinema has occupied the Mole Antonelliana since 2000, the 167.5-metre tower by Alessandro Antonelli completed in 1889. Its floors run from the archaeology of cinema, the optical devices that came before film, to sets, posters and props around the central Aula del Tempio, and a panoramic lift crosses the museum to a terrace at 85 metres.

Castello del Valentino is a Savoy residence in Parco del Valentino on the bank of the Po, rebuilt in the 17th century for Christine of France around a cobbled courtyard with four corner pavilions. It has belonged to the state since 1850 and houses the architecture department of the Politecnico di Torino; the state rooms are shown on booked Saturday-morning guided visits.

Villa della Regina is a 17th-century Savoy villa on the hillside of Borgo Po in Turin, begun around 1615 for Cardinal Maurice of Savoy and later remodelled by Filippo Juvarra. Visitors see the royal apartments, terraced Italian gardens with fountains and grottoes, and a replanted vineyard. It is part of the Savoy Residences World Heritage Site.

The Palace of Venaria is a former hunting residence of the House of Savoy outside Turin, begun in 1675 by Amedeo di Castellamonte for Duke Charles Emmanuel II and enlarged by Filippo Juvarra. Part of the UNESCO-listed Savoy residences, it reopened in 2007 after restoration; visitors see the Galleria Grande, the Chapel of Saint Hubert and the gardens.

The Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi is a royal hunting lodge of the House of Savoy, 10 km south-west of Turin, begun in 1729 to designs by Filippo Juvarra. Its wings radiate from an oval central hall crowned by a bronze stag, and it houses a museum of furniture and decorative arts. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Savoy residences.