Historical cafés
If then, in the middle of the day, strolling beneath the elegant colonnades of the centre, your eye is caught by the inviting windows of the historical cafés, give in to the temptation of the hot drinks like “bicerin” based on coffee, chocolate and cream, “zabaione” and hot chocolate, in the café rooms decorated with mirrors, wood panelling and satin upholstery, where the atmosphere of the Risorgimento period can be experienced.
Shopping
The long colonnaded route created in the past for the perambulations of the Savoy household in the town centre has now become an absolute paradise for shoppers. The area traditionally devoted to shopping is between Via Roma, heart and symbol of the city, and the pedestrian zones of Via Carlo Alberto and Via Lagrange where the shop windows of all the big names in fashion and jewellery glitteringly shine. Via Garibaldi is younger and trendier, Via Po is more “intellectual” with the bookshops and stores selling new and used records. Torino has many markets. The top one is at Porta Palazzo, the town's true multiethnic heart in terms both of people and of the goods on display. Nearby there is also Balôn, the historical flea-market.
Nightlife
When the sunset warms the city and the lights flicker on it's the moment for organising the evening: a cheerful aperitif in one of the many bars in the centre, a delicious dinner of traditional or ethnic foods... and then the Torino night awaits!
Piazza Vittorio Veneto, on the River Po, Borgo Dora and the Roman Quarter - the city's real centre - are home to many trendy spots: here art, food and design make the atmosphere even more sparkling, here you can listen to classical music, pop and jazz all strictly live, you can chat, watch artistic performances, dance until dawn. Also San Salvario has an irresistible allure, the multiethnic district (between Porta Nuova station and Valentino Park), the focus of a major urban renewal project.
However, if your idea of an evening is more… classic, and you experience a thrill every time the curtain rises, then be enchanted by opera, concerts, dance, great drama and the avant-garde that tread the boards of the many theatres in the city: discover the Regio Theatre, Auditorium del Lingotto, Auditorium RAI, and Carignano Theatre.