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Winter sports aside, this diverse and sophisticated region offers plenty to see and do
Shopping
The streets and arcades of downtown Turin are packed with elegant and often trendy boutiques, especially along Via Garibaldi, Via Roma, Galleria San Federico and the Galleria Subalpina; if you’re into antiques, head to Via Maria Vittoria, Via della Rocca and Via Principe Amadeo. Europe’s biggest open-air market is the Porta Palazzo, open daily except Sundays on Piazza della Repubblica.
But the most evocative and memorable souvenirs of Piedmont are those you can consume, especially chocolate and wine. Local treats include gianduja (bonbons flavored with hazelnuts, another Piedmontese specialty) and grappini (filled with grappa liqueur). In Turin, the king of cocoa is the elegant Peyrano (Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 76; www.peyrano.com); a March chocolate festival called Cioccolató (www.cioccola-to.com) runs a web site listing other shops and resources. Apart from the wine country enoteche, which we cover, below, most Turin shops have a good local selection; one excellent central emporium is the Enoteca del Piemonte (Via Nizza 294; www.enotecadelpiemonte.com).
