Via Roma is the elegant spine of central Turin, running from Piazza Castello to Piazza Carlo Felice and Porta Nuova railway station. More a grand shopping street than a residential neighbourhood, it brings together arcades, fashion boutiques, jewellers, cafés and bookshops in a setting that feels distinctly Turinese: formal, measured and quietly stylish.
The street dates to the seventeenth-century expansion of the Savoy capital, but much of what you see today is the result of rebuilding in the 1930s. Its architecture moves between Baroque references and the monumental Rationalist style associated with Fascist-era planning. At its heart, Piazza San Carlo opens out around an equestrian statue of Emanuele Filiberto, with twin churches at its southern end.
A walk along Via Roma is as much about architecture and people-watching as shopping. Pause for coffee or chocolate at one of the historic cafés around Piazza San Carlo, browse the arcades, then branch off towards the Egyptian Museum or the lanes of the Quadrilatero Romano. The porticoes offer welcome shelter from rain and summer sun.
Late morning and early evening are good times to visit, when the shops are open and the arcades are lively; Sunday hours can be shorter or variable. Porta Nuova station is at the southern end, making public transport easier than driving into Turin's restricted-traffic centre. Café prices on Piazza San Carlo can be high, so head a street or two away for a less expensive coffee.