@Ali @Siamak
Firstly I hope nobody minds me bumping this thread, I know alot of people were asking me questions following my recent visit to Torino, my first in 2 years and my 5th visit overall since 2011
I know this read might be quite detailed and probably might seem more like a personal blog of my trip but I hope it's informative without being too boring.
Intro and intentions:
My initial intentions were in fact to visit Torino in April to celebrate Maurizio's 10 year anniversary of Around Turin, annoyingly whilst I had friends who I have met through Around Turin before were going, I ended up having to fork out £2,000 to pay for my then girlfriend's trip to Cyprus with me in May/June. As I'm sure you can tell we're no longer together which only adds to the frustration of missing out.
However over the last couple of years I've been very much living off emotions after the very unexpected loss of my best friend who I happened to go to Torino with back in 2011, despite the fact he was a man utd fan he loved it. In fact in my last trip before this one where I attended Juve vs Inter, he was telling me how much he wanted to go back and do X Y and Z, unfortunately he passed 2 weeks later, so in a way this trip wasn't only just for Juve, but also a trip for me to experience the things he also wanted to do over the course of 5 days.
My initial intentions were to spend 3 or 4 days and watch Juve v Lazio as I knew I could get the time off work then, the CL draw came out and I was eagerly anticipating the fixtures, thankfully we had a home game following the Lazio fixture... I thought PERFECT! lets do it!
Match tickets:
In previous years I either had to make international calls through to listicket or even buy through the official Juventus club membership, however with the Juventus club membership getting a ticket within curva sud is like next to impossible, at least so I found, instead spent a lot of money sitting in the tribuna which is all nice and well if you want a 'family atmosphere' but I didn't particularly enjoy the view either, and for what it was worth I was forking out 2x if not 3x more than I would for a place in either Curva.
I would strongly urge anyone who intends to go to sign up to their local Juventus Official fan club (JOFC), I was fortunate to rekindle my membership with my nearest one in London and I've enjoyed a lot of fun times with them, be it watching the games at the pub, we occasionally travelled to show our support for Notts County and we've built bonds with fans there too, for me it's all part of keeping in touch with our club's history too, ensuring we never forget where we came from.
Through my local JOFC I was able to get the tickets for both the lazio and Stuttgart clash with relative ease, they generally have availability in all the sections of the stadium (except the corporate boxes ofc...) worked out to be 40 euros for each ticket in Curva Sud. 2nd tier curva sud is quite underrated, get a great view and you're part of the atmosphere, lower tier your view may be obscured by the waving flags, but in all honestly that didn't bother me, I was actually more irritated by what seemed like 2 tourists who moved next to me in the 2nd half vs Stuttgart and were more concerned about looking up girls on facebook... honestly I should have snatched their phones and thrown it away.... One of the Ultras even came across to our section quite pissed that some pocket of fans weren't singing, kept shouting at this one group "CANTARE! CANTARE!" and told them to fuck off to the Tribuna next time
Travel info:
Living in England it's fairly straight forward flight from Stansted to Torino, other airports may only take you to Bergamo or Milan from which you'll have to take a train, I believe they all go to Porta Nuova or Susa which are the 2 main stations in Torino. The only catch for me is that is only 1 flight a day from Stansted to Torino, but that didn't bother me that its always a 6am flight, fortunately enough I was able to pre book parking for my car in the long stay car park, also to save on overnight hotel cost at the airport.
Transport from the airport is fairly decent, there is a shuttle which takes you straight to Porta Nuova, cost is around 7 euros and its about a 40 minute journey, alternatively, there is now a train that has only just opened (I've waited 13 years for it!) it's probably not as regular as the shuttle but for 3 euros and it gets you to Porta Susa which is the 2nd train station of the city, from there you can still get a metro, bus, tram to the city centre, it's only a few minutes away from Porta Nuova.
The transportation system in Torino can be a little complex if it's your first time in the city, whilst there is a metro system which pretty much goes on the outskirts of the city centre, there are many buses and trams that go in and out of the city itself.
I would strongly recommend using google maps and put your destination in, it'll tell you which numbered bus/tram to take. The bus/tram signs which lists all it's stops basically means nothing to me, they don't correlate to the main areas of interest that I know.
As for the cost to travel around the city, it is super affordable (at least compared to what I'm used to paying in England), although you can pretty much get away travelling around the city without a ticket on the buses and trams as nobody checks them, and you can buy them in designated shops/cafe's and in the metro stations. You can buy 2 euro ticket which gives you unlimited use of all it's local transport for 90 minutes or you can get a daily or weekly pass for an equally affordable price. Although the buses and trams may be 'free' the metro is certainly not, but it's not like you're breaking the bank to get around the city.
Getting to the stadium itself was different for me this time. Before Around Turin I used to have to go from Porta Nuova - Metro to Bernini - number /9 tram to the stadium, I'm pretty adamant that /9 service no longer runs, it was a designated tram service to get to the stadium only on match days.
I have to say it's a bloody shame Maurizio at Around Turin didn't renew his season ticket as he no longer provides the meet and greet at a bar in Piazza Vittoria Veneto before getting the coach together to and from the stadium.
This time I was fortunate enough to be staying at a hotel a few minutes walk from Piazza Castello, there for great bus and tram network in the area and I was able to get a bus directly to and from the stadium, and it was not a match day specific service which also meant it can get very crammed and uncomfortable getting to and especially from the stadium.
Against Stuttgart I was stuck outside the stadium waiting for a bus back into the city centre till well past midnight, whilst I was kind enough to help a few Stuttgart fans get back as I found an alternative route back into the city, which they were forever grateful for and advised that they took a taxi from there, as it was getting very late and they were staying in Sassi which is basically way out of the city centre where the train that takes you up to Basilica Di Superga is! Luckily they spoke good English although we did exchange words in German too which I think they were quite taken back by, I even suggested we swapped stickers of our clubs as a sign of friendship as I was carrying a load of stickers from my Londra Bianconera club, and so we did.
Places to stay:
For a change I chose to book a hotel right in the city, I did explore options for air B and Bs but I tend to think they're better value if you're going with other people and you can get some really nice appartments too.
Usually I'd stay at one of the best western hotels near Porta Nuova, but this time I had intentions to spend a lot of time in and around the city to do some video footage for a video I'd like to make just as a bit of a side hobby. I managed to book a single room at Le Petit Hotel, spacious enough room, although I kinda regret settling for a single bed, I should have paid a bit more for the enjoyment of a king/queen size bed. for 5 nights it worked in at around £350 ish for the duration of my stay, bear in mind I booked it about 2 months in advance to prices will obviously vary depending on the time of year too.
It is a 3 star hotel and it was really clean which is all I can really ask for right?
I can't say breakfast was much to write home about but again Italians aren't really breakfast people, you're better off actually going to a local bar/cafe, grab a coffee and pastry which would be typical of Italians, but that's just me, I'm not usually a breakfast sort of person.
Things to do/Affordability:
Despite being my 5th visit to the city there's still so much I've yet to do, such as visit the Egyptian museum or the movie museum at the Mole Antonelliana, to be honest there is no shortage of places to visit and is always worth doing your research beforehand. My only regret in my recent trip was spending the one and only day where it rained throughout the day by visiting the Juventus megastore by the stadium, I really should have visited one of the museums instead, but that's something for next time I guess.
It is possible to visit the stadium on non match days still, theres the A12 shopping centre just outside the stadium, as for the museum and stadium tour, I didn't do it this time as I've already done it twice before and whilst I enjoyed it both times, it seemed pointless going again, but otherwise I strongly recommend doing both, you can order the tickets at the museum entrance. If you decide to go to the museum literally that last bit where you're in this room with 360 view of screens and a quite powerful montage of Juve and the values of being at the club, God if that doesn't make you feel reconnected with the club I don't know what will...
There is the J Medical there, I believe it's services are accessible to the public, you can easily go there stand outside as you see the fans do when a new player arrives for their medical.
In terms of places to eat and drink, again I don't ever recall ever having a bad meal at any restaurant I've visited, price wise can vary depending on where you are in terms of whether you are in a touristy area or in one of the more quieter roads, you'd be looking to spend anywhere between 20-30 euros per head based on a 2 course meal and a drink I'd say.
If I have to give some tips about eating out especially is this:
When entering a restaurant or bar try to firstly speak in Italian, that way they will most probably give you an Italian menu to look at, believe it or not and this is not just in Torino but in major tourist areas in the major cities of Italy, you may be handed an English menu, however, the catch is the English menu is generally more expensive than the Italian, if they give you a mixed Italian and English menu that's ok, it's one of these tourist trap tips. And never use the term 'Al Fresco' if you want to sit outside, I heard some idiot use that term last time and the poor waiter had no fucking clue.
I was enjoying 'breakfast' at Caffe al Bicerin , famous for it's Bicerin drink which is a mix of rich chocolate, coffee and whipped cream on top, they had a pile of Italian menus and English menus, I was somewhat adamant that the English couple that sat at the table next to me ended up paying over the odds all because they ordered from the English menu, but I wasn't really in any mood to help, I just think if you're visiting another country you should always make an effort to speak the language, no matter how broken it may be, I think locals appreciate you far more for it, at least in my opinion.
Another tip is if you're somewhat on a budget but need your coffee fix in the morning, always ask to have it 'Al Banco' which basically means drinking at the bar, you'll find you pay a lot more to sit inside/outside with your coffee, there's something pleasant about the experience of drinking your coffee at a busy cafe still.
After thoughts:
I know there were some questions directed at me in another thread about the cost to live there, job prospects... truth be told I cannot honestly say, what I do know is that people certainly travel to Torino for business purposes, whether you can live there is another thing as I'm not really overly familiar with property prices, I certainly know having visited a number of supermarkets and shops that your cost of groceries may be roughly what you'd expect to pay in England, again I'm not informed of what the actual cost of living is in Italy, I imagine external factors over the past couple of years have played it's role.
In terms of spending money? well again it depends on what your intentions are, if you just want enough to eat, drink and maybe buy a couple of small gifts then 60 odd euros a day should suffice. I went with a £600 budget for 5 nights which is a bit excessive, but I wanted some retail therapy on day 1 and eat out as often as I could.
Torino as a city is stupidly underrated, even if Juve wasnt there I'd still go more often, I enjoy the laid back life in comparison to Milan and Rome for example they're just too busy for me and in a way far more touristy, I often like to think Torino is a bit of a hidden gem, if you love your history, appreciate great architecture, Torino certainly holds its own in terms of that whilst retaining much of it's original character. Generally I like city breaks more than I do beach holidays, there's something satisfyingly relaxing sitting outside and just watching the world go by.
I hope this helps, I think I've touched all the bases, if not happy to respond.
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