Turin is a grand, imposing city with a good selection of equally imposing, and expensive, hotels. But when this former capital of Italy was the venue for the Winter Olympic Games in 2006, a host of fun, reasonably priced B&Bs sprung up to cope with the influx of tourists.
New ones are still opening up today, offering a chance to stay with enthusiastic locals in distinctive apartments, where the room rate usually includes breakfast, free internet and insider tips by the owners to bars and restaurants you won't find in the guidebooks.
Which is just as well, because the city is expecting around two million visitors over the next couple of months when the Shroud of Turin goes on display to the public for the first time in 10 years from 10 April to 23 May. Already there have been more than one million online reservations to secure just a few minutes to see the 14ft-long piece of linen that many Christians believe is Jesus Christ's burial shroud in its bulletproof, climate-controlled case in Guarino Guarini's Chapel of the Holy Shroud in the baroque Duomo di San Giovanni.
Most of the B&Bs are ideally placed in the historic centre, where Turin's sights are within easy walking distance. (All quoted prices are for a double room with breakfast unless otherwise specified.)
1. Aprile
The long walk up four flights of stairs is well rewarded when you walk into this romantic B&B. Right under the roof, each room has sloping ceilings with dark wooden beams. A shady terrace filled with plants runs round the four sides of an interior courtyard, overlooked by the Romanesque belltower of the Consolata Basilica. The bubbly owner, Cristina, lives alongside, and invariably invites guests in for an evening aperitivo. Instead of preparing breakfast herself, she has arranged for guests to go downstairs to the Neo Head Cafe, a beautiful bar, set in a tiny baroque chapel, which serves delicious hot chocolate, fresh pastries and croissants, and where everything you order is already included in the room rate.
• Via delle Orfane 19; aprile.to.it; +39 (0)11 4360114. €90 (£80).
2. Foresteria degli Artisti
This has to be the best deal in Turin, and has to be reserved well in advance, as there is only one room. This is not just a room, though, but a charming apartment under the rooftops of a beautifully restored 1900s apartment building. Apart from the wood-beamed bedroom, guests have their own cosy lounge with a music system and TV (but no internet), plus a fully equipped kitchen. Owner, Signora Anna, often prepares an aperitivo in the early evening for her guests; her daughter has just opened a second B&B, Il Due, five minutes' walk away, which is covered by the same website. The Artisti is in the Borgo del Fumo neighbourhood, an old industrial quarter that still has a host of artisan ateliers, antique stores, vintage clothes boutiques and artists' studios.
• Via Artisti 15; foresteriadegliartisti.it; +39 (0)11 837785. €90.
3. Carlo Alberto
A perfectly located B&B, just a few minutes walk from Turin's landmark Museo Egizio, whose collection of mummies and priceless artefacts is second only to the Egyptian Museum's in Cairo. The hotel takes its name from Via Carlo Alberto, lined with chic boutiques, and the owner is also named Carlo. The highlight is breakfast, where a long table is filled with tasty brioches and pastries freshly baked by a pasticceria downstairs, three different cakes, fresh fruits and traditional foccacia bread. The rooms are comfortable, and guests have the use of a grand salon decorated with antiques and plush sofas. Excellent value for money.
• Via Carlo Alberto 41; carloalberto-torino.it; +39 (0)11 8600056. €80.
4. Vitamina M
Opened last January, this is Turin's first design B&B, furnished in a cool, minimalist style. The decor is essentially cool white, contrasted with striking red-and-black design objects, such as a 1920s bicycle, a stylish Olivetti typewriter and a 1960s electric guitar exhibited on the wall. The rooms are spacious, and there's an even bigger living room, complete with an expansive library and piano. The price is a little steep, especially as the apartment is situated four floors up with no lift, and the building looks pretty run down from the outside. But then this is very much a neighbourhood in transition, with a new influx of arty bohemians renovating houses and opening galleries, studios, hip bars and restaurants.
• Via Belfiore 10; vitaminam.com; +39 347 1526130. €100.
5. Alla Buona Stella
Signora Roberta discovered the British hospitality of a traditional B&B on holiday with her family. Then, when the winter Olympics came to Turin, she decided to quit her job and transform her large apartment into a tasteful three-room B&B. Well placed in Turin's old city centre, the Quadrilatero Romano, it's located is on the top floor of a grand mansion. Guests can relax in a comfortable lounge where breakfast is served, and although the signora normally prepares breakfast all'Italiana with brioches and her home-baked cakes, she also prepares a selection of locally produced Piedmont salami, smoked ham and cheeses on request.
• Via del Carmine 10; allabuonastella.it; +39 (0)11 19710823. €100.
6. La Casa di Flora
Situated in a chic residential neighbourhood, the Casa di Flora is a stunning art nouveau house transformed by its young owner, Maurizio, into a four-room B&B with a self-contained suite. The Liberty style extends from the wrought-iron staircase and red patine walls to period furniture in the bedrooms. Guests have the use of a fully equipped kitchen, should you want to avoid eating out every night. The Casa di Flora is just outside the city centre, about 20 minutes' walk from Turin's main sights, but it's right on a central bus line and tickets only cost €1. Two bathrooms for four rooms isn't ideal, either, but the young clientele don't seem to mind much, and considering everything else, the price really is a bargain.
• Via le Chiuse 85; lacasadiflora.it; +39 (0)11 4733456. €60.
7. Terres d'Aventures
There is a slight Mission: Impossible feel about this very chic B&B, with a perfect location in the heart of the old town centre. Guests are given precise instructions how to enter without even having to meet the owner: a door code lets you into the palazzo, and then your own personalised key code gives access to the B&B itself. Terres d'Aventures is a split-level designer apartment divided into two cool independent suites with a shared living room and kitchen. In summer, guests have access to a private terrazza solarium that is perfect for an early evening aperitivo. In the morning, a friendly housekeeper comes in to prepare the breakfast and then make up the rooms. Difficult to find a more stylish address to stay in Turin.
• Via Santa Maria 1; suitestorino.it; +39 340 7014125. €100.
8. Saluzzo Paesana 1718
Though it looks relatively anonymous from the outside, the Saluzzo Paesana is actually one of Turin's grandest and best-preserved palaces, dating back nearly 300 years. This elegant B&B on the second floor is a surprising mix of ancient frescoes and palatial high ceilings furnished with exotic Asian art. Guests have use of a spacious living room with views over the imposing Piazza di Savoia, where there are a host of traditional Torinese cafes and hip bars. The price is a little high, especially as breakfast is not included, but it is worth splashing out for the private bathroom, as it has a hydromassage bath.
• Via del Carmine 1; saluzzopaesana.com; +39 (0)11 4407252. €80 for a shared bathroom, €115 for a private one; breakfast not included.
9. La Piazzetta
The Piazzetta is an old-fashioned bed-and-breakfast, where a friendly Turin family – Fabrizio, Monica, their two daughters and Birba the cat – rent one room of their sprawling apartment. They welcome guests genuinely, as one of the family, and like nothing more than to act as unofficial guides to local restaurants and bars. Don't expect a luxury stay, but the bedroom with attached bathroom and small balcony is more than adequate and the breakfast is copious. The house looks over the pretty Largo Saluzzo square, and this is a funky part of Torino to explore, with great trattorie specialising in traditional Piedmontese cuisine and wine bars stocked with barolo, barbera and barbaresco vintages from the nearby vineyards of the Langhe.
• Largo Saluzzo 36. bblapiazzetta.com; +39 (0)11 6503490. €70.
10. L'Orso Poeta
Housed in what was once an opulent aristocrat's mansion on the corner of the Po river, with splendid views over Turin's Parco del Valentino, the Orso Poeta – the Teddy Bear Poet – is a delightful oasis. Signora Nicoletta lives in the adjoining apartment and has two rooms for rent, decorated in soft pastel colours and antique furniture, with a breakfast room that doubles as a salon. For its location, and because the signora spoils her guests, this is a favourite haunt of actors and singers performing in Turin. Although it is a little expensive, it's worth the price: it's close to all the main sights, as well as the waterfront murazzi on the Po nearby, which are alive at the weekend with late-night bars, clubs and live bands.
• Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. orsopoeta-bed-and-breakfast.it; +39 (0)11 5178996. €110.
• The Shroud of Turin is on exhibition from 10 April - 23 May in the Chapel of the Holy Shroud in the Duomo di San Giovanni. Reservations can be made online.
