← Torino City Marathon·Day trip

Venaria Reale: The Savoy Palace Ten Kilometres North

A Savoy palace with a long baroque gallery, a Juvarra stable and formal gardens ten kilometres north of Turin, on one ticket.

DurationDay trip
TransitGTT bus 11 or 72, about 30 min from central Turin
DepartsTurin Piazza Castello

After the Torino City Marathon: Venaria Reale

The Route: Turin Piazza Castello → Venaria Reale → Turin Logistics: City bus or the Venaria Express shuttle, both direct. The Reggia sits about 10 km north of the centre. Marathon Month: November Duration: Day trip

Turin Piazza Castello ──(Venaria Express ~40 mins, or bus 11/72 ~30 mins)──> Reggia di Venaria Reale
                      <──────────────(same route back)──────────────────────┘

The Torino City Marathon finishes at Piazzetta Reale, which makes the palace of Venaria Reale a neat second act: the Savoy court lived at Palazzo Reale on Piazza Castello, beside the finish, and built Venaria as its hunting residence outside the city. Go on Tuesday, not Monday. The Reggia is closed on Mondays and the Venaria Express does not run that day.

November in Venaria. By the end of November the formal gardens are bare. The clipped hedges and the long axes of the parterres stay in view, the borders are empty, and the fog that settles over the Po plain at this time of year can hang over the lawns until midday. Plan around the indoor rooms and treat the gardens as a short walk with a coffee at the end. In most years the interior is the better reason to go, though conditions vary.

Two routes leave from the centre. The Venaria Express runs from Piazza Castello and Piazza Vittorio Veneto, takes about 40 minutes, and operates from Tuesday to Sunday. GTT city buses 11 and 72 take about 30 minutes and use an ordinary urban ticket, which makes them the cheaper choice. Suburban trains also reach Venaria, and the palace entrance is at Piazza della Repubblica, a short walk from the town stop. Check fares and times at gtt.to.it before travelling, because the weekday and weekend fares for the Express differ.

The Palace and the Great Stable

A ticket for the palace, the Great Stable and the gardens starts at about EUR 35 (approximately GBP 30). Allow three hours. Prices vary, so use the figure as a guide only. The visit is long and mostly indoors on flat floors. Take it in two halves with a coffee between them, because tired quadriceps notice the length of the enfilades more than any stairs.

The Galleria Grande, designed by the architect Filippo Juvarra, is the room to see first: a very long, high gallery lit from windows on both sides, which gives the best sense of the scale of the palace. The Sala di Diana, the hall dedicated to the goddess of the hunt, is the other room that shows what the building was for. The Great Stable, also by Juvarra, is a vaulted horse stable that sits outside the main palace block.

If the day goes well, add the Cappella di Sant'Uberto, the chapel dedicated to the patron saint of hunters, which is on the same ticket route. The adjacent La Mandria park is a separate and larger walk, and the combined ticket that includes the Castello della Mandria costs more. Skip it on tired legs.

Eating

Venaria Reale's main streets run from the palace square and have cafes and trattorie that serve lunch to day visitors. Piedmontese lunches revolve around agnolotti del plin and braised meat. Ask for the day's fixed menu if one is on offer.

Getting Back

Take the same bus or the Venaria Express back to the centre. Last departures matter more than first ones. Check the final Express departure at the ticket desk when you arrive and plan to leave the palace an hour before it.