6 Day Trips from Turin by Train, Bus and Car

Venaria Reale is the easiest palace excursion from Turin, while the Sacra di San Michele trades an easy arrival for a hilltop abbey. If you have a full day, Alba offers a town built around food, Orta San Giulio pairs lake lanes with a chapel walk, Aosta has Roman remains, and Genoa takes you to the sea. Choose by the time you can give the place after getting there, not just by the outward journey.

Which day trip should you choose?

Destination	From Turin; outward mode	Outward route	Time to allow
Venaria Reale	Piazza Castello; Venaria Express	about 13 km; about three quarters of an hour	Half-day palace; full day with gardens
Sacra di San Michele	Piazza Castello area; car	about 39 km; about three quarters of an hour	Half-day by car; full day on foot
Alba	Porta Nuova; connecting rail	about 66 km; about an hour and a half	Full day
Orta San Giulio	Piazza Castello area; car	about 128 km; about an hour and a half	Full day
Aosta	Porta Nuova; connecting transit	about 116 km; about 2 hours	Full day
Genoa	Porta Nuova; direct train	about 159 km; about an hour and a half	Full day

For the shortest excursion, pick Venaria’s royal rooms; for architecture with a strenuous approach, choose the Sacra. Alba is the most straightforward food-focused town visit, while Orta rewards a car journey with both lakefront and hillside. Aosta suits Roman history; Genoa is the choice for a substantial city day by the sea. From Porta Nuova, the Alba journey involves a change; direct SFM4 trains instead leave Porta Susa. Aosta’s rail-and-replacement-bus journey is distinct from its direct coach. Neither the abbey hike nor the longer town days is a quick stop between Turin sights.

Venaria Reale: a Savoy palace close to Turin

At the Palace of Venaria, the Great Gallery’s long vaulted space is the centrepiece of a Savoy residence whose gardens deserve their own unhurried circuit. A shorter visit can concentrate on the palace interiors, but allow around 4–5 hours for palace and gardens together. The Reggia ticket covers the Piano Nobile and gardens, while a gardens-only ticket is separate. Individuals are advised to choose a date and time in advance, though advance booking is not compulsory.

The palace opens Tuesday to Friday 09:30–17:00 and at weekends and on public holidays 09:30–18:30, and Monday is closed except on public holidays. During the summer schedule, 28 July–6 September, Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday extend to 19:00, and Friday and Saturday to 23:00. If you’re weighing this against the things to do in Turin on a first visit, give the gardens enough time to make the journey worthwhile.

From central Turin, the Venaria Express serves Borgo Antico for the palace, and on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays it runs every two hours. Its Tuesday–Friday urban-plus-suburban single ticket costs €2, while the weekend and public-holiday full-line hop-on/hop-off single ticket costs €7. For a later return, line 11 runs every day and its latest listed departure from Venaria is 02:16. The Express and line 11 are different services, so plan your return around the latter if staying beyond the Express departures.

Sacra di San Michele: the abbey above the valley

The Sacra di San Michele rises over the Susa Valley on Mount Pirchiriano. Inside, the Staircase of the Dead leads towards the carved Zodiac Door: come for the medieval architecture as well as the height above the valley. Independent visitors need no advance booking, but an individual guided tour does require an advance online ticket.

By car from central Turin, park near Piazzale Croce Nera and allow roughly 10–15 minutes for the steep uphill approach, with uneven steps and slopes. That makes a shorter visit possible. The abbey opens daily. Winter closing is at 16:30 from November to February, with entry from 09:30 Monday to Saturday and 10:45 on Sundays, while in March–October it closes at 17:30. Public-holiday hours can differ.

Without a car, take a train towards Sant’Ambrogio di Torino, then climb the marked cobbled mule track through San Pietro. This is a steep hike, not a station-to-door stroll: allow roughly 1–1½ hours uphill and 2–2½ hours for the walking return, on top of your abbey visit. Trains run approximately hourly across weekdays and weekends rather than at a fixed interval. The latest scheduled daily train back to Torino Porta Nuova leaves Sant’Ambrogio at 23:18. Works-related changes and replacement buses apply through 9 October 2026, so allow room for the journey home.

Alba: a walkable taste of the Langhe

Alba makes the Langhe accessible without trying to fit its scattered vineyard villages into a car-free day. Start at Piazza Risorgimento, then follow the medieval-centre streets past food shops before a leisurely lunch. The compact town is the outing: a vineyard-village circuit is a different trip with its own transport.

From Torino Porta Susa, direct SFM4 trains reach Alba without an interchange and run hourly on weekdays. Alternatively, the journey from Porta Nuova involves a change. Its outward time in the selection table does not apply to the direct train. The last useful direct departure back towards Turin leaves Alba at 20:07 daily and arrives at Torino Lingotto, so allow for the onward journey if your base is elsewhere in Turin.

For an autumn weekend, Alba’s white truffle market runs on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 October to 6 December 2026. Outside that window, the square and food shops still make a satisfying town-and-lunch day. Leave time to explore on foot rather than treating the station arrival as the start of a race through the surrounding countryside.

Orta San Giulio: lake lanes and island

Orta San Giulio is a lake outing best given a full day. Piazza Motta opens onto the waterfront and the view of Isola San Giulio. Take a boat across if it is running, then return to wander the lanes and climb towards the Sacro Monte d’Orta. The town and chapel paths remain a worthwhile visit without a boat.

Drive from central Turin and leave the car outside the pedestrian centre, at Prarondo or a signed lot on Via Panoramica. The uncovered blue-marked spaces on Via Panoramica opposite the tourist office cost €1 per hour. Allow roughly 5–15 minutes to walk down to Piazza Motta, depending on where you park. The closest spaces can fill quickly on summer weekends and holidays.

The published public boat service links Orta Piazza and the island from 1 April to 3 October 2026, with weekday and weekend services. On its Saturday, Sunday and public-holiday timetable, the last island-to-Orta Piazza boat leaves at 18:40, arriving 18:45. That timetable also runs daily from 10 to 16 August except Thursday 13 August. An adult return ticket costs €3.80. Island shuttle boats are described as running approximately every 15 minutes, but that is a different frequency from the published service timetable.

Above the town, Sacro Monte’s chapels depict scenes that you generally view through grilles rather than enter. The uphill approach and circuit include slopes, steps and uneven cobbles. If the ascent is too much, a paid tourist shuttle or a drive can get you uphill, but access to San Nicolao Church by car for reduced-mobility visitors does not make the chapel circuit step-free.

Aosta: Roman remains beneath the Alps

Aosta rewards a full day on foot with the Arch of Augustus, Praetorian Gate and the surviving Roman theatre. From Aosta station, head towards the old centre and the gate, then reach the theatre by Via Porta Praetoria and Via du Baillage. Keep the day in Aosta rather than adding Courmayeur: its Roman sites give you enough to explore before the return.

The connecting outward route from Torino Porta Nuova ends at Aosta station, not at the theatre. Alternatively, the direct Aosta–Turin coach offers a full-route adult single for €15 or a promotional return for €25. The latest published departure from Aosta is 17:35, arriving at Torino Porta Susa at 19:35, so choose a return that leaves enough time to reach the coach stop after visiting the Roman sites.

At the Roman theatre, allow about 30–45 minutes to see the remains. The €10 full-price cumulative ticket also includes the Forensic Cryptoporticus, Early Christian Church of San Lorenzo, Regional Archaeological Museum and Aosta Megalithic Area. If you want to use more of that ticket, choose the sites within town rather than rushing straight back from the theatre.

Genoa: a full day by the sea

Genoa gives you a markedly different full day from the Piedmont towns: an old port on the sea and a dense network of caruggi, the old-town lanes. Direct trains leave Torino Porta Nuova for Genova Piazza Principe, and Torino Lingotto is also served on the route. Start at the Porto Antico waterfront, roughly a 10–15-minute walk from Piazza Principe, and save the lanes for a slower return through the centre.

At Porto Antico, take time along the harbourfront before passing beneath the elevated road into the old town. The lanes lead towards the exterior of San Lorenzo Cathedral, and Via San Lorenzo offers a clear way back towards the water. Several trains serve Genoa across the day. A full day here is better spent between harbour and old town than trying to add a Ligurian village to the same excursion.

Piazza Principe puts you near the older harbour side of Genoa. Use the cathedral as a landmark in the old town, then return to the waterfront for a pause before heading to the station. The route through the lanes lets you see more than the straight path between port and train.

Sources & fact-checking

Checks against the sources below cover: services, key figures, fares and charges, and opening hours.

• SFM4 Germagnano–Aeroporto–Torino–Alba
• Regionale Piemonte – guaranteed trains
• International Alba White Truffle Fair — key figures
• Comune di Orta San Giulio — fares and charges
• Navigazione Lago d’Orta S.r.l. — service
• Consorzio Navigazione Servizio Pubblico Lago d’Orta — service
• Navigazione Lago d’Orta S.r.l. — fares and charges
• Trenitalia; Regione Autonoma Valle d’Aosta — service
• Trenitalia and the Valle d’Aosta Regional Department — service
• Regione Autonoma Valle d’Aosta — service
• Arriva Italia – Aosta — fares and charges
• Regione Autonoma Valle d’Aosta — fares and charges
• Regionale Piemonte e Valle d’Aosta timetable
• Sacra di San Michele — fares and charges
• Sacra di San Michele — opening hours
• Orario dei treni in partenza dalla stazione di S.Ambrogio – RFI
• Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) — service
• Consorzio delle Residenze Reali Sabaude — fares and charges
• La Venaria Reale — opening hours
• La Venaria Reale — service
• LINEA Venaria Express – Venaria Express (sabato e festivi), Torino – Reggia di Venaria
• Linea 11 – via Leopardi (Venaria Reale) – corso Stati Uniti
• Gruppo Torinese Trasporti (GTT) — fares and charges
• Consorzio delle Residenze Reali Sabaude — service