More Than a Motown

As

home to auto giant fiat, this is Italy's unrivaled Motor City. But Turin is no Detroit — or Stuttgart, for that matter. Like most other Italian destinations, this northwestern industrial city surprises with how much built-in beauty — and cultural and culinary wealth — there is to sample.

With the auto plants and assembly lines confined to the outskirts, Turin's center can be pleasantly surveyed with a quick connect-the-squares walk (Piazza Castello to Piazza Vittorio Veneto on the banks of the Po River is a good starting route) that provides some satisfying food for the eyes. The architecture is largely 17th and 18th century Baroque that recalls Paris more than Palermo — many of the most splendid palazzi are the original property of the House of Savoy.

The royal family,

STREETWISE Best Budget Meal: Ristorante Tre Galline, Via Bellezia 37, tel. 436 6553. With its homey wood-paneled charm and all the best local cuisine, this restaurant offers a taste of how people have been eating in the Piedmont region for centuries. Both antipasti and desserts are rolled out from the kitchen to your table. Try the fowl for your main course. Add a local Barbera wine and your bill will come to under €40 a head. Best Jogging: Along the left bank of the Po River, Parco del Valentino is the greenest strip in the city — with a view of the Alps. Best Weekend Retreat: Turin is an hour from the Sestriere ski resort, the site of the Alpine events for the 2006 Winter Olympics. Late snow is expected to keep lifts open well into spring. Best Bargains: The vast park on Margit Island in the Danube has scenic paths through lovely gardens. Accessible from both embankments by the Árpád and Margit Bridges. Best Bargains: Tosi Modelli, Portici Via Roma 335, tel. 562 1263. This leather goods shop offers its own line of briefcases and travel bags as well as other top Italian and French brands. Best View: Enter the Palazzo Reale's gardens and turn right for the best glimpse of Turin's Mole Antonelliana tower. Best Chocolate Fix: Peyrano. Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 76 and Corso Moncalieri 47. Turin makes fine chocolates — and Peyrano's are the best.

which reigned over all of Italy after the country was unified in 1870, fell in disgrace at the end of World War II after King Victor Emmanuel III's support for dictator Benito Mussolini. Barred since 1947 by the Italian Constitution from setting foot in Italy, the Savoy male heirs may soon be permitted to return home. They'll find their ancestral city has been whipped into shape.

The first stop for them, or anyone, should be one of the city's many 300-year-old cafés, maintained in all their ornate glory, famous for serving up a myriad of flavored espressos (try the marocchino) and offering fresh hors d'oeuvres during a nightly 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. happy hour.

After fueling up, visit the Palazzo Madama, a royal residence that houses the Museo Civico d'Arte Antica. The regional collection of tapestries, paintings and ceramics can be skipped for a quick — and free — viewing of renowned architect Filippo Juvarra's staircase, the Scala delle Forbici, on the western side of the building. Across the Piazza Castello is the Palazzo Reale, which was damaged by fire in 1997. But much of the restoration is complete and can be enjoyed from outside in the open gardens or inside in the majestic corridors.

One disappointment for those expecting to see the Holy Shroud, believed by some to be the sheet that was wrapped around the body of Christ after the crucifixion: only a reproduction is regularly available for viewing at the Capella della Santissima Sindone. More satisfying is the Egyptian Museum, which has the largest collection of Egyptian artifacts outside Cairo.

But perhaps the best single attraction may be found in more modern times: Italy's National Museum of Cinema. Located inside the Mole Antonelliana — a 167.5-m-high, architecturally eclectic tower that is the symbol of Turin — offers a memorable winding tour up the circular walkway where visitors can see film clips, original screenplay sheets, rare posters and otherwise entertaining snapshots of more than a century of cinematic history. The museum is worth an entire afternoon. For a singular view of the city and the surrounding mountains, take the elevator to the top.

Shopping comes without the fanfare and tourist buses of other big Italian cities. Many of the major Italian designers have their spaces on and around Via Roma. Or search for a real bargain in nearby Piazza della Repubblica, home to the biggest open-air market in Europe. For dining out, both the food and wine are excellent, though expect heavier cream-based sauces than you'd find in Rome or Naples. And, of course, if you really came for the cars, there is always the Museum of the Automobile.