When Duke Carlo Emanuele I of Savoy issued an urban edict in 1606 requiring every new building in Turin’s center to include a ground-floor arcade, he wasn’t thinking about tourists caught in a downpour. He wanted a city that looked and felt like a proper European capital—orderly, grand, built for promenading. But that single rule, expanded by later rulers, gave Turin something most cities lack: roughly 18 kilometers of covered walkways, enough to cross the historic core without ever opening an umbrella.
of continuous arcades (portici) in Turin’s city center, one of the most extensive systems in the world
torino.info
The arcades—portici in Italian—weren’t just for show. The Savoy court used them to move between palaces without braving the elements, and over centuries the network grew into what feels like a second city: a shadow city of vaulted ceilings, stone pillars, and filtered light where daily life just happens. Walking under them is the most authentic Turin experience there is, and it works whether the sun is blasting or the rain is coming sideways.
From the royal palace to the train station without getting wet
The best stretch of Turin’s arcades runs about two kilometers from Piazza Castello to Porta Nuova station, and it’s covered for nearly the entire walk. You can do it in forty minutes if you’re just passing through, or stretch it to two hours with stops. I’d take the longer version.
Start on the north side of Piazza Castello, right in front of the royal palace gates. This is where the network begins and where the ceilings are tallest—the Savoy court built this section for themselves, and you can feel it. The vaults are decorated, and the lamps are mounted high to light the ceiling rather than the pavement. At night the whole stretch glows the color of an old hotel lobby, and there’s nothing quite like it anywhere else in Italy.
Take five minutes to walk the square’s perimeter first. You’ll pass Palazzo Madama in the center, the church of San Lorenzo with Guarini’s extraordinary dome, and the entrances to four museums. Then head east down Via Po.
Via Po runs toward the river and is arcaded on both sides for its full length, which is unusual even in Turin. It was the old university quarter, and it still feels that way—bookshops, student bars, a slightly scruffier grandeur than the shopping streets. Halfway down, side arcades run off into small squares worth a quick detour. The street ends at Piazza Vittorio Veneto, the largest square in the city, arcaded down both long sides and open at the far end to the river and the hill of Gran Madre. This is the best place on the walk to stop for coffee, because the square is big enough that the tables never feel crowded.
Return to Piazza Castello and take Via Roma south. This is Turin’s smart shopping spine, rebuilt in the 1930s with heavier, more severe arcades than the older streets. The change in style is obvious the moment you leave Via Po. After about five minutes, Via Roma opens into Piazza San Carlo, Turin’s elegant drawing room, with two matching Baroque churches closing the far end. The arcades run down both sides, and the historic cafés underneath them are the whole point of stopping here.
Continue south and the arcades deliver you straight to Porta Nuova station, still under cover. The practical value of this route is hard to overstate: arrive by train, walk to your hotel in the center, eat, shop, sightsee for a weekend, and never once need an umbrella.
The arcades aren’t continuous everywhere. There are gaps where you cross a road, so a wet day still needs a jacket—just never an umbrella.
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If you’d rather let someone else do the navigating, a small-group walking tour of Turin’s top highlights covers the arcades and the main squares with a local guide who can point out details you’d miss on your own.
The arcades are at their best twice a day: early morning, when the shops open and light comes in sideways along the pavement, and after dark, when the ceiling lamps turn the whole street gold. Sunday mornings are the quietest time. Weekday lunchtimes are busy with office workers.
The cafés where you warm up properly
Vermouth was invented in Turin in the 1780s, and the city’s aperitivo habit started here. But on a rainy day, the drink you want is a bicerin—layered espresso, drinking chocolate, and cream served in a small glass without a spoon. The correct place to try it is Caffè Al Bicerin on Piazza della Consolata, which has been serving it since the 18th century. Giacomo Puccini and Friedrich Nietzsche drank here. Order it standing at the bar for about €1.50, or sit at a table on Piazza San Carlo and pay several times that for the pleasure of watching the city go by from under the arcades.
The historic cafés of Turin are a genre unto themselves. Baratti & Milano, next to Galleria Subalpina, was the official supplier to the House of Savoy and still has the most scenographic pastry shop in the city. Caffè Torino on Piazza San Carlo has marble interiors and chandeliers that date to the early 20th century. Caffè Platti on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II was a regular haunt of Cesare Pavese and Luigi Einaudi. Pick one and give it forty minutes of genuine pause—rushing defeats the experience.
If you want to explore Turin’s chocolate and café culture more systematically, my guide to Turin’s historic cafés and chocolate traditions goes into the full story, including why the city invented gianduiotto and what to take home.
What to skip when it’s wet
The arcades make rain almost irrelevant, but not everything works in bad weather. Skip Monte dei Cappuccini, the Basilica of Superga, and the Mole Antonelliana’s panoramic lift—they all exist for the view, and on a rainy or foggy day you won’t get one. Winter fog from December through February turns the Alps invisible and the light flat white. It’s atmospheric rather than miserable, and the arcades and old cafés make perfect sense then. But if you wake up to a clear winter morning after wind, move fast—that’s when the sharpest Alpine views of the year appear.
The alternative afternoon for a really wet day: take the metro to Lingotto (entirely underground) and visit the National Automobile Museum. It’s two hours of dark, well-designed interior, and it’s often underestimated by tourists. The old Fiat factory at Lingotto also has a shopping center and a small excellent gallery, though the rooftop test track is outdoors and better saved for clear weather.
Rainy evening: the arcades come alive
Rain does nothing to the evening in Turin. From around 18:00, the aperitivo habit kicks in—the price of a drink includes food, and the Quadrilatero Romano’s narrow streets are actually more atmospheric wet than dry. The arcades on Piazza Vittorio Veneto let you drink outdoors under cover on the city’s largest square, watching the rain fall beyond the columns.
If you prefer entertainment, the city’s historic cinemas are a genuine experience. Cinema Massimo, run by the National Cinema Museum, programs art-house films and original-language screenings. Cinema Lux in Galleria San Federico and Cinema Nuovo Romano in Galleria Subalpina—the oldest cinema in Turin, opened in 1911—both offer the chance to watch a film inside a period gallery, which is an experience in itself. You can reach all of them under cover.
For a full evening under the arcades, the formula is simple: pre-dinner drink at a historic café, dinner in a trattoria in the Quadrilatero, then a film or a late bicerin on the way back to your hotel. You never leave the portici, and you never touch your umbrella.
Before you set out under the arcades
Can you really walk from the station to the center entirely under cover?
Yes. From Porta Nuova station north up Via Roma to Piazza Castello, the route is covered nearly the whole way. A few road crossings have gaps, so bring a jacket, but you’ll never need an umbrella.
How long does the main arcade walk take?
The straight route from Piazza Castello to Porta Nuova is about two kilometers and takes forty minutes walking. With the Via Po arm added, it’s closer to three kilometers. Allow two hours if you’re stopping for coffee, photos, and side squares.
Is there a downside to the arcades?
They’re not continuously connected everywhere, so a wet day still means a jacket. And on sunny weekends, the most popular stretches—especially Via Roma and Piazza San Carlo—can get crowded with shoppers and office workers at lunchtime.
When are the arcades at their best?
Early morning when shops open and light comes in sideways along the pavement, and after dark when the ceiling lamps turn the street golden. Sunday mornings are quietest.
What’s the one thing I shouldn’t miss under the arcades?
A bicerin at Caffè Al Bicerin. Order it standing at the bar for around €1.50. It’s the taste of Turin in a glass, and it belongs to this city alone.
Why the arcades make Turin a city for all weather
Most European cities have a rainy-day problem. You hide in a museum or a mall, wait it out, and feel like you lost half a day. Turin’s arcades solve that in a way that feels less like a workaround and more like the point of the place. They were built so the court could promenade in any weather, and they still work exactly that way for anyone who walks under them. The city’s best cafés are under the portici. Its best shopping is under the portici. Its most beautiful squares are ringed by them. You can arrive by train, spend a weekend, and never once feel at the mercy of the forecast.
For more on what to do when you’re not under cover, this guide to Turin’s royal palaces and bicerin culture covers the museums and palaces that complete the picture. And this post on the Mole Antonelliana and the National Cinema Museum explains why Turin’s most iconic landmark is worth saving for a clear day.
Sources and further reading
City by Day. “Turin Arcades Walk.” 🔗
Torino Info. “Via Roma and the Portici of Turin.” 🔗
Dogma Escape Room. “What to Do in Turin When It Rains.” 🔗
City by Day. “Turin in the Rain.” 🔗
Du Parc Suites. “What to Do in Turin When It Rains.” 🔗
Patrick Ashton. “Turin without Leaving the Arcades.” 🔗
Related reading on Emily in Italy
Turin: A Smart Tourism Gem with Alpine Views — why Turin is one of Italy’s most underrated cities for walkable, year-round travel.
Turin Shows Off Its Art Scene and Local Flavors — a deeper look at the city’s contemporary art museums and Piedmontese food traditions.