Venaria Palace:
A UNESCO Site & Turin's Royal Gem

One of Italy's Top Ten Tourist Attractions is in Turin. It is a huge surprise for those who think they've seen Europe's grandest palaces. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is a Baroque masterpiece that rivals Versailles in scale and sheer opulence. Yet, it remains one of Italy's most breathtaking—and surprisingly uncrowded—treasures. Welcome to the palace that outshines the kings.

I remain amazed at how this incredible palace has been kept so quiet. It is quite incredible how hardly anyone outside of Italy has even heard of this amazing palace. Currently, nearly all of the nearly one million tourists who visit the palace each year come from Italy.

Why is the Venaria Palace Worth Visiting?

Well, just a few reasons are:

• A UNESCO World Heritage Site.

• One of the largest palaces on earth.

• In every way as impressive as the Palace of Versailles.

• 80 hectares of beautiful gardens and 6000 hectares of parkland.

• 80,000 square meters of palace space.

• One of the loveliest palaces you will find anywhere—truly beautiful.

A bit about the Palace

Why was the Palace of Venaria built?

Venaria's Palace was built in the 17th century for Charles Emmanuel I, one of the Savoy kings. The idea was twofold: firstly, to build a palace that would serve as a legacy to him and his wife, and secondly, to have a "little" country lodge to use as a base on hunting trips and while away from the city, taking in the cleaner air to the north of Torino.

In the end, the palace just kept on growing as the power and wealth of the Savoy family increased.

The Exile of the King & Restoration of the Palace

After the Second World War, when the Italian royal family (effectively the Savoy royal family) was sent into exile, the palace became neglected and fell into disrepair. Windows were broken, graffiti appeared on the walls, and the gardens were overgrown with weeds.

However, in the 1970s, a project to restore the palace and its grounds to their former glory was begun.

The task was enormous, and the work was painstakingly difficult. This project was one of the largest ever undertaken anywhere in the world. The gardens alone saw nearly 11 million liters of water added to the artificial lake, and 40,000 new plants were brought in to restore the palace's gardens.

Finally, the palace opened to tourists for the first time in 2007, after around twenty years of restoration, and a fair bit of the palace is still undergoing restoration work.

Venaria Palace is regarded as a must-see attraction not only in Turin but throughout Italy. Most experts regard it as more impressive than the Palace of Versailles.

You may even want to spend a night here, and if you do, there are some lovely options such as the La Finestra Sulla Reggia and Hotel Cascina di Corte.

Getting to Venaria

You can reach Venaria Reale very easily from Turin by train, bus, or car.

By train (the quickest and simplest option), leave from Torino Porta Susa station and take the SFM commuter line toward Ceres. Get off at Venaria Reale station. The journey takes around 15–20 minutes. From the station, it’s about a 10–15 minute pleasant walk through town to the Reggia di Venaria.

By bus, GTT city buses connect central Turin with Venaria. Lines such as 11 and 72 run from Turin toward Venaria, and there is also the Venaria Express shuttle service, which connects central Turin with the palace area directly. Travel time is usually between 40 and 50 minutes depending on traffic.

If you have your own car, then take the Turin ring road and exit at Venaria. Driving takes about 20–30 minutes depending on traffic, but parking near the Reggia can fill up on weekends and holidays.

Our recommendation? Take the train. It’s simple, reliable, and avoids city traffic, leaving you fresh and ready to enjoy one of Italy’s most spectacular royal residences.

A Tip

When visiting the palace, one thing you definitely want to avoid is eating on the main street of Venaria—the one where the ticket office is and that leads directly to the palace entrance.

Not only will you most likely have a subpar dining experience, but you'll also be overcharged. Stay far away from Caffè Antica Reggia—it was a total letdown. I asked for an aperitivo, and they served me peanuts, which, considering Turin is world-renowned for its aperitivo culture, is absolutely unacceptable!

To return from Venaria Palace to the Turin Museum Guide click here