When you visit Turin, you'll surely be in love with the charming architecture and the gorgeous views of the Alps in the distance. Turin is the capital of the Piedmont region of Italy, which is completely blocked in by the Alps to the west and north. And from the city, you get amazing views in both these directions.
Turin does have some great viewpoints within the city (namely the Mole Antonelliana and the Bell Tower of the Turin Cathedral). In my opinion, however, a view from outside the city is better than 360-degree views from inside. Plus, the Villa della Regina is east of Turin, which means the views from here have Turin in the foreground and the Alps as a stunning backdrop.
Getting to the Villa della Regina
The Villa della Regina is on the other side of the River Po from the heart of Turin. It takes about 15 minutes to drive here from the center of Turin (the Royal Palace) or about 30 minutes via a sightseeing bus. I don't normally take sightseeing buses, preferring to walk and explore on my own, but some of the main tourist sights in Turin are pretty spread out, and the sightseeing bus was a really affordable way to get to all the major locations. By the time you get off at the bus stop for the Villa della Regina, you'll already have a great view of Turin and the Alps from this charming street.
A short walk (about ten minutes) up the street and the Villa's driveway will bring you right to the doorstep, and boy, is it quite a doorstep.
Inside the Villa della Regina
The Villa della Regina was built in the early 1600s as a private residence, complete with a vineyard, for the Prince of the House of Savoy, which was a royal family in this Western Alps region. Today, the Villa is a museum. The full-price ticket is only 7€ and includes access to the palace and the grounds. There's also a video about the history of the villa, but it's only available in Italian, so we carried on. The inside of the palace was really cool. I liked the wallpaper, the ceilings, the complicated designs of the hardwood flooring, and of course, the views in every direction were wonderful.
The Beautiful Villa della Regina Garden
The main attraction of the Villa della Regina for me, however, was obviously the garden. First of all, I really liked all the fountains and sculptures. When you walk out of the back double doors, you're immediately in a small courtyard with walking paths going left, right, and straight up. There are structures in all directions and walking paths connecting them at different levels. Being on a hillside, there was a fun maze of crisscrossing paths, some ramps and some stairs, and different viewpoints from every angle.
Off to the right of the Villa is a pavilion (called Padiglione del Solinghi) that looks like a pretty sweet tiny house just waiting to be converted haha.
Directly back from the Villa is the main fountain. The sculptures are really nice, and I liked the mix of stones, what looks like volcanic stone with what looks like marble. It's too bad the fountains are no longer operational, but it's still very beautiful despite needing a good cleaning.
Finally, off to the left from the Villa della Regina is another small structure in front of the vineyard. This side has the best views of Turin, so be sure to walk all the way out to the platform and up the stairs. The view is super worth it!
The Front Yard of the Villa della Regina
Last but not least, the front of the Villa della Regina also has a beautiful garden, an out-of-use fountain, and some pretty good views. If you happen to visit when the museum is closed and can't get into the backyard gardens, this area is before the entrance gate, so it doesn't require a ticket.
