Turin shopping

Turin is the kind of city where you are bound to fall in love with some shop or other, from a selection that runs from top-of-the range designer stores to shops offering steeo discounts and the displays in Italian shops are more often than not spectacular, irrespective of price.

Look out for the kitchenware shops (there is one at the top of Piazza Vittorio Veneto), all sparkling chrome coffee machines, blenders, scales and, naturally enough in Italy, ice cream scoops.

Via Po has elegantly fronted shops in the arcades that run down each side of the street, a reminder of a different age. Many of the collection of boutiques, patisseries, cafés other stores also display their wares in the supporting columns, making the street one of the most attractive in Turin.

Via Roma is also sheltered by arcades, which is nice and handy for shopping when it's raining or when the sun is at its most intense. With designer boutiques towards Piazza San Carlo, Via Roma also has more modestly priced shops, such as Zara and Mango, towards Porta Nuova.

Both Via Po and Via Roma also have delis stocked up with olives, freshly prepared dishes, pasta in all shapes and colours and wine, and antiques are often sold from suitably antique premises too, giving a real old world charm and don't forget to take a look in to the Galleria dell'Industria Subalpina, a 19th century shopping arcade (below).

Perhaps the greatest Turin shopping street though is Via Garibaldi, a pedestrianised street accessed from Piazza Castello.

It's popular with locals and tourists alike and although not always cheap it has at least one outstanding shoe shop, Michi (below, Via Garibaldi, 31) - and who doesn't go shopping for shoes in Italy? The range of shoes and the service is absolutely first class and you may never want to shop anywhere else ever again.

Michi also has an outlet store a little way further up Via Garibaldi, so if you're trying to save the pennies by buying last season's stock it could be worth a look in.

If you're shopping on Via Garibaldi on a Saturday morning a good option for a change is to turn right onto Via Bellezzia (walking along Via Garibaldi from Piazza Castello) to Balon market in Piazza della Repubblica.

Here and in the surrounding streets you'll find colourful fruit and veg stalls, ripe with the scent of fresh basil, clothes, antiques and a flea market.

The area is slightly downmarket, so watch your pockets and handbags, although the area between Via Garibaldi and Piazza della Repubblica it is currently fashionable for nightlife - stay to the main streets to avoid running into trouble.

Also remember to check out the supermarkets. If you're fond of coffee then 250 g of Illy should set you back around €6.50, and as you've probably promised pasta for someone back home go and choose from the huge selections.

Don't forget to buy some for yourself though, as Italian pasta really does taste better, and while we're on the subject of food, what about some Gorgonzola, fresh Parmesan, or a jar or two of sun-dried tomatoes or olive paste?

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