Car Hire Turin

Planning a trip to the stylish and elegant northern Italian city of Turin, capital of the Piedmont region?  As well as being a major industrial city, Turin, with its palaces, gardens, museums and fantastic food, offers a feast of culture making it the perfect destination for leisure as well as business travellers. Regarded as being in the shadow of nearby Milan, Turin offers the same slice of history and culture but with a more laid-back vibe than its fashion-conscious neighbour.

Lining the banks of the River Po, Turin or Torino as it is known locally, is within an easy drive of the Alpine slopes. From its location in the north-west of the country, Turin is just an hour from the French border and a couple of hours from the lakes of southern Switzerland.

You'll find Avis’s rental stations conveniently located in Turin with a location in Downtown Turin as well as at Turin Airport.

With Avis Car Rental, you can easily and conveniently explore Turin and the surrounding area and experience all it has to offer. Thanks to its history – it was once part of France – Turin is a city with its own individual character and charm combining its French and Italian heritage. You’ll find beautiful baroque buildings, grand boulevards and stately squares. Café culture is naturally big in the city – it is where the world-renowned Lavazza coffee brand was founded and you can still visit the first Lavazza coffee house in San Tommaso right in the middle of Turin’s old city.

For a flavour of the city’s wealthy heritage, head to the breathtaking Palazzo Reale – with gold leaf at every turn, it is sumptuous in its colour and design. Don’t miss strolling by Turin’s distinctive landmark, the Mole Antonelliana, with its soaring spire – once a synagogue and now the National Cinema Museum. Meanwhile, car enthusiasts can make a beeline to the city’s Automobile Museum is devoted to Turin’s main industry.

To soak up some of the sophistication and indulge in some high-end window shopping in the city, wander along the Via Roma, home to the chic boutiques and leading fashion houses.

Finally, take some time to people watch in a café or restaurant under the upmarket arches of the city’s main square, Piazza Castello. The engine room of Savoy society from the 16th to 18th centuries, it is lined with impressive buildings including the Opera House.

Turin is at the centre of the stunning Piedmont region making it within easy reach of some of northern Italy’s most popular destinations.

If the sight of the Alpine peaks, visible from every street corner in the heart of the city, inspires you to head to the mountains, join the locals who make the resort of Via Lattea, their winter and summer playground. The 100km trip west takes around 1hr45min.

Drive an hour south of Turin and things slow down, literally, as you enter the Piedmontese village of Bra. Bra regards itself as the founding centre of regional sustainability and the slow food movement. Foodies are in for a treat as the streets are lined with family-run stores filled with local produce.

An Instagram favourite, Sacra di San Michele, a former Benedictine monastery towers above the beautiful Susa Valley just a 1hr44min, 37km drive away. Drive through rolling hills with the snow-capped Alps ahead and you can visit the abbey and the brewery beneath it.

While many parts of the historic city of Turin are easy to get around on foot and public transport, it is worth hiring a car to travel across and outside the city. Renting a car in Turin gives you the chance to explore further afield and plan a road trip around northern Italy.

Hiring a car is a wonderful way to explore northern Italy. The road network is good and from the main routes, it is still possible to get off the beaten track. As in the rest of Italy and mainland Europe, you’ll be driving on the right-hand side of the road as you leave the airport. When you are travelling around Turin be aware that the rush hour runs from 7.30am-10am in the morning and 5pm to 6pm in the evening.

If you have not driven in this part of the world before and want advice on everything thing from guidance what to carry in your car to national speed limits or latest news on congestion zones, we’d advise checking the road rules for driving in Italy before you set off.

As the regional capital, Turin can get busy but parking is plentiful with on-street parking in the blue zones around the city centre as well as park and ride facilities on the outskirts. A limited traffic zone is in operation in Turin and in the centre of the city this comes into force from 7:30am to 10:30am on weekdays.