Bicerin, coffee with chocolate, special cappuccinos: tasty drinks to be savored in the historic center of Turin: here are the 5 best places!
A coffee, a bicerin or a hot chocolate? What do you prefer?
With this cold climate a warm snack for one of the bars in the center of Turin is a must, and today I want to deepen with you five of the historic bars of the city still in business.
1. Caffè Al Bicerin
I often find myself in one of these bars for a short break from the routine or to chat with some friends, and today finding myself walking through the main streets of the historic center, the first bar I want to mention is definitely the Al Bicerin coffee (piazza della Consolata 5), open since 1763, was the favorite bar of Camillo Benso Conte di Cavour, and inside you can enjoy a typical drink of the city, that is the bicerin, based on coffee, chocolate and milk cream, but not only, it also offers some Turin variations such as pur e fiur (cappuccino) and puir e barba (coffee with chocolate).
2. Fiorio
Another historic bar dates back to the 1780s, and is now both a bar and ice cream parlor, and I'm talking about Fiorio (via Po), which in the past was a meeting point for intellectuals and aristocrats, and was nicknamed "Caffè dei codini" or dei Machiavelli, due to its opposition to the revolutionaries of the time.
It was very popular with characters such as D'Azeglio, Cavour, Cesare Balbo and many others, and is still very popular with adults and children, both from Turin and beyond.
3. Caffè San Carlo
Opened instead in 1822 is the San Carlo coffee (Piazza San Carlo 56), which in the past was not a meeting place for conservatives, but for supporters of the Crispi and Gramsci governments, this bar owes its fame above all to the fact that it is said to have been the first bar in which Dumas drank his first bicerin.
4. Stratta confectionery
Also the Stratta confectionery (piazza San Carlo 191) is well known in Turin, born around 1836 and founded by Stratta and Reina, with the intention of creating a place, or rather a pastry shop where there was more contact with the public, which at that time not so obvious, and made its history also for being named in 1840 as the first restaurant in the city of Turin to have gas lighting instead of the ancient oil one.
5. Caffè Baratti & Milano
Finally, last but certainly not least, is the Caffè Baratti & Milan (Piazza Castello 10), much appreciated by tourists but also by the Turinese themselves, opened in 1858, was located in via Dora Grossa (i.e. today's via Garibaldi), owes its importance to the creation of the famous "cremino" chocolate, which by now we all know and appreciate, in the following years it was transferred to its current position, within the Subalpine Tunnel, and was a place of refreshment for D'Azeglio, Giolitti and Einaudi, and was soon named and recognized as the "Official supplier of the Royal House".
Now all you have to do is take a leap into beautiful Turin to admire everything it offers, and among the many monuments to visit, take a moment to relax in one of these famous bars, to be able to enjoy a coffee or any other drink in a suggestive atmosphere and full of memories linked to the history of the place.
