Touring around turin

Turin is a grand, imposing city with a good selection of equally imposing, and expensive, hotels. But when this former capital of Italy was the venue for the Winter Olympic Games in 2006, a host of fun, reasonably priced B&Bs sprung up to cope with the influx of tourists.

New ones are still opening up, offering a chance to stay with enthusiastic locals in artful apartments, where the room rate usually includes breakfast, free internet and tips by the owners to restaurants you won't find in the guidebooks.

Which is just as well, because the city is expecting around two million visitors over the next couple of months when the Shroud of Turin goes on display to the public for the first time in ten years from today to May 23. Already there have been more than one million online reservations to secure just a few minutes to see the 14-foot-long piece of linen that many Christians believe is Jesus Christ's burial shroud in its bulletproof, climate-controlled case in Guarino Guarini's Chapel of the Holy Shroud in the Baroque Duomo di San Giovanni.

Most of the B&Bs are ideally placed in the historic centre, where Turin's sights are within easy walking distance.

Aprile

The long walk up four flights of stairs is well rewarded when you walk into this romantic B&B. Right under the roof, each room has sloping ceilings with dark wooden beams. A terrace filled with plants runs round the four sides of an interior courtyard, overlooked by the Romanesque belltower of the Consolata Basilica. The owner, Cristina, has arranged for guests to go downstairs to the Neo Head Café, set in a tiny Baroque chapel, which serves delicious hot chocolate, fresh pastries and croissants, and where everything you order is already included in the room rate.

www.aprile.to.it

Foresteria degli Artisti

This B&B has to be reserved in advance, as there is only one room. This is not just a room, though, but a charming apartment under the rooftops of a restored 1900s apartment building. Apart from the wood-beamed bedroom, guests have a cosy lounge with a music system and TV (but no internet), and a fully equipped kitchen. Owner Signora Anna often prepares refreshments in the evening; her daughter has opened a second B&B, Il Due, five minutes' walk away. The Artisti is in the Borgo del Fumo neighbourhood, an old industrial quarter that still has a host of artisan ateliers, antique stores, vintage clothes boutiques and artists' studios.

www.foresteriadegliartisti.it

Carlo Alberto

A perfectly located B&B, just a few minutes' walk from Turin's landmark Museo Egizio, which has a collection of mummies and artefacts that is second only to the Egyptian Museum's in Cairo. The hotel takes its name from Via Carlo Alberto, lined with chic boutiques, and the owner is also named Carlo. The highlight is breakfast, where a long table is filled with tasty brioches and pastries freshly baked by a pasticceria downstairs, three types of cakes, fresh fruits and traditional foccacia bread. The rooms are comfortable and guests can use the grand salon decorated with antiques and plush sofas.

www.carloalberto-torino.it

Vitamina M

This is Turin's first design B&B, furnished in a cool, minimalist style. The decor is cool white, contrasted with striking red-and-black design objects, such as a 1920s bicycle, a stylish Olivetti typewriter and a 1960s electric guitar exhibited on the wall. The rooms are spacious and there's an even bigger living room, complete with an expansive library and piano. The price is a little steep, especially as the apartment is situated four floors up with no lift.

www.vitaminam.com

Alla Buona Stella

Signora Roberta discovered the British hospitality of a traditional B&B on holiday with her family. Then, when the winter Olympics came to Turin, she quit her job and transformed her large apartment into a tasteful three-room B&B. Well-placed in Turin's old city centre, the Quadrilatero Romano, it's located on the top floor of a grand mansion. Guests can relax in a lounge where breakfast is served

www.allabuonastella.it

La Casa di Flora

Situated in a chic residential neighbourhood, the Casa di Flora is a stunning Art Nouveau house transformed by its young owner, Maurizio, into a four-room B&B with a self-contained suite. The Liberty style extends from the wrought-iron staircase and red patine walls to period furniture in the bedrooms. There is a fully equipped kitchen, too. The Casa di Flora is just outside the city centre, about 20 minutes' walk from Turin's main sights but it's right on a central bus line. Two bathrooms for four rooms isn't ideal, either, but considering everything else, the price really is a bargain.

www.lacasadiflora.it

Terres d'Aventures

There is a slight Mission: Impossible feel about this chic B&B. Guests are given precise instructions how to enter without even having to meet the owner: A door code lets you into the palazzo and your personalised key code gives access to the B&B. Terres d'Aventures is a split-level designer apartment divided into two independent suites with a shared living room and kitchen. In summer, guests have access to a private terrace. In the morning, a friendly housekeeper prepares the breakfast and then make up the rooms.

www.suitestorino.it

Saluzzo Paesana 1718

Though it looks relatively anonymous from the outside, the Saluzzo Paesana is one of Turin's grandest and best-preserved palaces, dating back nearly 300 years. This B&B on the second floor is a mix of ancient frescoes and high ceilings furnished with exotic Asian art. Guests have use of a spacious living room with views over the imposing Piazza di Savoia, where there are a host of traditional Torinese cafés. The price is a little high, especially as breakfast is not included, but it is worth splashing out for the private bathroom.

www.saluzzopaesana.com

La Piazzetta

The Piazzetta is an old-fashioned B&B, where a friendly Turin family — Fabrizio, Monica, their two daughters and Birba the cat — rent one room of their sprawling apartment. They welcome guests as one of the family, and like nothing more than to act as unofficial guides to local restaurants and bars. The bedroom with attached bathroom and small balcony is more than adequate and the breakfast is copious.

www.bblapiazzetta.com

L'Orso Poeta

Housed in what was once an opulent aristocrat's mansion on the corner of the Po River, with splendid views over Turin's Parco del Valentino, the Orso Poeta — the Teddy Bear Poet — is a delightful oasis. Signora Nicoletta lives in the adjoining apartment and has two rooms for rent, decorated in pastel colours and antique furniture, with a breakfast room that doubles as a salon. This is a favourite haunt of actors and singers performing in Turin. Although it is a little expensive, it's worth the price: it's close to the main sights — besides the waterfront murazzi on the Po nearby — which are alive at the weekends.

www.orsopoeta-bed-and-breakfast.it