Reggia di Venaria Reale (Venaria Palace) is one of the largest royal residences in Europe. I gave it four hours and still felt like I was rushing by the end.
La Venaria Reale is one of the best day trips from Turin, but it’s not a place to wing it. Here’s everything I worked out on my own visit, including what nobody tells you about, like the garden cafe being closed on a weekday in May.
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A brief history of Reggia di Venaria Reale
Charles Emmanuel II of Savoy commissioned the palace in the 1650s as a hunting lodge, close enough to Turin for a quick escape but grand enough to remind everyone who was in charge. Architect Amedeo di Castellamonte built the first version, with the Hall of Diana as the link between palace and gardens.
Victor Amadeus II expanded it decades later, bringing in Michelangelo Garove and then Filippo Juvarra, who added the Great Gallery and the Church of St Hubert.
But the good times didn’t last. During the Napoleonic period the palace became army barracks, and the gardens turned into a training ground for troops.
Two centuries of decline followed. Restoration began in the 1990s and the Reggia reopened in 2007. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, along with twenty-one other palaces in Turin, as part of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy.
Why visit La Venaria Reale
Turin has the Royal Palace and Palazzo Madama in the city centre, but Venaria is on a different scale entirely.
It is, in fact, two buildings are joined together: a cream seventeenth century block and a larger red brick eighteenth century one (the difference is obvious when you view the palace from the outside).
Inside there are frescoes, wall hangings, one of Europe’s most photographed galleries, and gardens that go on for what feels like a small town. If you have any interest in the House of Savoy or the history of Turin, this fills in a lot of gaps that the city palaces leave open.
How to get to La Venaria Reale from Turin
Reggia di Venaria Reale lies six miles north of Turin city centre.
By bus
I took bus 11 from the city centre, which runs about every fifteen minutes and takes forty to fifty minutes depending on traffic. A single ticket costs €1.90 and I paid by tapping my contactless card on board.
The bus drops you at Venaria train station, from where it’s a ten-minute walk in the same direction of the bus to reach the palace.
By train
If you’d rather skip the bus, the frequent SFM commuter train runs from Torino Porta Susa to Reggia di Venaria station in about thirteen minutes, followed by the same walk to the palace gates.
A ticket costs around €3 and it’s the quicker option if you’re staying near Porta Susa. Check train times on the Trenitalia website
By shuttle
There’s also a dedicated Venaria Express shuttle running from several stops in central Turin, including Piazza Castello, a journey time of around forty minutes. It runs every two hours and costs €7 for a day ticket (€4 with the Torino+Piemonte Card). Find out more at the GTT website.
As of September 2026, this isn’t the best option for getting there. Thanks to major construction work on Ponte Amedeo di Castellamonte, the Venaria Express has been re-routed and the closest stop is Borgo Antico, a 20-minute walk from the palace
Hop-on-hop-off bus
La Venaria Reale is served by the green hop-on-hop-off line, which also stops at many of Turin’s major attractions. Choose between 24, 48 and 72-hour passes. Find out more here.
Opening hours
Opening hours vary by season, but as a rule the palace opens Tuesday to Sunday and is closed on Mondays, with the ticket office closing an hour before the palace itself. Check the current times on the official site before you go, particularly in winter when its hours shorten.
Tickets and audioguides
The full “All in a Palace” ticket, covering the Reggia, the gardens and current exhibitions, costs €25 for adults in 2026. Other combinations and tickets are available, including gardens only (€6) and Piano Nobile and gardens (€18). Discounts are available for those under 26, and children under six go free.
You can buy your ticket at the ticket office across from the palace entrance. Book ahead online if you are visiting on a weekend or in high season.
I visited using the Torino+Piemonte Card, which includes free entry. It’s worth buying if you’re planning to see other major Turin sights, since the standalone ticket price is steep.
It’s also included in the Turin Royal Pass.
Although I didn’t bother with one, you can rent an audioguide from the reception desk. In each room, there’s information in English and Italian, enough to give context but not so much that it overwhelms
How long do you need at La Venaria Reale
Budget at least half a day, more if you can. I spent around three hours inside the palace, then another hour in the gardens. If you’re short on time, prioritise the palace interior and the Great Gallery, then walk as much of the gardens as your feet allow.
What to see inside the Venaria Palace
The visit follows a prescribed one-way route. I tried to double back for a closer look at a fresco and spent ten minutes being frowned at by a member of staff. Save yourself the trouble and stick to the route.
The Savoy story in the basement
The visit starts in what was once the servants’ quarters. The Portrait Gallery is lined with paintings of family members with key dates marked on the floor beneath them.
In the adjacent rooms there’s useful context on Turin’s architecture, and how much of it was built as a display of Savoy power rather than simple town planning.
An installation by the director Peter Greenaway brings the palace’s history to life. It’s an unusual, slightly theatrical way to start a palace visit, but it works.
Piano Nobile
Upstairs, the first set of rooms you visit are those in the seventeenth century section, once the hunting and pleasure palace for the family. The Hall of Diana is the standout room, but don’t rush through the smaller ones either, since the frescoes and wall hangings in them get far less attention than they deserve.
Next up is the eighteenth century wing, the Palace of the Kings, with royal apartments, dressing rooms and antechambers.
The room everyone comes for is the Great Gallery, a vast stuccoed space that’s become the image most associated with La Venaria Reale. Fifteen meters high, eleven meters wide and 73 meters long, it was designed to celebrate the glory and virtues of the Kingdom.
I’d say job done. Get here early if you want a people-free photo of it.
The last stop of the Piano Nobile is the Church of St Hubert. Work began on this light-filled masterpiece in 1716, and its architecture borrows from Palladio, Bernini and Borromini.
Juvarra Stables
The visit ends in Juvarra’s Scuderie, the palace’s vast, Baroque stables.
Its highlight is the House of Savoy Bucentaur, an ornate 18th-century Venetian ceremonial barge, the only remaining one of its kind. Around it is a collection of carriages once used by the family.
The gardens
Sixty hectares of garden lie behind the palace, and you’ll need a few hours to do them justice. Bikes are available to hire if you’d rather not walk the whole thing, and a small tourist train loops around for anyone who wants to sit this one out.
The Neptune Fountain, backed by a grotto, is one of the best photo spots, and a long canal leads down to the Temple of Diana at the far end.
If you’re visiting on Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays, time your visit with the fountain show at the Fountain of the Stag (Fontana del Cervo) in the Court of Honour. This takes place at 12 pm and 6 pm. I had to make do with a midweek wisteria display.
Where to eat
Food options inside the complex are limited, particularly out of season. I visited on a weekday in early May and found the garden cafe closed, leaving only a small and fairly uninspiring cafe inside the palace.
My advice is to bring your own lunch and eat it in the gardens, where there’s no shortage of good spots to sit. Once you’re done, head into the town of Venaria itself.
I stopped at Passami il Sale on the main street for crostini and a glass of Alta Langa, the local sparkling wine. It was a wonderful way to end the day.
Final thoughts
La Venaria Reale is one of the best things to see in Turin, and a great addition to your itinerary. Stick to the route, bring lunch, and leave enough time for the gardens.
If you have the time, pair it with the Castello della Mandria, the private retreat of King Victor Emmanuel II, a short walk from the palace and a quieter side of Savoy life. A combination ticket bundles this with the Venaria Palace and gardens.
About Bridget
Bridget Coleman has been a passionate traveller for more than 30 years. She has visited 70+ countries, most as a solo traveller.
Articles on this site reflect her first-hand experiences.
To get in touch, email her at hello@theflashpacker.net or follow her on social media.