Turin Winter Olympics, ITALY
Airing Date: Feb 6th, 2006
Torino lies in the north west of Italy in the popular Piedmont Region. The region groups together 1209 towns and covers 25,000 square kilometres where more than four million people live, with the bustling urban centre of Torino and its 900,000 inhabitants positioned centrally.
The mountains are just over an hour away from the city. Its profound historical ties with the Alps and its geographical position make Torino a real capital of the Alps.
As part of General Electric's sponsorship of the Games, the company donated to Torino an ice skating rink for the enjoyment of Torino's residents and visitors. The new rink - or patinoire, as the Italians call it - is built around a 130-year-old statue located in one of the city's most popular and central plazas the Piazza Solferino.
Piazza Castello is the hotspot of tourist Turin, home to grand palaces such as Palazzo Reale, the royal palace of the Savoy dynasty, and the Palazzo Madamma. In the Piazza Castello you will also find the huge Olympic Countdown Clock - this will also be the location of the medal plaza during the games.
For a good drop of fine Italian wine, Piedmont is the region of Italy's most authoritative wines containing some 75,000 hectares of vineyards. There are as many as nine vintage wines stocks (often located in old castles) and a great number of wine shops, and two important wine museums, the Bersano Museum at Nizza Monferrato and the Martini & Rossi Museum at Pessione.
The Torino area has a museum for everyone. As it should, there are over 300 of them! Among the best is definitely the National Museum of Cinema and as a bonus, it's located in one of Turin's most conspicuous tourist attractions - the Mole Antonelliana. A nineteenth-century building topped by an aluminium spire is the highest traditional brick building in the world.
Another special element is the museum collection itself, among the most complete in the world. With over 300,000 pieces, the collection includes movie posters, playbills and all the advertising material promoting cinema, from the first pre-cinematographic shows to today's films plus much, much more.
Sestriere was the first purpose-built resort located between the two Olympic valleys, Val Chisone and Val di Susa, in the Southwestern Alps near the Italian/French border. Sestriere will be host to the alpine skiing event for the 2006 Winter Olympics & Olympic village
Bardonecchia is a pretty, Swiss Alpine style town. It sits in a valley surrounded by majestic mountains with ski runs close by and is an easy 90 km train ride west of Turin.
Bardonecchia will host the snow boarding, bobsleigh, luge and skeleton events during the 2006 Winter Olympics and Olympic village.
Further Information
Thai Airways International
Flies to Milan from $1641 ex west coast, $1811 ex east coast. Prices include taxes subject to fluctuation. Conditions apply. You need to book by 26/2/06. Travel must be taken by 31/3/06.
Website: www.thaiairways.com.au
Rooms at Le Meridien Turin Art & Tech start at $240 per night.
Telephone: 0011 39 011 664 2000
DriveAway Holidays
Car rental in Torino starts from $59 per day.
Telephone: 1300 363 500
Website: www.driveaway.com.au
Prices correct at 6/2/06
