Torino 2006

The logo top and the inspiration for the logo above

Torino or Turin (for us English speakers) was not expected to be the winning bid, however it did win over Sion Switzerland. And, by most accounts was very successful in hosting the Olympics. Yes, there was the obligatory cost over runs but it did help raise the profile and rejuvenate parts of Turin, although certainly not to the same degree as Barcelona. 

I will remember Turin for: it's typeface (which was emblematic of the style around the millennium), the opening ceremonies with acrobats scrambling up a huge mesh fence and Pavarotti's final performance. I don't remember too much about the actual events.  As we discovered, the Olympic legacy remaining was mixed. Most venues we saw were still intact and decent shape but were no longer in use for their original purpose or not being used at all. 

Piazza Castello site of the City cluster medal ceremonies 2006 and 17 years later. 

We arrived into the city straight from Grenoble and after checking into our hotel across from the rather colourful former Olympic village took a train one stop to the centre. We were impressed by what we saw, multiple large piazzas separated by blocks of buildings in a grid pattern. I would guess the building were from the 18th Century. The city was vibrant and did not feel like it catered to tourists, which was fine. Unfortunately our Piedmonteese fine dining experience was memorable for how small, plain and expensive the portions were. 

The Olympic Flame in 2006 and March 2023.

The following day we went to an established coffee house for delicious cake and coffee, hit a few museums, including the Italian Film Museum. I was more interested in the building, The Mole Antonelliana (which was the inspiration for the Olympics logo) as I have no interest in Italian film making. The suspended lift and that went from floor to ceiling was particularly impressive. 

The antithesis of Timmy's

Mike and I went to the old Fiat factory which was made famous in the movie the Italian Job and walked around the old test track. The factory has been turned into a nice shopping mall and office block. Nearby is the speed skating venue which is now used for conferences and pretty much everything but speed skating. Before leaving the city we checked out Stadio Olimpico, where the opening and closing ceremonies were held, now home of FC Turin. It was hard to take photos due to the fencing but we could get a photo of the twisting olympic cauldron, which isn't a cauldron. Beside the Stadio Olimpico is the Palasport Olimpico which hosted ice hockey and is now a multisport venue. 

Fiat factory

Palasport Olimpico - site for hockey

It was a relatively quick drive up into the mountains to Sestriere the centre for the Alpine events. We were much higher than at Chamrousse and the conditions here were not too bad. I had a fairly bad collision on my first run, in an area where bizarrely  two runs converge head on. We had a lot of blue bird days with reasonably priced food and coffee at refugees, plenty of red and blue cruisers with blue bird days. The skiable area is huge however, going from Sestriere to Montgenevre in France takes up a good chunk of your day. The lifts around Sestriere were modern and high speed but when you cross to Claviere the slower lifts are more numerous 

Sestriere, site of the men's alpine downhill.

We saw some of the other alpine venues, like the unused ski jumps, the cross country area and the bobsled track which was last used in 2012; it still had the "Passion lives here" slogan clearly visible on it. 

Some disused venues near Sestriere - not surprised they are ski jumping and bobsled. 

I skied the Men's Alpine course which was pretty tough, particularly as it was towards the end of the day and the piste was not in great shape. 

On the final day the weather closed in with wind and low visibility so the lower slopes were crowded. On Mike's final run he collided with someone and injured his back and knee and after walking down half the slope needed to be transported off the slope by ski patrol. The end of the trip became complicated. With my license in Chamrousse (I forgot it at the ski rental place), Chris needing to get on a flight first thing in the morning and Mike in hospital in Italy. It necessitated some quick planning and late night driving. Chris did some epic alpine driving complete with snow socks on our tires.  In the end we all managed to fly out of Lyon the following day. Fortunately for Mike nothing was broken and he has recovered ready for the next Olympic tour. 

The upper slopes were in good condition

Skiing Gold

Torino I think scrapes in with a gold. We weren't blessed with epic conditions but most runs were skiable, with a few bare patches. The weather was great with the exception of the last day. I think what made the skiing gold was the volume of relatively uncrowded red cruisers peppered with some blacks to keep things interesting. There was bowl skiing in Montgenevre and the runs had plentiful pleasant restaurants that were not crowded, had good food and service. 

Apres Ski Silver

Turin was a lively and surprisingly interesting city, I could have probably spent another day there. Sestiere has a selection of bars and restaurants, however for the most part they weren't heaving with the atmospheric vibe. Nonetheless they weren't deserted. Some highlights included a bar across from the base with prosecco on tab and an on-slope club which play dance bangers circa 2002-2010 perfect for 30-40 somethings who actually had the energy to party after a day of skiing (not us). Apparently Sauze D'Oulx is the place to go for the best apres ski in the Milky Way

Reasonably priced coffee and pastries with a view

Overall Gold

If you combine the skiing with the city I think this is an arguable gold experience. We saw a variety of culture, Olympic venues, good coffee and a variety of breakfast cakes. It was topped off some last day drama and spectacular alpine drive.