Piedmont · Torino
Venaria Reale
A Savoy town on the edge of Torino, built around the Reggia di Venaria, a UNESCO baroque palace with sixty hectares of gardens.
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 28 min from Turin
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 32,288
Known for
THE REGGIA
UNESCO baroque palace, 80,000 square meters of floors and 60 hectares of gardens, the largest of the Savoy Residences.
THE RESTORATION
Eight-year project from 1999 to 2007, 1,800 operators on site, the largest cultural restoration in European Union history.
LA MANDRIA
Three thousand fenced hectares of former Savoy hunting reserve, the country park that extends north from the palace gardens.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J8°
- F11°
- M13°
- A17°
- M21°
- J25°
- J29°
- A29°
- S23°
- O18°
- N12°
- D8°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Venaria Reale sits fifteen kilometers northwest of Torino, on the lowland that ran into the Savoy hunting forests of the Mandria. The modern name comes from the Latin ars venatoria, hunting. In 1658 Duke Carlo Emanuele II commissioned court architect Amedeo di Castellamonte to build a residence for hunting parties and court leisure, with a coordinated plan for palace, park, hunting wood and adjoining village.
In 1716 Filippo Juvarra enlarged the complex with the Galleria Grande, the Cappella di Sant'Uberto, the Citroniera and the Scuderia, lifting the Reggia to one of the major baroque set pieces of Europe. The Savoy Residences entered the UNESCO list in 1997. After two centuries as a military barracks the palace was restored across eight years from 1999 to 2007, in the largest cultural restoration project in European Union history, with 1,800 operators on site. The Reggia now opens eighty thousand square meters of floor surface and sixty hectares of gardens, with the three thousand fenced hectares of the Parco della Mandria beyond.
The Sunday letter
Venaria Reale is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Venaria Reale comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Venaria Reale in our articles
The 7 best towns you can reach by train that have a serious restaurant within 90 minutes of Torino7 towns, Venaria Reale among them.
The best towns that eat well within an hour of Turin7 towns, Venaria Reale among them.
The best towns with a World Heritage site that eat well in Piemonte7 towns, Venaria Reale among them.
The best towns with a World Heritage site within 75 minutes of Turin7 towns, Venaria Reale among them.
How to get there
From Turin (TRN), about 23 minutes by car.
Genoa (GOA) is about 2h 13m away.
By car from the centre of Milan 1h 47m.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Turin, Milan or Genoa?
Coming by train into Torino Porta Susa? Venaria Reale is about 20 minutes away by road.
What to see
Reggia di Venaria
UNESCO baroque palace begun in 1658 by Amedeo di Castellamonte for Duke Carlo Emanuele II, with 80,000 m² of floors and 60 hectares of gardens.
Galleria Grande
Filippo Juvarra's barrel-vaulted gallery of 1716, one of the longest enfilades of baroque court architecture in Europe.
Cappella di Sant'Uberto
Royal chapel designed by Juvarra inside the palace, completed in the second decade of the eighteenth century for the hunting court.
Giardini della Reggia
Sixty hectares of restored gardens combining baroque parterres, the Fountain of Hercules and the Renaissance-style Potager Royal.
Parco Naturale La Mandria
Three thousand fenced hectares of former Savoy hunting reserve, with the Castello della Mandria of King Vittorio Emanuele II inside.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Venaria Reale fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
We recommend
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Dolce Stil Novo alla ReggiaRistorante
Dolce Stil Novo alla Reggia has one Michelin star and two Gambero Rosso forks (86/100).
Il Convito della VenariaRistorante
Il Convito della Venaria holds a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Living here
- Population 32,288
- Commuter belti
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Turin, 23 min drive
- Regional capital Torino, 28 min drive
Common questions
- What is Venaria Reale known for?
- Venaria Reale is a Savoy town on the edge of Torino, built around the Reggia di Venaria, a UNESCO baroque palace with sixty hectares of gardens.
- Where is Venaria Reale?
- Venaria Reale is a comune in the province of Torino, in Piedmont, at 269 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Venaria Reale?
- Turin (TRN), about 23 minutes by car.
- Can you get to Venaria Reale without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Milan to Venaria Reale?
- About 1h 47m by car.
- When is the best time to visit Venaria Reale?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 17 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Venaria Reale?
- Bra, Avigliana and Assisi.
- How many people live in Venaria Reale?
- 32,288 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 269 m
- Population: 32,288
- Surface area: 20.44 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
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🏛️ UNESCO
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