Turin.

Piazza Castello is Turin's central orientation point, with Palazzo Madama in the square and the Royal Palace close by. Its arcades make an easy pause between major sights.

Stand here to understand how the royal and civic centre fits together before entering anything. Palazzo Madama presents different architectural faces, while the Royal Palace, San Lorenzo's dome and the Shroud Chapel cluster nearby. Four important central streets meet the square, making it a useful place to decide your next direction.

Piazza Castello grew from a point on the Roman city's edge into the formal heart of Savoy Turin. Palazzo Madama holds that change in a single building: an ancient gate was incorporated into a medieval stronghold, then given a grand Baroque front. Across the square, the Royal Palace represents the court that reshaped the city after Turin became a Savoy capital. The piazza's broad space and arcades make those buildings legible together, rather than as isolated monuments. It is also a crossroads. Via Garibaldi follows the direction of the Roman street plan, while Via Po leads toward a later expansion. From the square, a short walk can move from Roman traces to court architecture and then into the city's wider eighteenth-century plan.

• Compare Palazzo Madama's contrasting fronts from across the square.
• Look toward the Royal Palace, San Lorenzo's dome and the Shroud Chapel.
• The porticoes frame a route toward Via Po.

Pause beneath the arcades for a wider view of the buildings before crossing the square.

Combine an exterior circuit here with either Palazzo Madama or the Royal Museums, allowing separate time for entry.