Photo spot in Turin
Piazza San Carlo and the arcades
Turin's baroque 'drawing room': twin churches, historic cafés and the arcades of Via Roma for shooting in any weather.
About Piazza San Carlo and the arcades
Get directionsPiazza San Carlo is the square Turin calls its drawing room: a long baroque rectangle with an equestrian statue in the middle, arcades down both sides and two near-identical churches, San Carlo and Santa Cristina, closing the south end. Historic cafés have served coffee under its arches since the nineteenth century, and Via Roma carries the arcades on towards Piazza Castello and the Royal Palace.
The arcades are why Turin works in the rain: long, even, covered perspectives of columns and lamps, with the bright square beyond. Near Piazza Castello, the glass-roofed Galleria Subalpina adds an 1870s shopping arcade lit softly from above.
Come early, before the café tables fill, or on a grey day, when the light under the arches is at its most flattering.
Best time to shoot
Early morning, before the café tables fill; any time under the arcades on a rainy day
Tips
Line up the twin churches behind the subject from the middle of the square. Under the arcades, shoot along the columns for depth. Try a bicerin afterwards — Turin's coffee, chocolate and cream.
Photographers who shoot at Piazza San Carlo and the arcades
Hand-picked professionals working in Turin
Real reviews from Turin photoshoots
Ann-Marie T.
My husband Ted and I started planning our elopement at the end of 2020. Planning a wedding, no matter how big or how small, still requires a lot of decisions and meticulous organisation. In our case it also took complete trust in our…
Stefano C.
Photographer
Martina E.
A heartfelt thank you for capturing our Venice dream. I can't believe it was August 21st and here we are still floating on air, and much of that magic is because of you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being a part of our…
Stefano C.
Photographer
Other spots in Turin
The Monte dei Cappuccini terrace
A hilltop church terrace across the Po with the whole city below — the Mole in the middle and, on clear days, the Alps behind.
Piazza Vittorio Veneto and the Gran Madre
A vast arcaded square sloping down to the Po, a stone bridge, and a domed neoclassical church on the far bank.
Parco del Valentino and the Borgo Medievale
A riverside park of plane-tree avenues, a Savoy castle and a nineteenth-century copy of a medieval village.
Ready to book?
Our concierge team will hand-pick 2-3 photographers who know Piazza San Carlo and the arcades — free of charge.
