Turin Chocolate and Aperitivo Tour

Turin invented the modern chocolate industry in the 19th century. The city had the technology (new grinding machines), the raw material (cacao from the Savoy colonies), and the chemistry talent to mix cacao paste with Piedmontese hazelnuts and create gianduja, the hazelnut chocolate that became the most replicated confection in the world. Ferrero is from Alba, 60 km south, and Nutella is the commercial descendant of gianduja. The serious chocolate tradition is in Turin's historic chocolate houses: Guido Gobino (the best, his Tourinot is the traditional gianduja shape, Via Lagrange), Baratti e Milano (historic patisserie on Piazza Castello, the hot chocolate is the city standard), Peyrano (the old-school house, the best dark chocolate). Turin also claims to have invented the aperitivo tradition: the combination of a vermouth-based drink and complimentary food that later became the spritz and the Negroni. A guided tour of chocolatiers and historic cafes runs EUR 35-55 per person for 2-3 hours.