Turin: E-Bike City Tour with Monte dei Cappuccini View

4.96

(116 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I hopped onto my e-bike in central Turin, still a bit skeptical about how much ground we’d actually cover in three hours. Our guide, Giulia, handed out helmets and grinned like she’d done this a thousand times (she probably has). The first few minutes were all nerves — I hadn’t ridden an e-bike before, so I kept wobbling at red lights. But the city just pulls you in: those wide boulevards and old palazzi make you feel tiny but kind of grand at the same time. We stopped under some chestnut trees near Piazza San Carlo, where Giulia pointed out Emanuele Filiberto’s statue and told us how locals joke about his mustache. It smelled faintly of espresso from a nearby bar — Turin always smells like coffee if you pay attention.

The Mole Antonelliana loomed up next, stranger and taller than I expected. There’s this patch of modern murals around it — apparently Lavazza sponsors them — and it’s wild seeing street art right next to all that 19th-century stone. Giulia explained how the city keeps changing but holds onto its old stories; she waved at a man walking his dog who nodded back without missing a beat. After winding through quiet streets and past the Royal Gardens (I almost ran into a pigeon), we crossed the Po River on this huge bridge. The air felt cooler there, almost damp, and my legs should’ve burned climbing Monte dei Cappuccini hill but honestly? The e-bike did most of the work.

At the top, there was this hush over everything except for one guy playing guitar softly on the terrace wall. Turin spread out below us — domes, rooftops, even snow on the Alps way out west. I didn’t say much for a minute; sometimes views just do that to you. On the way down we rolled into Valentino Park where families were picnicking and kids zipped by on scooters. My hands felt a little shaky from riding but also weirdly light — maybe that’s what people mean when they talk about “city energy.”