For many travelling to Italy, especially from outside Europe, the north western city of Turin is normally not on the itinerary in the beginning. They are mostly interested in visiting Venice, Rome, Milan and Naples -- the places they have always dreamt of exploring. But once they are here and if they somehow come to know about this destination they are likely to head to it due to curiosity or for the sake of adventure.

An hour’s drive away from the border of France, Turin has a lot to offer to its visitors. It is accessible by train for tourists who are already in Italy. It has a small airport in its suburbs which that caters to the needs of passengers travelling mostly from abroad. Just to give an idea, the train coming from Milan takes about an hour to reach here. So, it is quite convenient for those staying in Milan to make a day or even half-day trip to Turin.

Located in a valley and on the bank of the Po River that runs through northern Italy, the city is surrounded by the majestic Alps. The whole setting is so enchanting that one becomes mesmerised while visiting or travelling through the suburbs. The glamourous villas dotted across the hills add to the beauty of the place.

Maybe it was this magical charm that led the famous Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier to define Turin as "the city with the most beautiful natural location" in the world. Frederich Nietzsche, the ninth century German philosopher, was also said to be in love with Turin, especially for its music and the calm and serene nature.

It would be of interest for readers to know that Turin became the first capital of Italy in 1861 and held this status for four years. The city was declared the World Book Capital by UNESCO in 2006 for launching a marvellous programme aimed at promoting book-reading culture in collaboration with Rome. It also has the privilege of hosting 2006 Winter Olympics -- an event that opened it to the world and brought tourists in large number to this centre of longstanding cultural and artistic history.

Apart from these mega events, there is one more reason that has led to the introduction of this relatively less frequented destination to the outer world. This city houses the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organisation (ITCILO) that brings people from all over the world here to participate in different training courses, refresher programmes, orientations etc. While here, these participants explore the city and take the message back with them and share it with others.

We also got a chance to visit this "city with the most beautiful location", courtesy a training programme organised by ILO. All that we had in our mind before embarking on this journey was that it would be a training facility in the countryside with a few hamlets in its vicinity. Otherwise, we had not heard much of this place. We were advised by every other person to skip classes and leave for Venice or Milan or, if affordable, Rome and spend least possible time in this unfamiliar city.

But our perception changed when we reached Turin and arrived at ITCILO. The organisation was established in 1964 as an advanced vocational training institute under an agreement between the ILO and the Italian government. It’s a huge campus with lush green laws and trees planted across the trails. The various buildings are organised into five clusters, each named after a continent.

During our stay and visits to the city centre, we observed that this regular interaction with the foreign nationals visiting the city since 1964 had given great exposure to the locals. The shopkeepers would either recognise or ask about one’s nationality and show the goods that the visitors would be most interested in. A South Asian or a person from the Middle East was most likely to be briefed on vegetarian cuisine or seafood on offer before anything else. Though Italians do not like to speak English, they were always ready to help us. The best thing about the city is that its streets are not crowded, with plenty of benches to relax on.

Some interesting facts about Turin are that it has housed manufacturing units of Fiat (a popular European automaker since 1900), produced some of the best chocolates of the world and offered tourists a unique chance to see the second biggest collection of Egyptian artifacts and antiques at Museo Egizio (Egyptian museum). The museum contains more than 30,000 exhibits that document the history and civilisation of Egypt. This collection is the biggest outside Egypt.

The Cathedral of San Giovanni Battista may be one of the most visited places in Turin. It houses the famous Holy Shroud known as "Shroud of Turin". It is said that the Christ’s body was covered with this shroud after his crucifixion. The shroud has been kept in a bulletproof, fireproof and climate controlled vault which is opened for public viewing on rare occasions. Though tourists rush here to show their reverence, it has not yet been proven if this is in fact the shroud of the crucified Christ.

Apart from these attractions, the city has many arcades, shopping centres, churches, museums, palaces, art galleries, eateries and courtyards where tourists can spend their time without fear. Options are there for the affluent as well as the less affluent. One can grab a slice of pizza for 2 to 3 euros even at an upscale shopping centre or go for an expensive option at a less happening place.

Chocolate-tasting is another activity that one can enjoy as special trips are arranged where one can taste different chocolates including ‘gianduja’ which is a mix of milk chocolate and hazelnuts. This chocolate is called the city’s sweet symbol.

Travelling within the city is easy as there are an adequate number of trams and buses; taxis are expensive like in any other European city. While at ITCILO, we had to pool money and travel on taxi as there would be very little time left between the end of the teaching day around 5.30pm and closure of markets at 9pm.

One thing that surprised me most was that one could spot a large number of dogs wherever one went. They were in restaurants, shopping malls and on walking tracks. On inquiry we were told that under the law, it is binding on citizens to take their dogs for a walk for a minimum number of times in a week and they could be fined for failing to do that. A number of dog-walking services had also been established to cater to people who could not perform this duty for different reasons.