Open011

Open011 occupies a purpose-built mid-rise on Corso Venezia in Aurora, the working-class neighborhood north-east of Centro Storico. The building is institutional in feel — long corridors, linoleum floors, fluorescent lights, the kind of place that was probably built as student dormitories in the 1990s. The hostel makes no pretense of being design-forward; what it does instead is functional, clean, and significantly cheaper than anywhere else in Turin.

There are 200 beds — the highest count in town — across mixed and female dorms (4-bed, 6-bed, 8-bed) and private rooms with private bathrooms. AC in private rooms, fans only in the cheaper dorms. The breakfast is continental — juices, hot drinks, cereal, chocolate spread — served 7h to 9h. The self-service restaurant runs lunch and dinner on request (€8 for a primo + secondo + drink) but only at confirmed group bookings; for solo travelers, it's mostly closed in the evening.

The terrace and garden are the unexpected upside. The terrace runs along the south side of the building with picnic tables, used for breakfast in summer and for evening reading. Rotating art exhibitions in the lobby — typically Polytechnic University student work — mean there's always something to look at while you wait for laundry.

Location is the trade-off. You're 5 minutes from Dora Station (which has the Caselle Express airport link), but the actual centre — Quadrilatero Romano, Egyptian Museum, Mole — is 2.5 km south, a 25-minute walk or a 10-minute bus ride on the 12 or 49. Porta Susa is 10 minutes by bus. The Aurora neighborhood itself has cheap kebab, a Pakistani-Punjabi food cluster, and the Mercato di Porta Palazzo five minutes south. The streets feel scrappier than the centre but the hostel has security 24/7 and there's no actual crime issue.