That split is the whole trick in Turin. Most bars charge close to the city average. A small group of student bars runs deals built for people living on a scholarship, and the rest of this guide is about those bars.
How much does a spritz cost in Turin compared with other Italian cities?
Turin is neither cheap nor expensive. According to idealo's price-comparison research, reported by Castelli Notizie in August 2025, a spritz in Turin averages €6.33, which puts the city mid-table nationally. The same 2025 idealo ranking puts Milan at the top with an average of €10.33, so a Politecnico student pays far less for a spritz than a friend studying in Milan.
The other end of the table is harsher. The same idealo data from 2025 puts Padova at €3.40 and Naples at €2, the lowest of the 15 cities compared. In other words, Turin is not a spritz bargain city by default.
Keep in mind that €6.33 is an average across every kind of bar, from the hotel lounges in the centre to the student places by the river. Nobody is forcing you to pay it. The venues below are cheap because of timing (happy hour), your student card or food bundles, not because Turin is cheap in general.
Where can students get a spritz under €5 in Turin?
📷 Marco Cassé / Pexels
These are the concrete sub-€5 options, with prices from each venue's own page or a named listing.
Le Panche Cocktail Bar (Vanchiglia / Regio Parco). According to its italiarecensioni listing (latest review from 2023), Le Panche sells a spritz or a beer for €1.50 during happy hour, roughly 17:30 to 21:30, at Via Reggio 3 on the Dora river. The name means "the benches": there is basically no indoor seating, so people sit outside on benches, and the same listing describes the crowd as largely university students. The 2023 date is old, but Mister Good Beer's guide, updated in August 2026, still lists the bar with pints from €3.00 outside happy hour, so it is still open. Check the €1.50 price at the bar before you promise it to ten friends.
Trivè Time (Vanchiglia and Piazza Carlina). According to GuidaTorino in 2024, Trivè Time runs a Tuesday promotion called Martedì del Sorriso, with tramezzini and a "Candy Spritz" at €3 each and no cap on how many you order. GuidaTorino's 2024 article lists two locations, Via Amendola 12 and Via Santa Croce 2 on Piazza Carlina, and notes that the venue recommends booking because Tuesdays fill up. The article dates from 2024, so confirm it is still running before you go.
Bere in Tipografia (Vanchiglia). More on this one below. Its student-card deal (next section) is the cheapest way to get a proper cocktail, as long as you go in pairs.
Which Turin bars give discounts with a student card?
📷 Max Fischer / Pexels
Bere in Tipografia, at Piazza Santa Giulia 10 in Vanchiglia, is the clearest example we found. According to the bar's official "Offerte universitarie" page (live in 2026), showing your tessera universitaria (university student card) gets you €5 for two identical cocktails: spritz, gin tonic, vodka tonic, rum cola, whiskey cola, or a draft Tennent's. The same 2026 page lists two Negronis for €7.
The catch is in the word identical. The deal works for two people ordering the same drink, or for one person planning a long night. Split between two friends, that is €2.50 each for a spritz, well under the €6.33 Turin average idealo reported in 2025.
This is also why you should carry your student card on nights out. Italian bars rarely advertise student pricing loudly, and if you don't have the card on you, you won't get the deal. If you are on Erasmus, ask your host university early about the card or equivalent ID they issue. In Turin some bars ask to see it before they serve the discounted drink.
Where can you get an apericena that replaces dinner in Turin?
An aperitivo is the early-evening drink with a small snack. In Turin and the rest of Piedmont you will also hear apericena, from aperitivo plus cena (dinner): the food is substantial enough to replace your evening meal. On a student budget that difference matters, because a drink that includes dinner replaces a whole meal. Watch for tagliere (a sharing board) and tramezzino (a soft, crustless triangle sandwich) on menus.
Baretti Bis (San Salvario). According to Baretti Bis's official menu on Mycia (checked in 2026), the bar at Via Baretti 7 sells "Bis" combos: one tapa or bruschetta plus a glass of wine or beer for €6, a toast plus wine or beer for €7, a toast plus a spritz for €7, and three tapas plus a drink for €10. The same 2026 menu lists the bolognese toast, the vegetarian toast, a small bruschetta board and a small vegetarian tagliere at €5 each.
The €10 combo is the one to note. For roughly what an average Milan spritz costs in the 2025 idealo data, you get three small plates and a drink, which covers dinner for most people.
Bere in Tipografia (Vanchiglia). According to the bar's official "Aperitivi" page in 2026, a crostone (a large topped slice of toasted bread) plus a drink costs €5, and a cheeseburger with fries or nuggets plus a drink costs €10, with apericena served from 18:00 to 22:30. The same 2026 page lists late opening every night, up to 03:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, so this is also where many people start a long evening.
Where do Turin students go out at night?
Two neighbourhoods and one riverbank cover most of Turin's cheap student nightlife.
Vanchiglia sits behind the zona universitaria, the university belt around Palazzo Nuovo and Via Verdi near the humanities faculty. Le Panche, Bere in Tipografia and Trivè Time's Via Amendola branch are all in or next to it, so you can do a whole cheap evening on foot. It is also a neighbourhood students actually live in, which is why the prices are set for them.
San Salvario, next to Porta Nuova station, is the other aperitivo district. Its reputation is for apericena and busy streets on weekend nights. Baretti Bis is a good example of what it does well: small plates, fixed prices, no pretence.
The Murazzi del Po are the arched embankments along the Po river, historically Turin's late-night student strip. Mister Good Beer's Turin guide, updated in 2026, explicitly calls the Murazzi the "student zone" and lists a bar at Murazzi del Po Gipo Farassino 22 with pints from €2.50, including during happy hour from 17:00 to 20:00. On a warm evening, a cheap pint by the river is hard to beat for a first week in Turin.
How to keep aperitivo from wrecking your monthly budget
Cheap drinks add up if you go out every night. A few habits help:
- Go during happy hour, not after it. Every cheap price in this guide depends on the time, so plan your meet-up around the window rather than showing up late.
- Treat apericena as dinner, not a snack before dinner. Paying for a combo and then ordering pizza cancels the saving.
- Use the pair deals. Bere in Tipografia's two-for-one pricing and Trivè Time's Tuesday promo reward going with a friend or a flatmate.
- Don't over-spend on rent to make up for it. What you spend on nights out comes out of the same budget as your room. If you are still house-hunting, our guide on how to save on rent in Turin as a Politecnico student goes through the bigger levers. A room in Vanchiglia or San Salvario puts every bar above within walking distance, which saves you night-bus and taxi money too.
When you're looking for that room, compare listings across platforms instead of committing to the first one. Our honest comparison of room-finding apps in Italy goes through the options. Coinquilino (coinquilino.app), a free app for finding rooms and roommates in Italy, is one of them (full disclosure: Coinquilino is our app). Once you have flatmates, a shared aperitivo night is a good way to set the house rules without it feeling formal; our 7 golden rules for happy roommates are a good starting list.
FAQ
Is aperitivo in Turin cheaper than in Milan?
On average, yes. According to idealo research reported by Castelli Notizie in 2025, a spritz averages €6.33 in Turin against €10.33 in Milan, the most expensive city in that ranking. Student deals in Vanchiglia and San Salvario take the price lower still.
Where is the cheapest spritz in Turin?
The lowest price we found is at Le Panche Cocktail Bar in Vanchiglia, where the italiarecensioni listing (latest review 2023) shows a €1.50 spritz or beer during happy hour. Because the listing is older, ask at the bar before relying on it.
Do I need a student card for cheap drinks in Turin?
Some deals need it. Bere in Tipografia's official page (2026) makes its two-cocktails-for-€5 offer conditional on showing a tessera universitaria. Happy-hour prices at places like Le Panche or the Murazzi bars don't require one.
What's the difference between aperitivo and apericena?
An aperitivo is a pre-dinner drink with a small snack. An apericena includes enough food to count as dinner, either as a buffet or as a fixed combo like the Baretti Bis "Bis" deals in San Salvario.
Which neighbourhood is best for cheap aperitivo in Turin?
Vanchiglia has the most sub-€5 options close together, near the university. San Salvario is better if you want food bundles, and the Murazzi del Po riverbank is the classic student spot for a cheap pint.
Are these prices guaranteed?
No. Every price here comes from a named source with a date, but bars change menus and promotions often. Treat the figures as a guide, check the chalkboard when you arrive, and see the idealo spritz comparison on Castelli Notizie for the national picture.
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This article was produced with the help of AI tools and reviewed by the Coinquilino editorial team.
