Region

South-Central Europe

Country/State

Italy

Place(s)

  • Rome
  • Tuscany
  • Venice
  • Milan
  • Sicily
  • Pompeii

Best Time to Visit

  • Season(s): Spring & Fall
  • Month(s): April-June, September-October

Uniquely Popular For

  • Renaissance architecture & art
  • world-famous cuisine including the Neapolitan Pizza
  • origin of major fashion
  • opera performances
  • ancient monuments
  • excavated sites & museums
  • picturesque beaches
  • romantic boat and gondola rides
  • home to the most of UNESCO world heritage sites
  • hiking
  • wine tasting

General Tourist Attractions

  • Venice is just a great place to visit. While not the cheapest destination in Italy, Venice is great to see canals, experience a gondola ride, and have an amazing romantic candlelight dinner. Head to the old Jewish Ghetto for hip bars and cheap drinks.
  • Rome has so much to see and do you’ll need to make several trips to even scratch the surface.
  • Besides the obvious highlights, make sure you explore the Trastevere student neighbourhood west of the river.
  • Pompeii is the ancient city that was destroyed by a volcano but preserved by a blanket of ash. Walk around the city as it stood the day the volcano exploded, moving in and out of homes and businesses where pots and vases still lay. Most of the beautiful frescoes are still there with their beautiful colors.
  • The Cinque Terre, Liguria consists of five dramatically located villages on the west coast of Italy, backed by steep vineyards and mountains. It’s heaven here. There are great hikes that range in difficulty, incredible fresh pesto and seafood, and great local wine.
  • The southern cousin to the Cinque Terre, the Amalfi coast, Salerno is much less visited but equally as beautiful (some say more). You’ll find great hillside towns, beautiful beaches, and azure blue water in which to cool off.
  • The Venice Carnival, Ten days and nights of masquerade madness in February before Lent is quite the party. This tradition goes back centuries and is one of the biggest parties and festivals in Italy.
  • Shop in Milan, Everyone knows the fashion capital of Italy. Take in the glamor of Milan, but the city itself doesn’t have many sights, so don’t spend more than a day or two here.
  • Pisa, The entire town of Pisa is focused around taking a photo casually leaning on the leaning tower.
  • Siena, It’s one of the best preserved medieval cities in Italy and has a labyrinth of lanes gathered around the arena of Piazza del Campo (where, during the summer, they have horses racing).
  • Naples, famous for its pizza. Boat rides from Naples to Isle of Capri
  • The beautiful lakes up north, such as Lake Como, are the summer playground for Italians, the rich, and George Clooney.
  • Florence. There’s no real need to explain why to go here. Everything people say about it is true. Great food, amazing museums, ancient buildings, small streets, and awesome gelato.
  • Sicily is famous for its mafia, but there’s more to the island than mobsters. It has its own unique cooking style, amazing coastal beaches that stay warm in the summer months, friendly little Italian grandmas, and extensive wineries.
  • Sorrento, If you’re looking for an off the beaten path location, Sorrento is the perfect, quiet town filled with mountains and valleys in the South of Italy. It also makes a great home base to jump between islands in the Amalfi Coast.
  • Settimana Santa, This is the last week of lent known as Holy Week. During this time, there are several processions throughout Italy, drawing crowds of thousands. Throughout the week, there are various gatherings in Puglia, Abruzzo, and Sicily but the major event occurs on Easter Sunday, and is led by the pope.
  • Alberobello, A Unesco World Heritage Site, this is an interesting and picturesque little town.
  • the Vatican Museums, If you have the patience to wait through the lines, this is one of the most grandeur collections to see while in Rome. Founded in the early 16th century, it is a complex of museums on over five hectares of land.
  • Chiesa di Sant’Efisio, when you find yourself in Cagliari, you should probably wander over to the Stampace quarter to see this church. Dedicated to the patron Saint Ephisius, this is the most important church in the city and it was actually built over the saint’s prison site.
  • Lucca, Just outside of Florence, this is a great city to explore on a bicycle.
  • Emilio-Romagna, Located in the northeast, this picturesque region of the country of is worth a visit. It’s one of the richest regions in all of the EU, and its home to the oldest university in the world (the University of Bologna).
  • Liguria, the small coastal province to the south, has long been known as the “Italian Riviera” and is accordingly crowded with sun-seekers for much of the summer.
  • Valle d’Aosta, much of the most dramatic mountain scenery lies within the smaller northern regions.
  • Trentino-Alto Adige, another bilingual region and one in which the national boundary is especially blurred, marks the beginning of the Dolomites mountain range.
  • Le Marche has gone the same way, with old stone cottages being turned into foreign-owned holiday homes.
  • Abruzzo and Molise, one of Italy’s remotest areas, centring on one of the country’s highest peaks – the Gran Sasso d’Italia.
  • Puglia, the “heel” of Italy, has underrated pleasures, too, notably the landscape of its Gargano peninsula, the souk-like qualities of its capital, Bari, and the Baroque glories of Lecce in the far south. No one ever goes to the southern heel of the Italian boot. But if you have time, make it down here. A trip down here will give you the best glimpse into rustic Italian life.
  • Sardinia, too, feels far removed from the Italian mainland, especially in its relatively undiscovered interior, although you may be content just to laze on its fine beaches, which are among Italy’s best.
  • Hiking between the scenic villages of Cinque Terre
  • Uffizi Gallery that portrays the step-by-step evolution of Renaissance art
  • Road and boat trips between Amalfi and Positano
  • Tours to the Pantheon, St. Peter’s Basilica & Leaning Tower of Pisa

Memorable Pursuits

  • Take in the breath-taking view of Sicily while at the Valley of the Temples that overlooks the entire town below it.
  • Take a gondola along the canals in Venice
  • Climb to the top of the Duomo in Florence
  • Tour the volcanic city of Pompeii
  • Hike through the five cities of Cinque Terre
  • Swim in the Blue Grotto on Capri
  • Take a bike tour through the vineyards of Tuscany
  • Hike to the top of Mt. Vesuvius or take a trek to its crater which feels very similar to the craters on the moon.
  • Explore all of Italy on a boat cruise on Lake Como which spans across the entire country. Lake Como is an unmissable stop on your visit to Italy.
  • While in Verona, stand in the very balcony where Juliet stood in, from the memorable Shakespearean play, Romeo & Juliet and watch lovers declare their love for each other.
  • Take a trip to an era gone by in Pompeii, which stands exactly as it did in 79 A.D.
  • Boat rides along the gorgeous Amalfi Coast offer an interesting view of the exotic traditional Mediterranean villages.
  • Take a trek up to Stromboli in Sicily, a still active volcano, but make sure to take along a guide if you want to continue on to the crater because it still gives out clouds of ash and fire.
  • The Italians love a festival and there are thousands during the year. Religious processions are widespread, Good Friday being particularly well celebrated, and carnival (the big party before the abstemiousness of Lent).
  • Then there are traditional events, such as the Palio horse race in Siena, food festivals, often celebrating regional cuisine, as well as arts festivals, often taking place against a backdrop of Roman or medieval architecture.

Something Leisurely

  • Cruise around the Grand Canal in Venice on a water bus (aka vaporetto) or for a more romantic feel, on a gondola and marvel as you pass through traditional Venetian homes and little bridges along the waterway.
  • If you’re a pizza aficionado, you will love the city that invented the dish – you will find pizza parlors and pizzeria all around Naples.
  • While in Tuscany, make sure to visit the vineyards and indulge in some wine-tasting.
  • Take a cooking lesson, If tasting local food isn’t enough for you and you’d like to bring a like bit of Italian cuisine home with you, then consider enrolling yourself in cooking lessons. Prices vary, but most cost between 75-300 EUR.

Quick Tip(s) from the Locals

  • Make sure that you have advanced reservations for wine-tasting; and that you know your wines as people in Tuscany have immense pride for detail. The Italians love for their native language, so make sure to learn a few words before you visit.