Best Italy Trip
Introduction
There are not a lot of places that rank above Italy on travelers’ bucket lists. Whatever your taste in travel, you’ll satisfy it in this country that is at once exotic and familiar. History, art, food, music, architecture, culture, sacred sites, charming villages, and staggering scenery are all around, and in an atmosphere that only the most confirmed curmudgeon could impossible not to enjoy.
We have visited Italy multiple times over the years and have Italian employees, so these destinations for Italy include some of Italy’s most-known locations and some lesser-known, lowkey recommendations that others may not suggest. We want you to see the best of what Italy has to offer on your first trip, including the highlights and some mountain towns and seaside villages.
Must-See Locations in Italy
Rome
For its history as the capital of much of ancient Europe and its present-day role as one of Europe’s most colorful cities, Rome heads the list of places to visit for most tourists traveling to Italy. Relics of its ancient times —the Colosseum, the Forum, the Pantheon, the Appian Way, and the Palatine Hill—vie with the vast riches of the Vatican are some of the top appeals.
But in between popular spots like the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo’s Pieta, take your time and enjoy the city itself. Relax in the Borghese Gardens. Eat gelato on the Spanish Steps. Explore the narrow streets of Trastevere. Drink morning cappuccino in cafés; window-shop on the Via Veneto; and toss a coin in Trevi Fountain so that you can return again and again. It will take several trips to see it all.
Florence
A showcase of the Italian Renaissance, Florence can sometimes look like a giant museum. The Cathedral of Santa Maria del He Fiore and the Duomo are landmarks of world architecture, crowned by a massive gravity-defying dome.
With Giotto’s marble bell tower and Ghiberti’s octagonal baptistery with incomparable bronze doors, this is one of the finest Renaissance art ensembles in the world.
Half a dozen museums are brimming with paintings, sculptures, and many more masterpieces in churches and palaces. Stroll through the Boboli Gardens, explore the artisanal ateliers and workshops of Oltrarno, and shop for leather in Santa Croce before indulging in art at the Uffizi Gallery and Palazzo Pitti.
Venice
Who wouldn’t love a city where the streets are made of water, the buses are boats, and the gondolas sing in the air? It’s a magical city, and the main attraction for tourists is the city itself.
The city’s heart is the wide Piazza San Marco, surrounded by the main tourist attractions. The mighty St. Mark’s Basilica sits beside the Doge’s Palace, with a tall bell tower overlooking both.
A gondola ride is one of Italy’s most romantic activities. Gondolas congregate at the edge of the Grand Canal square. In the opposite direction, the gates below the clock tower lead to a tangled, narrow, winding passageway, and you can’t help but get lost on your way to the Rialto Bridge. But getting lost is one of his greatest pleasures in Venice, where postcard scenes await here and there.
Siena
Having its heyday in the 13th and 14th centuries, Siena rivaled Florence in terms of art and culture and is still rich in artistic and architectural treasures. A highlight is the magnificent Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. Inlaid marble façades and striped bell towers stand majestically among the mostly red-brick buildings of Siena. Inside the cathedral is a museum displaying works by great artists and sculptors such as Donatello, Giovanni Pisano, Bernini, Lorenzo, and Ghiberti.
But art is only part of Siena’s charm. The winding medieval streets and wide squares invite you to stroll. Piazza del Campo is considered one of Europe’s most beautiful medieval public squares. Twice a summer, chaotic horse racing called the Palio occurs on this heavily sloping main square.
Assisi
Assisi is best known as the birthplace of St. Francis, one of Italy’s most famous patron saints, and a popular destination for pilgrims. But you don’t have to be religious to appreciate the city’s beautiful scenery, spectacular architecture, and rich culture. Assisi is also a foodie’s paradise where you can enjoy delicious meats, cheeses, and fine wines in the heart of city life.
Bologne
Famous for its culinary arts and cuisine and its historic university (the oldest in Europe), Bologna is a beautiful city to visit. Elegant arcades shelter the streets from the sun and rain, and beneath them are shops with original interiors dating back centuries. Follow Galleria Street to see old aristocratic mansions.
Life revolves around the neighboring Piazza Maggiore and Piazza Nettuno. Here, you’ll find the magnificent 16th-century Neptune Fountain and the facade of the yet-to-be-finished Church of Saint He Petronius.
Another church worth a visit is the atmospheric Church of Santo Stefano, comprised of seven religious buildings built by the Benedictines from the 10th century to the 13th century. Its two leaning towers, Asinelli and Garisenda, are tall, slender brick and stone pillars, taller than Pisa’s famous tower. These are remnants of the Middle Ages when families had their fortified towers attached to their homes.
Padua
Padua (or Padua in Italian) is a modest Italian city in the Veneto region waiting to be discovered. It’s not very popular with tourists, but it’s worth a visit. It doesn’t boast the history and treasures of Venice or Florence, but it has that special little surprise that makes it feel like you’ve found ‘your own’ Italy.
Best Italy Trips: Padua
Tuscany Wine Region (Montepulciano)
The Tuscan hills are adorned with stone towns, the foundations of which date back to the Etruscans. Each perched on a mountain, many castles and towers once held a dominant position. It’s hard to choose one as each has its architecture, art, features, and stories to tell. With several towers and surrounded by primarily intact walls, San he Gimignano looks like it was in the Middle Ages when it was an essential stop on the pilgrimage route to Rome.
Volterra was an important Etruscan center before the arrival of the Romans and remains of both civilizations today. Arezzo’s attractions are the legacy of the many artists, architects, and poets who lived there.
Like Volterra, walled Cortona was an Etruscan and later a Roman settlement, but it is also a reminder of the Florentine past. Cortona is one of the oldest cities in Italy. These hill towns are close to cities such as Florence, Siena, Pisa, and Luca, so Tuscany has many of Italy’s best places to visit.
Naples
Just as canals are the hallmark of Venice and the Renaissance is the essence of Florence, in Naples, it’s the sheer exuberance that captivates you. It’s a busy place, with narrow streets full of color, noise, and life.
Naples has everything you need to see, do, and experience: churches full of treasures, magnificent palaces that lavish the wealth of European kings, and premier archaeological museums showcasing discoveries from nearby Pompeii. There is much to do.
Stroll along the coast with the locals and enjoy views of Mount Vesuvius across the bay, take ferries to Capri and magical Sorrento, and visit the glass-domed Galleria Umberto I Shop in and be sure to try the pizza – the Neapolitans say they invented it.
Pompeii
In 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius violently erupted, engulfing the flourishing Roman city of Pompeii and enveloping it in 20 feet of ash and pumice for over 1,000 years. The time they stood still in the city until excavations in the 18th century uncovered more than half of its buildings and public spaces. Organic matter such as wood, textiles, and food is also stored in this hermetic seal, giving a more complete picture of a century of life. Even the tableware and food items have been preserved as they were during the earthquake.
Sorrento & Capri
The famous island of Capri rises from sheer cliffs out of the Tyrrhenian Sea, just 20 kilometers from Sorrento. Today, a haven for the Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius, it attracts a constant stream of tourists who arrive frequently by ferry or hydrofoil from Sorrento and Naples.
Although very small, only 4 miles long at its longest point, it has two towns above it, Capri and Anacapri. The town below has chic shops and cafes filled with passers-by trying to spot celebrities. Anacapri is home to the beautiful Villa San Michele and its gardens.
One of the best things to do in Capri is a trip to the Blue Grotto. The Blue Grotto is a large flooded cave with reflected sunlight illuminating the water from within. On the other side of the island is the beautiful Marina Piccola, a small beach at the foot of a cliff sheltered by the steep Faraglioni cliffs.
Like Capri, the enchanting city of Sorrento seems made for entertainment. Surrounded by candy-colored buildings and lemon trees, the landscape includes Naples and its bay, Mount Vesuvius, and Capri. It’s the perfect city to stroll, sit in a cafe, or make a day trip to Capri, the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, or Herculaneum.
