Where To Go On Holiday In Italy
Rome is the obvious place to start your travels. Well-connected via links with many of the world's major airports, Italy's capital is steeped in more history than you can imagine. Although The Vatican and The Sistine Chapel attract the lion's share of visitors, the Colosseum, Piazza della Repubblica, Castel Sant'Angelo and an untold number of other sites dotted around every corner of the city are equally as awe-inspiring. It's no wonder that UNESCO has awarded Italy more World Heritage Sites than any other country in the world.
Foodies, culture-vultures, art-lovers and fashionistas won't struggle to fill a single minute in Rome, whether it be a short city break or a full two-week holiday.
If you're travelling to the north of the country, we cannot recommend the region of Liguria enough. The capital, Genoa, is the
Moving south down the west coast of Italy, you'll discover Naples, the home of pizza. This is a hotchpotch of a city, with extreme wealth mixing with poverty and petty crime. It's castles, panoramas, food and culture are every bit as magical as elsewhere else in Italy, although it can take a holidaymaker an open mind and a sharp eye to dig out the real beauty of the city. If you don't mind a bit of a challenge, it's worth every minute. Day trips to Mount Vesuvius, Pompeii and Herculaneum are a must.
If you're wondering where to go for stunning Italian coastline, exquisite food and the perfect Mediterranean climate, the Amalfi Coast is unparalleled. You don't have to have a deep wallet to enjoy it here, although it helps. If you're only here for a short time, take an excursion to Capri and see how the other half live. Better still, hire a scooter and allow your senses to be saturated by the scenery. Pit-stops at any of the beautiful towns and villages along the route (such as Positano and Maiori) will leave you wishing you'd booked for longer.
If you're heading to the very south of Italy, then a night or two in Sicily is achievable and recommended. For something completely different however - somewhere like you've never been before - you could head right to the other end of Italy and visit one of the most celebrated cities in the world.
Venice is, quite simply bizarre. A city of water, gondolas, romance and architecture. It's almost impossible to write something about this place that hasn't been done innumerable times before.
If coastline isn't on your must-have list, the cities of Bologna, Verona and Milan all offer spectacular art, music, cuisine and culture. Turin - although known the world over as the home of the Turin Shroud - is more of a business centre than a world-class tourist destination, so we'd give this a miss.
A much better choice of in-land holiday destination is Florence, the capital of Tuscany and birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. With many of the most famous names in art and science hailing from here - Michelangelo, Gucci, da Vinci and Galileo to name but a few - its location is perfect for exploring the lavish countryside and artistic legacy that this region is famed for. If you really must have a photo of you shoring up the Leaning Tower of Pisa then by all means do. Personally we'd skip it and explore some of the region's less well-known gems such as Lucca, Siena or Pienza.