Italy
Euros, and cards are fine; carry cash for the cabs. Come April–June, or September–October. English is patchy; a little Italian helps. Take the train. Below: ten regions, our picks.
Start with the region that fits the week you have.
Italy is not one trip. Choose a region, stay long enough to learn its train or road map, and leave the other nine for later. Rome and Florence work well by rail. Puglia, Sardinia, Sicily and the Dolomites need more planning and usually a car for at least part of the route.
Each guide covers where to base yourself, what to book, how to divide the days and what the transport requires. Where a well-known address is in, the entry says what it serves and when to go.
Ten regions, each with its own guide.
Italy rewards the unhurried. Go slow, eat late, and pick two or three regions instead of trying to see everything; take the train between them and leave the rest for next time.
Dress for it. Not designer. Just put in some effort. Italians notice.
Cappuccino is a breakfast drink here. Order what you want; nobody minds as much as the internet suggests. The barista. But barely.
Book trains, not flights. The Frecciarossa between Rome and Florence is 90 minutes.
Lunch is the bigger meal. Dinner can be lighter, later, and is often better value.
Restaurants open at 7:30pm at the earliest. Show up at 7 and you'll eat alone in an empty room.
The cover charge (coperto) is normal. It's not a scam. It's usually €2–4 and covers the bread.
Tipping is modest. Round up, leave a few euro, not 20%. That's not how it works here.
Midday closures are real. Many shops shut 1–3:30pm. Plan around it or use the time to sit somewhere with wine.
Spring
This is the best time to go.
Summer
Stay on the coast.
Autumn
It is almost better than spring.
Winter
Stick to the cities.
Pick your region.
Each guide covers where to base yourself, what to book, how to divide the days and what the transport requires. Use the cards below to choose the geography first.
Rome
The historic centre, Monti, Trastevere and Testaccio, with a two-day plan for the Forum, Pantheon and Vatican.
Amalfi Coast
Naples, Sorrento, Positano, Ravello and Capri, linked by a slow coastal road and the ferries. Book a driver or use the boats.
Florence & Tuscany
Florence and the Oltrarno, then Chianti, Siena, Val d'Orcia and the Maremma. The countryside needs a car.
Puglia
Lecce, Ostuni, the Itria Valley, Polignano, Monopoli and Salento. Long distances, so plan the drive before the hotel.
Venice
The six sestieri, the bacari, and Murano, Burano and Torcello in the lagoon. Stay inside the city and use the vaporetto.
Sicily
Palermo and the west, or Ortigia, the Baroque south, Etna and Taormina. Pick one side for a week.
Sardinia
Costa Smeralda and La Maddalena, the Baunei coast, Cagliari, Alghero and the Barbagia interior. Choose the coast, then the airport.
Milan & Lakes
Milan for the centre, Brera and Porta Venezia, then one lake: Como, Maggiore, Garda, Iseo or Orta.
The Dolomites
Alta Badia, Val Gardena and Cortina d'Ampezzo, with rifugi, lifts and trail routes. Pick one valley as a base.
Umbria & Le Marche
Assisi, Orvieto, Spello and Spoleto in Umbria, then Urbino and Ascoli Piceno across the Apennines in Le Marche.
Where We Eat
Restaurants, bakeries, bars and market stops across the ten Italy guides. Filter by region, type and price.
Explore →Where We Sleep
Hotels, masserie, rifugi, palazzi and small guesthouses. Filter by region, property type and price.
Explore →What We Do
Museums, hikes, beaches, boats, wineries and day trips, with the booking and timing notes kept beside each entry.
Explore →The ones we'd send a friend to first
Not a ranking. Six places across Italy to book first, with the full guides going region by region.
Lunch at Cesare al Casaletto
Take tram 8 to the end of the line for Roman pasta, fried starters and a long lunch away from the historic centre. Reserve ahead.
Sunset at the Loggia Roof Bar
A small rooftop above Palazzo Guadagni on Piazza Santo Spirito, looking over the river to the Duomo. Come at sunset, and come early, because the terrace is small.
Aperitivo at Bar Basso
Order a Negroni Sbagliato at the bar where it was created, then continue to dinner in Milan.
An evening in the Sassi
A cave city carved into rock, inhabited for millennia. Walk the Sassi in the evening, when the lanes are quiet and lit.
Dinner at SantoPalato
Sarah Cicolini's Roman trattoria serves carbonara, amatriciana and offal in San Giovanni. Reserve before the week fills.
Morning at the Ortigia market
Go in the morning for swordfish, sea urchin, blood oranges and capers in sea salt. Finish with an almond granita and brioche. Bring small notes.
If You Have Three Days
Rome & Testaccio
Roscioli Caffè
Stand at the bar. Espresso and a maritozzo. Don't linger.
The Pantheon
Go early, before the queue builds. You don't need long inside.
Armando al Pantheon
Book ahead. Family-run since the '60s. Order the cacio e pepe.
Roman Forum + Palatine Hill
Book online. The Forum at 4pm has different light. Time it.
Walk the back streets of Trastevere
The lanes behind Piazza Santa Maria are quieter than the square itself.
SantoPalato dinner
Reserve a week ahead. Loud, Roman, worth every minute of the tram ride.
Tuscany & the Coast
Drive to the Argentario
Rent the car in Rome and head north into southern Tuscany. Book it the night before.
Swim at Cala Grande
Small beach on the nature reserve. Go on a weekday.
Il Pellicano terrace
Aperitivo on the terrace, and don't be in a hurry about it.
Dinner at La Fontanina, Porto Ercole
Tuscany does this harbourside fish dinner well: order the branzino.
North to Florence
Drive to Florence
Two hours north. Leave early and the whole day is still ahead of you.
Ditta Artigianale
Best coffee in Florence. Sit down this time.
Sant'Ambrogio market
The market Florentines shop at, better than the Mercato Centrale by a distance. It winds down by early afternoon.
Il Santo Bevitore, Oltrarno
Seasonal plates and a Tuscan wine list. Lunch is quieter than dinner.
Uffizi or Santa Croce
Book the Uffizi well ahead, because tickets go weeks in advance. If you can't get one, Santa Croce is quieter and worth the afternoon.
Oltrarno on foot
Via Toscanella, for handmade leather and paper goods, sold by the people who made them.
Enoteca Pitti Gola e Cantina
Natural wines by the glass in a stone room near the Pitti Palace. Florence has the airport and the fast trains, so ending here is the easy way out.
We can take it from here.
Tell us where you're going, how you like to travel, and what your budget looks like. We'll send back something worth packing for.