Italy
Euros — cards are fine, 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.
Everyone tries to do all of Italy at once. Pick a few regions and actually stay.
Rome is theatrical and ancient and a little exhausting, in the way that anything worth doing is. Florence demands your full attention. Puglia doesn't demand anything; it just makes you want to cancel your return flight. Each region has a different rhythm, and the mistake is trying to keep the same pace through all of them.
We've read every list, and we've found the places that aren't on any of them. Not everything well-known is wrong; sometimes the trattoria near the Pantheon that every guidebook recommends is there because it's genuinely that good. We'll tell you which ones, and why. We'll also tell you which ones to walk past without stopping.
This guide covers ten regions. We have opinions about all of them.
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.
Never order a cappuccino after noon. You'll survive. So will the barista. But barely.
Book trains, not flights. The Frecciarossa between Rome and Florence is 90 minutes and genuinely pleasant.
Lunch is the serious 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
Go. Best time.
Summer
Coast only.
Autumn
Go. Almost better.
Winter
Cities only.
Pick your region.
Each region gets its own guide: where to eat, sleep, and spend your time.
Rome
The Eternal City, best understood slowly. Ancient, theatrical, lived-in.
Amalfi Coast
Cliffside roads, lemon groves, and hotels that make you want to extend. Worth the drive. Don't go in August.
Florence & Tuscany
Marble, wine, the best leather in the world, and a countryside that earns every photograph. Build in time for Oltrarno.
Puglia
Trulli, orecchiette al ragù, and a coast that looks like it belongs to a different sea. The food alone justifies the trip south.
Venice
Yes, it's crowded. Go anyway: stay inside the city, wake up at 6am once, and eat cicchetti at a bacaro counter like everyone else.
Sicily
Wild, volcanic, deeply flavored. Arab-Norman churches, arancino from a street cart, and Etna smoking on the horizon.
Sardinia
The most striking coastline in the Mediterranean, and the least like the rest of Italy. Nuraghi, suckling pig, and that water.
Milan & Lakes
Fashion, finance, and an aperitivo culture that runs circles around everywhere else. Lake Como is forty minutes away and a total change of pace.
The Dolomites
Vertical limestone, mountain huts with surprisingly good wine lists, and trails that make you forget you had a schedule.
Umbria & Le Marche
Hilltop towns, truffle country, and Italy without the performance of it. Orvieto, Spoleto, Perugia. Fewer tourists, better food.
Where We Eat
Dinner go-tos, street food, the place to blow the budget, breakfast worth waking up for.
Explore →Where We Sleep
Organized by price: from the well-designed budget option to the one that's worth every euro.
Explore →What We Do
Culture, adventure, wellness, workshops. What actually earns your time when you're there.
Explore →The ones we'd send a friend to first
Not a comprehensive list. Not ranked. A handful of places across Italy that would carry the trip on their own. The full guides go region by region: start with these.
Lunch at Cesare al Casaletto
Far enough from the center to feel like a real neighborhood. The fried gnocchi cacio e pepe is what Roman pasta tastes like when someone actually cares. Take the 8 tram. Book a week ahead.
Dusk at Il Pellicano
The Argentario is not where most people think to go, which is exactly why it still feels like something. Order a Negroni on the terrace. Don't take a photo.
Aperitivo at Bar Basso
Birthplace of the Negroni Sbagliato. Loud and old-school, a bar Milan does better than anyone. Go on a weeknight at 7.
An evening in the Sassi
One of the oldest inhabited cities on earth, carved into rock. Golden hour turns everything amber. Walk it at night after the day-trippers leave.
Dinner at SantoPalato
Chef Sarah Cicolini's kitchen is one of the most honest in the city. Amatriciana, cacio e pepe, offal if you want it. Loud, unpretentious, always worth it.
Morning at the Ortigia market
Swordfish, sea urchin, blood oranges, capers in sea salt. Walk first, buy second. Finish with a granita and brioche. The almond one, not the lemon.
If You Have Three Days
Rome & Testaccio
Roscioli Caffè
Stand at the bar. Espresso and a maritozzo. Don't linger.
The Pantheon
Go early. Ten minutes is enough if you're paying attention.
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 Trastevere — the back streets
Avoid the piazza. The streets behind it are where it gets good.
SantoPalato dinner
Reserve a week ahead. Loud, Roman, worth every minute of the tram ride.
North to Florence
Frecciarossa — Roma Termini → Firenze
90 minutes. Book second class. Leave early to have the morning.
Ditta Artigianale
Best coffee in Florence. Sit down this time.
Uffizi or Santa Croce
Book the Uffizi weeks out or skip it. Santa Croce is quieter and just as good.
Il Santo Bevitore, Oltrarno
Seasonal food, honest wine. Lunch is quieter than dinner.
Oltrarno on foot
Via Toscanella — handmade leather and paper goods, sold by the people who made them.
Enoteca Pitti Gola e Cantina
Natural wines, old stone walls. Stay too long. That's the point.
Tuscany & the Coast
S. Forno bakery
Sfoglia and coffee before anything else. Grab it to go.
Sant'Ambrogio market
The market Florentines shop at, better than the Mercato Centrale by a distance.
Drive to the Argentario
Two hours south. A different Italy entirely. Rent a car the night before.
Swim at Cala Grande
Small beach on the nature reserve. Go on a weekday. Bring nothing.
Il Pellicano terrace
Aperitivo. Don't be in a hurry.
Dinner at La Fontanina, Porto Ercole
Tuscany does this harbourside fish dinner well: order the branzino.
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.