Italy · Local picks
100+ Places to Visit in Italy
Our pick of trattorias, museums, markets, beaches, hikes and stays across Italy, from the famous classics to quiet local corners. Check opening times and booking rules before you go, as many coastal places close in winter and big museums need timed tickets.
Places to Visit in Rome
Things to Do
- Colosseum (Monti)
The great amphitheatre of ancient Rome, with timed entry that also covers the Forum and Palatine. - Pantheon (Centro Storico)
The best preserved temple of ancient Rome, with light pouring through its open oculus. - Aventine Keyhole (Aventino)
A famous peek through a garden gate lining up St Peter’s dome perfectly. - Ostia Antica (Ostia)
Rome’s ancient port city, quieter than Pompeii and an easy train ride away.
Arts and Culture
- Vatican Museums (Vatican City)
Raphael Rooms, the map gallery and the Sistine Chapel ceiling, best on an early slot. - Galleria Borghese (Villa Borghese)
Bernini sculptures and Caravaggio paintings in a villa visited by booked slot. - Centrale Montemartini (Ostiense)
Classical statues displayed among the machines of an old power station. - St Peter’s Basilica (Vatican City)
The heart of the Catholic world, with Michelangelo’s Pietà and the dome climb.
Restaurants
- Roscioli Salumeria con Cucina (Campo de’ Fiori)
A deli and restaurant famous for carbonara, cured meats and cheeses. - Da Enzo al 29 (Trastevere)
A small family trattoria for Roman classics and artichokes in season. - Trapizzino (Testaccio)
The original shop for pizza pockets filled with Roman stews. - Bonci Pizzarium (Prati)
Pizza by the slice with inventive toppings near the Vatican.
Cafés
- Sant’Eustachio Il Caffè (Centro Storico)
A historic coffee bar near the Pantheon known for its frothy espresso. - Pasticceria Regoli (Esquilino)
A classic bakery for maritozzi cream buns at breakfast. - Giolitti (Centro Storico)
A grand old gelato parlour a short walk from the Pantheon.
Bars and Nightlife
- Freni e Frizioni (Trastevere)
A converted garage bar where the aperitivo crowd spills onto the piazza. - Il Goccetto (Via dei Banchi Vecchi)
An old wine shop and bar with a long list by the glass.
Shopping and Markets
- Testaccio Market (Testaccio)
A covered neighbourhood market with street food stalls and real local shopping. - Porta Portese Market (Trastevere)
Rome’s sprawling Sunday morning flea market.
Nature and Outdoors
- Villa Borghese Gardens (Pinciano)
A huge central park with rowing boats, bikes and the Pincio terrace view. - Appia Antica Regional Park (Appian Way)
Cycle the ancient road past tombs, aqueducts and catacombs.
Stays
- Hotel Locarno (Piazza del Popolo)
A characterful Art Deco hotel with a roof terrace.
Places to Visit in Florence
Things to Do
- Florence Cathedral and Dome (Duomo)
Brunelleschi’s dome climb and the cathedral complex, booked by timed slot. - Ponte Vecchio (Centro Storico)
The medieval bridge lined with goldsmiths’ shops. - Lucca City Walls (Lucca)
Cycle the tree lined Renaissance walls of a nearby town. - Piazza del Campo (Siena)
The shell shaped square of Siena, an easy bus ride from Florence.
Arts and Culture
- Uffizi Gallery (Piazza della Signoria)
Botticelli, Leonardo and Caravaggio in the great Renaissance collection. - Galleria dell’Accademia (San Marco)
Home of Michelangelo’s David. - San Miniato al Monte (Oltrarno)
A Romanesque church above the city where monks sing vespers. - Basilica di Santa Croce (Santa Croce)
Tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo and Giotto frescoes.
Nature and Outdoors
- Piazzale Michelangelo (Oltrarno)
The classic sunset view over the domes and rooftops. - Boboli Gardens (Palazzo Pitti)
Formal gardens, grottos and fountains behind the Medici palace.
Restaurants
- Trattoria Mario (San Lorenzo)
A lunchtime trattoria with shared tables and Tuscan classics. - All’Antico Vinaio (Via dei Neri)
Famous stuffed schiacciata sandwiches, worth the queue. - Lampredotto stand at Mercato Centrale (San Lorenzo)
Try Florence’s tripe sandwich with green sauce from a market counter. - Gelateria dei Neri (Santa Croce)
A local favourite for gelato near Santa Croce.
Cafés
- Caffè Gilli (Piazza della Repubblica)
An elegant historic café for coffee and pastries.
Bars and Nightlife
- Le Volpi e l’Uva (Oltrarno)
A small wine bar for Tuscan wines and cheese boards. - Piazza Santo Spirito (Santo Spirito)
The Oltrarno square where locals gather for evening drinks.
Shopping and Markets
- Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio (Sant’Ambrogio)
The real neighbourhood food market where Florentines shop. - Mercato Centrale (San Lorenzo)
A food hall upstairs and produce stalls downstairs. - Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella (Santa Maria Novella)
A centuries old pharmacy selling perfumes and soaps. - Scuola del Cuoio (Santa Croce)
A leather school behind the Santa Croce basilica.
Events
- Scoppio del Carro (Duomo)
The Easter Sunday explosion of a cart of fireworks outside the cathedral.
Places to Visit in Venice
Arts and Culture
- St Mark’s Basilica (San Marco)
Golden mosaics under Byzantine domes, by timed slot. - Doge’s Palace (San Marco)
The seat of the republic, the Bridge of Sighs and the prisons. - Gallerie dell’Accademia (Dorsoduro)
Bellini, Titian and Tintoretto in the main Venetian collection. - Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Dorsoduro)
Modern art in a canal side palazzo with a garden. - Scuola Grande di San Rocco (San Polo)
Tintoretto’s vast cycle of paintings under one roof.
Things to Do
- Vaporetto Line 1 (Grand Canal)
The slow water bus past the palaces of the Grand Canal. - Libreria Acqua Alta (Castello)
A bookshop with books stacked in gondolas and bathtubs. - Jewish Ghetto (Cannaregio)
The world’s first ghetto, with synagogues and a museum. - Murano (Murano)
Glass furnaces and showrooms on the lagoon island. - Burano (Burano)
Brightly painted houses and lace making traditions. - Traghetto across the Grand Canal (Santa Sofia)
A short standing gondola crossing used by locals.
Shopping and Markets
- Rialto Market (San Polo)
Fish and produce stalls in the morning by the Rialto Bridge.
Bars and Nightlife
- Cantina Do Mori (San Polo)
An ancient bacaro wine bar for cicchetti and an ombra. - All’Arco (San Polo)
A tiny bar serving some of the best cicchetti in the city. - Fondamenta della Misericordia (Cannaregio)
A canal side strip of bars and restaurants lively at night.
Restaurants
- Trattoria Ca’ d’Oro alla Vedova (Cannaregio)
A historic osteria known for its meatballs.
Cafés
- Caffè Florian (Piazza San Marco)
Italy’s oldest café with music on the square. - Pasticceria Tonolo (Dorsoduro)
A classic pastry shop loved for its fritelle in carnival season.
Nature and Outdoors
- Torcello (Torcello)
A near deserted island with the lagoon’s oldest church.
Events
- Carnival of Venice (Citywide)
Masks and costumes fill the city in the weeks before Lent. - Festa del Redentore (Giudecca)
A July night of fireworks over the lagoon. - Venice Biennale (Castello)
The great international art and architecture exhibition in the Giardini and Arsenale.
Places to Visit in Amalfi Coast
Things to Do
- Positano (Positano)
The cascade of pastel houses down to the Spiaggia Grande. - Fiordo di Furore (Furore)
A tiny beach under a road bridge in a narrow gorge. - Pompeii Archaeological Park (Pompeii)
The Roman city buried by Vesuvius. - Herculaneum (Ercolano)
A smaller, better preserved Roman town than Pompeii. - Ferry from Salerno to Positano (Salerno)
The calmest way to see the coast from the water.
Arts and Culture
- Amalfi Cathedral (Amalfi)
The striped cathedral and the Cloister of Paradise. - Paper Museum (Amalfi)
An old mill telling the story of Amalfi’s handmade paper.
Nature and Outdoors
- Villa Cimbrone (Ravello)
Gardens and the Terrace of Infinity high above the sea. - Villa Rufolo (Ravello)
Gardens and terraces that inspired Wagner. - Path of the Gods (Agerola)
A cliff top hike from Bomerano to Nocelle with huge views. - Valle delle Ferriere (Amalfi)
A shady trail past waterfalls and old paper mills. - Blue Grotto (Capri)
A sea cave lit electric blue, entered by rowing boat. - Monte Solaro Chairlift (Anacapri)
A single seat chairlift to Capri’s highest point.
Restaurants
- Da Adolfo (Laurito)
A beach restaurant reached by its own boat from Positano. - Lo Scoglio (Nerano)
The home of spaghetti alla nerano by the sea. - Acquapazza (Cetara)
Seafood with Cetara’s famous anchovy sauce.
Cafés
- Pasticceria Pansa (Amalfi)
A historic café on the cathedral square for lemon pastries. - Sal De Riso (Minori)
A pastry shop famous for its lemon cake.
Bars and Nightlife
- Franco’s Bar (Positano)
Sunset spritzes on a terrace above Positano.
Shopping and Markets
- Vietri sul Mare ceramics (Vietri sul Mare)
Hand painted tiles and pottery from the coast’s ceramic town.
Events
- Ravello Festival (Ravello)
Summer concerts on a stage hanging over the sea.
Stays
- Praiano (Praiano)
A quieter village between Positano and Amalfi.
Places to Visit in Sicily
Arts and Culture
- Palatine Chapel (Palermo)
Golden mosaics inside the Norman Palace. - Monreale Cathedral (Monreale)
Vast gold mosaics in the hills above Palermo. - Teatro Massimo (Palermo)
Italy’s largest opera house, with tours and performances. - Ancient Theatre of Taormina (Taormina)
A Greek theatre framing the sea and Etna.
Shopping and Markets
- Ballarò Market (Palermo)
Palermo’s loud and lively street market. - Capo Market (Palermo)
A narrow market of fish, produce and street food.
Restaurants
- Antica Focacceria San Francesco (Palermo)
A historic spot for pane con la milza and street food. - Caseificio Borderi (Ortigia)
A cheese shop famous for huge sandwiches at the market. - Catania Fish Market (Catania)
A loud morning market behind the cathedral.
Things to Do
- Quattro Canti (Palermo)
The Baroque crossroads at the heart of Palermo. - Capuchin Catacombs (Palermo)
Mummified bodies in robes in an eerie crypt. - Valley of the Temples (Agrigento)
Greek temples on a ridge above the sea. - Ortigia (Syracuse)
The island old town with its cathedral built on a Greek temple. - Neapolis Archaeological Park (Syracuse)
The Greek theatre and the Ear of Dionysius quarry. - Noto (Noto)
A golden Baroque town rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake. - Stromboli (Aeolian Islands)
A volcano island with guided evening hikes. - Cefalù (Cefalù)
A seaside town with a Norman cathedral and sandy beach.
Nature and Outdoors
- Mondello Beach (Mondello)
Palermo’s white sand beach with clear water. - Zingaro Nature Reserve (Scopello)
Coastal trails and coves without roads. - Scala dei Turchi (Realmonte)
A white marl cliff that looks like giant steps. - Mount Etna (Etna)
Europe’s highest active volcano, with guided summit trips.
Cafés
- Antica Dolceria Bonajuto (Modica)
The old chocolate maker of Modica. - Caffè Sicilia (Noto)
A historic pastry café known for its almond granita.
Events
- Feast of Saint Agatha (Catania)
One of the world’s largest religious festivals each February.
Places to Visit in Milan
Arts and Culture
- The Last Supper (Santa Maria delle Grazie)
Leonardo’s fresco, seen by short timed slot booked well ahead. - Pinacoteca di Brera (Brera)
Raphael, Mantegna and Caravaggio in a historic academy. - Fondazione Prada (Largo Isarco)
Contemporary art in a converted distillery with a gold tower. - Cimitero Monumentale (Porta Garibaldi)
Sculpted family tombs in a vast open air museum. - Teatro alla Scala (Centro)
The world famous opera house.
Things to Do
- Milan Cathedral Rooftops (Duomo)
Walk among the spires on the roof of the Duomo. - Castello Sforzesco (Centro)
A castle with museums and Michelangelo’s last sculpture. - Bergamo Città Alta (Bergamo)
A walled hill town reached by funicular.
Shopping and Markets
- Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (Duomo)
A grand glass roofed shopping arcade.
Bars and Nightlife
- Navigli Canals (Navigli)
Canal side bars for aperitivo at sunset. - Bar Basso (Città Studi)
Home of the Negroni sbagliato.
Cafés
- Pasticceria Marchesi (Via Santa Maria alla Porta)
A historic pastry shop and café.
Restaurants
- Luini (Duomo)
Fried panzerotti from a historic counter near the cathedral. - Trattoria Milanese (Centro Storico)
Risotto alla milanese and cotoletta in an old trattoria.
Nature and Outdoors
- Lake Como (Varenna)
Lakeside villages and ferries an hour from Milan by train.
Events
- Salone del Mobile (Rho)
Milan Design Week fills the city with installations each April.
More to Explore
We are still checking these with fresh sources, so confirm opening times before you go.
- Agriturismo stays in Chianti (Chianti, Florence)
Farm stays among vineyards for slow days in the hills. - Osteria alle Testiere (Castello, Venice)
A small seafood restaurant much loved by Venetians.