Italy Travel Guide

Head on over to our Italy Travel Guide for lots of good info about visiting Italy. Viva Italia!

Italy is nearly every traveler's dream - it has been on everyone's travel itinerary for centuries, and with good reason. Renaissance masterpieces? Check. Medieval towns? Check. Ancient festivals? Check. Fantastic food? Amazing wines? Fashion trendsetters? Fast cars? Beautiful scenery? Chaotic (and addictive) cities? Check, check, check. Yes, Italy has it all.

Where to Go and What to Do

It is almost impossible to travel in Italy without finding something historic - Italy has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites on the planet, and there are plenty of things that UNESCO doesn't bother listing that are probably older than anything you've seen before. This is a country with history. Rome is the epicenter of what was once an immense empire 2000 years ago, and you can still walk the cobbled streets that Caeser once walked in the Roman Forum. Now that's cool. And speaking of history, you can also visit Vatican City within Rome's city limits and experience the history of the Roman Catholic church in all its larger-than-life color.

But Italy doesn't end with Rome - not by a long shot. Most visitors to Italy go for the “holy trinity” of cities - Rome, Florence and Venice - and it's not surprising why. As the birthplace of the Renaissance, it's got so many masterpieces in its galleries and museums that you'll need to spend weeks there to really see it all. Florence's hometown heroes of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci certainly left their mark on the city, and its historic center remains a beautiful (if sometimes chaotic) place to explore. Venice, on the other hand, is usually the furthest thing from chaotic. This fairy tale of a city is like a theme park for adults, and you'll never see anything like it anywhere else. It's impossible to get lost (you're on an island, after all), so the best possible thing you can do is wander aimlessly. Certain areas might seem overly busy, but if you get further from the tourists, you'll see where the real Venetians still live.

If you're looking for more than the “holy trinity,” there's a lot of land between and around them. Siena is a popular stop for travelers in love with Tuscany, partly for its Medieval charm and partly for its annual Palio horseraces. The five tiny villages of the Cinque Terre might not be the undiscovered gems they once were, but they're still beautiful and the hike between them is still a lovely way to spend a day. Milan is more of a fashion and finance capital than tourist capital, but it still has its share of reasons to visit - including Leonardo's “Last Supper” and some of the best window-shopping on earth. The leaning tower of Pisa might not be the only leaning tower in Italy, but it's certainly the most popular, and it makes a decent day trip. Naples is where pizza was born, and this gritty Italian city will give you an idea of what the real Italy is like - none of that polished nonsense. It's also a great base for exploring the preserved ruins of Pompeii. And then there's the south - largely undiscovered by tourists, this could be the final frontier as far as Italy's concerned. No doubt it won't stay that way, of course.

Wherever you plan to spend your Italian holiday, if you do your homework before you go you'll find excellent food, see amazing art, soak up some history and see some of the liveliest people you'll ever meet.

Getting There

Getting to Italy is easy - just search for airfare to Italy and you're on your way. The biggest entry points for foreign travelers to Italy are Rome's Fiumicino Airport and Milan's Malpensa Airport, but if you're flying from Europe there are smaller airports all over the country which are easier to navigate. Also, for some largely unknown reason it's usually more costly to fly into Italy than into other European countries, so if you can find a good deal on a round-trip flight into Paris or London, for instance, and then take a short flight to Italy - you might save yourself some money.

Where to Stay

Italy has the usual accommodation varieties, although you won't find as many properties calling themselves hostels here as elsewhere. They might be called one-star hotels or even guest houses or B&Bs instead. Be advised that since so many people visit the country every year, booking your Italy hotel or Italy hostel in advance is a very good idea.

If you want to read more about traveling to Italy before you're actually there experiencing it for yourself, you can enjoy our Italy travel stories and some blog entries about Italy written by real travelers like you. And be sure to check out our Italy Travel Guide, which is updated regularly and includes all kinds of travel tips and information about this beautiful country.

Oh, and it's pretty much a rule that you must have at least two scoops of gelato every day. Don't let anyone try to tell you differently.

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