Italy, region by region
Italy, well chosen
The practical national guide for choosing where to go, how to move, what to book and which regions deserve more than a hurried day. Start with the essentials, then follow the routes that fit your time.
01ExperiencesA national shortlist for first-time highlights and repeat visits, followed by the regional map, the forces shaping Italy today, and practical ways to spend your time and money well.→02Know before you goItaly is easier to enjoy when you plan for regional habits rather than one national timetable. These practical notes cover water, travel, meals, walking, coffee, toilets, language, culture and ways to keep everyday costs under control.→03Getting aroundItaly's main city-to-city links are easiest by rail, while regional buses fill gaps on the map. A car is useful for remote places, but toll roads, ZTL cameras and strict parking rules make driving a choice to plan rather than a default.→04ItinerariesUse these routes as flexible frameworks rather than schedules carved in stone. The Rome plans show how to shape one or three days in the capital, while the nine-day route links Venice, Emilia-Romagna, Florence, Tuscany and Rome with a practical sequence of rail journeys.→05Festivals calendarItaly's festival year ranges from winter street theatre and fireworks to summer opera, horse races and lagoon celebrations. Use the season, city and fixed dates below to shape a trip around an event rather than trying to fit an event into an already crowded itinerary.→06Food and wineItaly does not have one single table. Its cooking, drinks and dining hours change from region to region, while a shared respect for good ingredients connects a Roman pasta dish, a Neapolitan pizza and a Piedmontese truffle.→07Northern ItalyNorthern Italy brings together the Veneto's art cities, Milan's fashion and design, the cliffside villages of the Cinque Terre and Emilia-Romagna's food culture. The region is large but easy to connect by rail, so a thoughtful route can move from university towns and Roman monuments to vineyards, sea trails and medieval streets without repeating the same kind of day.→08Italian LakesThree large Alpine lakes give northern Italy three very different kinds of escape. Use Milan as the transport hinge, then choose Lake Maggiore for island palaces and gardens, Lake Como for villas and villages, or Lake Garda for Roman ruins, thermal water and serious outdoor time.→09Tuscany and UmbriaTuscany and Umbria make a natural central-Italy journey: Renaissance and Romanesque art in compact cities, vineyards and olive groves between the stops, and medieval hill towns that reward a slower pace. Use Florence as a gateway, then choose a route that leaves time for the landscape as well as the headline sights.→10Naples & Amalfi CoastCampania brings together Naples's theatrical streets, the ash-preserved cities below Vesuvius, Capri's sea light, and a coast where every turn changes the view. Plan it as a region rather than a checklist: rail and boats handle the main links, while the cliff roads and stairs reward patience.→11Southern ItalyThis regional chapter looks beyond the separate Naples and Amalfi Coast guide. It follows Puglia's olive groves and Adriatic towns, Basilicata's cave cities and mountain parks, Calabria's two seas, and Sicily's layered island culture, with food, beaches, history and practical planning in one route.→12SicilySicily is large enough to hold several journeys at once: Palermo's Arab-Norman mosaics and markets, the volcanic cities of the east, the quiet hill towns of the interior, and islands where boats set the pace. Build the trip around a few strong bases, leave room for weather and ferry changes, and let the food, landscape and layered history do as much of the work as the monuments.→