Warm Italian hospitality with its familiar food and culture that you’ve seen in movies, restaurants, and pop culture references everywhere.
Italy is both exotic yet familiar at the same time. Making it an easy and popular destination for first-time travelers. I know Italy so well since my mother’s family lives here. So I spent lots of time doing tourist things but also local things.
It’s a tiny country with so many must-see destinations. You can hit 3-4 main ones in 10 days…or spend a month and really live it.
General tips for traveling in Italy:
- Recommended destinations – Florence, Rome, Napoli. Venice if you really insist, I’m warning you that it’s super touristy and the canals are only good for a photo rather than actual beauty. If you want a super colorful beach town, you can choose either Cinque Terre in the north or Amalfi Coast in the south. You can also stop by the Leaning Tower of Pisa between Florence and Rome. This route skips Milano, Torino, and many others that I don’t think are necessary. Verona nearby Venice is an awesome stop!
- Buses – for going in between cities. I like Omio.
Safety tips:
- dfd
Italian cities (* = recommended, ** = must see):
North
- Milano – boring european town for tourists. duomo, castle, navigli area (stay here). ain’t nothing else really. i would skip this so bad. it’s only magical if it’s your first stop in italy. but since you’re already visiting other italy beforehand, this one will feel so uneventful and unspecial. ewww, skip. Not special and not worth staying for tourist things. Ok to live if you just want a metropolitan city. Only area worth staying is the Navigli area by the water.
- Lake Como* – super posh rich people honeymoon destination. this is not a backpacker or even travel destination. just romantic laketowns with cute EXPENSIVE lodging everywhere. i love shopping at the boutique shops here. a little pricey but you’re getting stuff that isn’t sold anywhere else. do the boat tour and see celebrity houses.
- Torino – boring for tourism IMO. A weird middle size. Too big to be charmy, but too small to have anything interesting. All the action is around the center square. You can find cheap places to eat and cheap bars if you know where to look. Perhaps Torino could be a nice place to live, lots of space to walk (or run) around, parks, etc. Close to many other nature and outdoor things. Cheaper cost than other major cities.
- Cinque Terre* – nice but too crowded/touristy at peak season. I’d recommend somewhere else
- Bologna – nice vibrant authentic local city.
- Ravenna – beautiful coastal town with many historical sights to see.
- Florence – stay across the water near ponte vecchio. don’t aim for duomo. nightlife is by santa croce. the other night loungey nightlife is the san niccolo area near piazzale michelangelo. reserve a dinner night at Trattoria Za-za (ask to sit INSIDE).
- Tuscany wine-tasting –
- Siena
- Venice – book near san marco basilica & square. go there as your first destination during the day. dont’ get caught up with photos of any other silly crap. go here first, and then you’ll understand the island better and can make worthwhile walking decisions.
- Verona – awesome stop! Small but super beautiful and charming, clean. Something like a cute small version of Florence & Rome together.
Central
- Rome** – stay in trastevere, for a map of what to do.. look up locations of the hop-on hop-off buses. if you need more ideas, just ask me and i tell you. the best clubs only happen on weekends. all other nights, you hang out at Trastevere or find cool bars by the water.
- medieval villages – many small charming pretty villages with medeival stone architecture. All within ~50km just outside Rome.
Rome and central Italy in general is more like Southern Italy in culture, appearance, architecture, etc. But I list it under central so you have an idea of geographical location.
South
- Napoli** – awesome place, reminds me of “the Istanbul” of Italy. Many narrow streets on hills and people walking everywhere. Gritty, local vibe, vibrant, cheap, and lots of young people. Awesome place with authentic Sicilian cuisine. Even 1 or 2 days is enough but you’ll probably want to spend more time. Too bad most travelers won’t go south since it’s not convenient…they’d rather visit other places in Europe and I don’t blame them since they already seen so much of northern Italy.
- Amalfi Coast – the southern version of Cinque Terre. Super colorful and popular. Mega touristy. I never been but imagine it’s like Cinque Terre.
- Bari – small collection of local beachtowns on the non-busy side of italy. Super boring if you ask me. I highly recommend to skip unless you like a sleepy beach town with nothing to do, nothing to do, and most of the day (nothing is open).
- Val D’Orcia – never been. no opinion or even 2nd hand knowledge.
- Sardinia (island) – don’t know it.
- Sicily** (island) – yes, worth visiting.
- Palermo – I stayed at a beautiful resort and it was super lovely. I’m sure the city life could be nice as well but I didn’t live it. Definitely has a southern Italy vibe, somewhat similar to what you would see in Napoli.
Nearby countries:
- France – highly recommended. South of France is very nice and much different vibe from Paris. Many cities all conveniently clumped together (Nice, Marseilles, Montpellier, Calanque).
- Switzerland – nice and clean.
- Liechtenstein – I haven’t been.
- Austria – fun to see Vienna and Salzburg.
- Slovenia – haven’t been.
- Croatia – I’d personally skip Zagreb (feels like a smaller Milan) and opt instead for Dubrovnik and Split. Can also try Porec for closer beach town.
Suggested Itinerary:
- 10 days – Rome, Florence, Venice, then a coastal town like Cinque Terre or Amalfi Coast. Skip Milan! I’d honestly switch out Venice for Naples. Venice is just so crazy touristy and expensive…but sure, go for the photos if that’s what you want.
- Romance – Lake Como, Verano, Florence.
- My personal favorites – Rome, Florence, Naples.