Walk the Roman Forum at opening time
The centre of an empire, now roofless and grass-grown, with the Colosseum at one end. Early entry avoids both the heat and the tour flags.
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Home › Destinations › Southern Europe › Italy
Southern Europe
Things to do in Italy
Layers of history stacked under a coastline built for slow evenings.
Explore Italy on the map →Budget$$$
Best for10-14 days
CapitalRome
VisaVisa-free 90 days (Schengen) for US/UK/EU
CurrencyEuro (€)
LanguagesItalian
InternetGood
Typical lodging$60–$155/night
Driving sideRight
Power & voltage230V / 50Hz (Type C/F plug)
Time zoneUTC+1
Emergency number112
Dialing code+39
★★★★★ Culture★★★★★ Food★★★★★ Photography
Visa rules and emergency numbers can change without notice. Confirm the specifics for your nationality and dates before you travel.
Travel smart
Tap water is safe to drink. 5–10% is appreciated, not required.
Italy was a collection of separate states until 1861, and it still behaves like one. Dialect, bread, cheese and pasta shape change every hour or two of driving, which is why 'Italian food' means almost nothing once you're actually there.
When to go
SpringApril–May
Wildflowers, green hills, warm days without the heat. Easter is the exception, busy and priced accordingly.
SummerJune–August
Hot, crowded and expensive, especially the coast. Cities empty of locals in mid-August as Italians take their own holidays.
Early autumnSeptember–October
The sweet spot: the sea is still warm enough to swim into October, harvest and truffle season begin, and prices drop 25–35% from the August peak.
WinterNovember–March
Museums and cities without queues, ski season in the Dolomites, Venice at its quietest and moodiest. Many coastal towns close entirely.
21 things to do
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Culture & history
4Stand in front of the Sistine Chapel ceiling
Four years of Michelangelo's work, viewed with your neck bent, in a room where guards ask for silence. The Vatican Museums leading to it are a marathon in themselves.
Walk into a city stopped mid-morning at Pompeii
Streets, bakeries, graffiti and plaster casts of the people who didn't leave, under Vesuvius. Herculaneum nearby is smaller, better preserved and far quieter.
See the Renaissance where it started, in Florence
The Uffizi, the Accademia's David, Brunelleschi's dome you can still climb. Concentrated enough to see on foot in two days.
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Food & markets
4Eat where the dish was invented
Carbonara in Rome, ragù in Bologna, pizza in Naples, pesto in Genoa. The versions differ enough from the exports to be worth the trip.
Spend a morning in Bologna's Quadrilatero
The old market lanes behind the main square: mortadella, tortellini rolled in windows, cheese wheels the size of tables.
Hunt truffles in Piedmont or Umbria
Autumn brings white truffle season around Alba, with dogs doing the finding and markets doing the arguing over price.
Drink Barolo where the grapes grow
The Langhe hills south of Turin: small cellars, long lunches, and views over vineyards that turn gold in October.
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Adventure & outdoors
3Hike between the Cinque Terre villages
Five cliffside towns linked by coastal paths above the Ligurian Sea. Some sections require a pass, and landslides close others without warning.
Walk under the Dolomites
Vertical limestone towers with well-marked trails and mountain huts serving dumplings. The rock turns pink at sunset, locals call it enrosadira.
Climb an active volcano
Etna in Sicily can be walked or reached by cable car and jeep; Stromboli erupts most nights and can be watched from a boat offshore.
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Coast & water
4Take the vaporetto to Venice's outer islands
Burano's painted houses, Murano's glass furnaces, Torcello's near-empty cathedral. The lagoon starts making sense once you leave San Marco.
Drive the Amalfi Coast
A cliff road of blind corners, lemon terraces and towns stacked above the sea. Buses and ferries save you the parking problem entirely.
Swim off Sardinia or Puglia
Sardinia's water is famously clear; Puglia's coast is flatter, cheaper and dotted with whitewashed towns and sea caves.
Take a boat into the Blue Grotto or around Capri
Sea caves lit from below through the water. Access depends entirely on swell, so it's a morning decision, not a booking.
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Cities & design
3Wander Matera's cave dwellings
A town of houses carved into a ravine, abandoned as a slum and now partly restored. Lit at night it looks like a nativity scene.
See Milan for design rather than sightseeing
Furniture showrooms, Navigli canals, aperitivo hour, and the Last Supper if you booked months ago.
Sit through an opera in Verona's Roman arena
A 2,000-year-old amphitheatre used for summer opera, where the audience lights candles as the sun goes down.
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Slow days
3Ride the slow trains through Tuscany
Regional lines link Siena, San Gimignano and the Val d'Orcia's cypress ridges without the stress of hill-town parking.
Take the passeggiata seriously
The evening walk before dinner, done by whole towns at once, dressed properly. It costs nothing and explains a lot about Italy.
Soak in a thermal bath in Tuscany
Saturnia's terraced hot pools are free and open all hours; Bagno Vignoni has a whole medieval square filled with steaming water.
Common questions
▾Is Italy safe to visit?
Yes. Italy is a safe, extremely well-traveled destination with low violent crime against tourists. Pickpocketing on crowded public transport and around major sights in Rome, Florence and Venice is the main practical risk to plan around.
▾How much does it cost to visit the Colosseum?
A basic timed-entry ticket covering the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill costs about €18, with an enhanced ticket adding access to restricted areas like the underground or the Arena floor for around €24. Book a timed slot in advance, since walk-up queues in high season regularly run over an hour.
▾How many days do you need in Italy?
10-14 days covers a classic Rome-Florence-Venice route at a comfortable pace, with a few extra days for the Amalfi Coast or Tuscan countryside if you have them. A one-week trip usually means picking two of the three big cities rather than all of them.
▾Do I need a visa for Italy?
US, UK, Canadian and most other Western passport holders can visit visa-free for up to 90 days within the Schengen Area. Longer stays or nationalities outside the visa-waiver list need a Schengen visa arranged in advance.
▾What's the best time to visit Italy?
April through June and September through October offer the best balance of comfortable weather and manageable crowds. July and August are hot and heavily booked, especially on the coast, and many small businesses close for a stretch of August as locals go on holiday themselves.
▾Is Italy expensive?
Italy reads as a $$ to $$$ destination depending on region: Rome, Florence and Venice run pricier for lodging and dining, while the south and smaller towns are noticeably cheaper for a similar quality of food and stay.
