Italy: where everything looks like a painting

The beauty of Italy is incomprehensible at times. After visiting several picturesque villages, you almost get used to it. Therefore, creating some diversity in your travel plans is a great idea.

In this Italy itinerary, we have done just that! Practically all regions are worth visiting, but we have covered several to ensure you get the ultimate Italian experience.

We take you to the most stunning lakes, romantic villages, lust coastline, the hilly countryside, and important historic sights. We also share some of the best things to do while you're here.

Recommended itinerary

Below, you'll find our 3 to 4-week (train) route through Italy. We've regionally grouped the places. You can start wherever you like, for example by letting it depend on where you can most easily enter and exit the country.

Because of the amazing train network, we can highly recommend Italy as an interrail destination. If you want to go on a road trip, we would advise sticking to the area between Bergamo and Florence and adding some extra countryside villages in the neighbourhood.

A very nice addition to this itinerary would be taking the train to the island of Sicily. Fun fact: the train actually goes on the ferry. We've heard great stories about exploring the island this way. Incorporate at least one week for this if you do, as it's a big island.

• Portofino & Cinque Terre

• Lucca, Florence & Siena

• Rome

• Naples & Amalfi coast

• Bologna

• Venice, Verona & Garda

• Como & Bergamo

Portofino & Cinque Terre

Portofino
One of the most well-known villages of Italy might be Portofino, the place where all the jet-setters go. Maybe expecting the worst, we actually found it to be one of the most beautiful places we've ever seen. This might have been especially the case since we walked all the way from the beautiful Santa Margherita Ligure along the stunning lush coastline with its colourful houses. We can highly recommend staying in this area instead of Genua. Rapallo is another lovely coastal village nearby.

Cinque Terre
Other extremely picturesque villages to visit along the Riviera are the so-called Cinque Terre villages. As the name hints, this is a group of five different coastal towns. They are world-famous and touristy, but for a good reason, as they're mind-blowingly stunning. The five towns are Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. We found Corniglia and Manarola the most beautiful.

All the towns are very easy to visit by train and it is actually advisable to do so as you cannot really get here by car. You can visit Cinque Terre from several directions, but La Spezia is the most nearby city. Next time, we would skip the first two villages and instead add Portovenere, the unofficial 'sixth Terre'. We would also recommend staying in one of the villages. It can be quite costly but it makes your visit less hasty and extra special.

Lucca, Florence & Siena

Lucca
Wow, we were blown away by how pretty Lucca is. The old city is surrounded by the beautiful Tuscan hills. It has the most wonderful architecture, with most prominent the family towers that stick above the city. This used to be common in many Italian places in this region as a symbol of wealth and power. Nowadays, there are only a few left from which you'll have an amazing view, a must-visit one is the Guinigi Tower with the tree on top of it.

Another stunning aspect of the city is the fortified walls. Most parts have become a park and they make for a lovely walk around the city. Lucca also has the most amazing restaurants, both in food and in atmosphere, we particularly loved Cantine Bernardini. The surroundings of Lucca also lend themselves to some lovely exploring by car or bike.

Florence
Weirdly enough, we weren't amazed by Florence. Maybe it was exhaustion-related, so we'll have to give it another try someday. Florence is well-known for its art museums like the Uffizi Gallery and Galleria dell'Academia. Consider a visit in case you're into classic sculptures. Other unmistakable landmarks are the impressive Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and the bridge called Ponte Vecchio with multi-story buildings on it.

Piazzale Michelangelo is a famous place to witness stunning sunsets of the city. Via dei Neri is famous for its amazing sandwich shops. This is truly a Florencian delicacy, so definitely try this out! In case you need some physical pampering to continue your sightseeing trip, go to the amazing Asmana Wellness.

Siena
From Florence, it's a two-hour train ride to beautiful Siena. Siena is well-known for Piazzo del Campo, the main city square with an impressive bell tower, which you can access from many of the old side streets. Twice during the summer, a famous horse race is held here. Apart from this beautiful square, there is also a wonderful cathedral (Duomo di Siena), which rooftop you can see throughout the entire city and climb yourself during a visit as well.

It's also possible to go to the impressive tower city of San Gimignano from here (by bus), but then we would recommend staying in the area instead of going for a day trip.

Rome

Many travel guides are telling you extensively where to go in Rome, so we'll keep it short and sweet. A little pro tip for making a trip to a big popular more fun: google for hidden gems. We'll definitely try some of those next time and update the blog accordingly. For now, we will stick to the main highlights we've seen.

We especially liked the Colosseum, Pantheon, Forum Romanum and the Castel Sant'Angelo (the latter from the outside, as we didn't go in). We also enjoyed walking along the sidewalk of the Tiber River near the Castel. There are many cosy 'beach bars' here. The place to be at the end of the day to stroll around and eat is the atmospheric Trastevere neighbourhood.

Visiting the smallest country in the world, the Vatican City is of course an experience in itself, which is especially fun if you like to visit distinct regions, just like us. It's basically one big museum, with a crazy amount of statues. Try to book tickets in advance, as standing in line for two hours is not so fun...

Naples & the Amalfi Coast

Where most of the places in this itinerary can be seen in a day or two, we would advise at least a week when in this part of Italy, as there is just so much to see and do. You can easily spend your entire holiday in this region.

Naples
Naples was one of the most surprising stops during our travel through Italy. Most people associate Napoli with maffia and narrow sinister streets. Others see it as a diamond in the rough. We, however, experienced Napoli to be a very charming and characteristic place. We loved walking along the coast, especially near Castel dell'Ovo. For a stunning sunset view of the city and Vesuvius Volcano, go to Belvedere San Martino.

Another great activity is going on the Sotterranea guided tour. This takes you, as the name hints, underground. For a long time, it used to be forbidden to build behind the city walls, therefore layers on layers were built, sometimes covering old constructions like an ancient amphitheatre. They found out about this centuries later, through the cellars of some of the inhabitants, a very impressive sight!

From Naples, you can also go to the idyllic islands of Ischia, Capri and Procido. Capri is where all the rich and famous go, so you might want to go for the other more authentic two.

Historic sights near Naples
A few other must-see spots around Naples are Pompeii, Ercolano and Mount Vesuvius. Pompeii probably needs no explanation, but in case you don't know about it, it's an ancient city that was completely covered in lava when the Vesuvius Volcano erupted almost 2000 years ago. In the 19th century, serious excavations of the site began, during which an entire city was discovered, including theatres, bathhouses and temples. The historic importance of the place cannot be overestimated, as it brought a lot of knowledge about the way of living during Roman times. The magnitude of the place stood out to us the most.

Ercolano is not as well-known as Pompeii, but just as impressive. Not because of its size but because of how well everything has been conserved. You can get an even better insight into how people used to live than in Pompeii. This is due to the fact that this city was located at the foot of the volcano and was therefore covered with a layer of ashes first, protecting most of the intricate details of the houses.

From here, you can easily visit Mount Vesuvius. It's surrounded by an incredibly beautiful nature area and it can be reached by bus and a doable hike to the top. We were pleasantly surprised that we were able to purchase some prosecco at the top while enjoying the most impressive views of the bay.

The Amalfi Coast
The Amalfi Coast is just around the corner from Naples. Amalfi is actually not the official name of the area, but one of the most well-known villages along the coastline. Another well-known village is Positano, which is the place we've visited. It's incredibly idyllic because of the coloured houses, cosy little streets and the layering of the town. Another lovely place to visit in the area is Ravello, which is located in the hills with stunning views of the ocean.

It takes some effort, but it is possible to visit Positano by public transport from Napoli. We would, however, suggest staying in one of these places, or the larger towns of Sorrento or Salerno.

Bologna

Bologna is a really lovely city. It has a very young population because of the universities, which gives it a very atmospheric and hip vibe. There are many boutiques and cosy little bars and restaurants where you can have the signature appetizer platters or tagliatelle Bolognese. The latter is the real deal with ragu instead of minced meat, try it at Osteria dell'Orsa for example.

The city itself is quite beautiful and you can find many streets with hidden gems, like the street art and food stands at Largo Respighi. Another wonderful place to have a meal is the covered market Mercato delle Erbe where many locals go for a lunch break. A visit to Bologna isn't complete without climbing the famous (crooked) towers.

Consider a visit to the nearby small village of Modena, which is world-famous for its Balsamic vinegar and Ferrari and Lamborghini sports cars. You'll also find several fine dining restaurants here. Bologna is also the gateway to the east coast, with famous places such as the coastal town of Rimini and the tiny enclosed country of San Marino.

Venice, Verona & Garda

Venice
Venice is easily visitable by train, as there is a train station at the beginning of it. A lot has been said about Venice, both good and bad. We have to say that we had prepared for the worst but ended up having a very good experience. It is truly as beautiful as you expect. It's also not too difficult to find an affordable restaurant, just don't eat or drink at the main square and streets. The crowds weren't too bad either, but that's probably because we visited it in June, instead of the busiest summer months of July and August (which isn't the advisable thing to do for Italy in general). In case you're looking for a more 'authentic' place to visit you can go to the similar and nearby city of Burano.

Garda
Many people know Garda for camping, but in the south, you can have a more luxurious experience. We stayed at the beginning of Sirmione, which is a peninsula that stretches for about 2.5 kilometres into the lake. Along the way, there are many luxurious hotels. Once you've reached the city gates, you'll enter the beautiful old town. We can recommend walking around the entire 'island' and visiting the Caves of Catullus and the beach at the end. We've also visited Desenzano del Garda, which is another lovely town with a small harbour and colourful houses.

Verona
Verona is a really beautiful little city. Well-known landmarks are the amphitheatre, the several piazzas (squares) and gates, the Adige River, and of course Juliet's House. We found the latter a bit underwhelming to be honest, but all in all, Verona is a charming little place. We wouldn't necessarily call Verona a must-visit, but when you're in the region, it's a nice place to visit for a couple of hours. If we were to go back we would go to an opera in the amphitheatre because we've heard this is an amazing experience and the thing Verona is most known for, besides Romeo and Juliet...

Como & Bergamo

Como
Como shares its name with Lake Como. It's one of the first places you'll come across when entering the country from up north by train or by flying in from the city of Milan (which we didn't like at all and therefore not cover in this guide). Como isn't too big, and to be honest, there isn't too much to see or do in our experience. However, it is nice to spend a few hours walking through the town and along the lake.

Our recommendation would be to take the bus from here to Belaggio, which is truly a 'pearl' along the lake. It's not big, but the streets and the views are everything you expect from a village in Italy. Take the boat taxi back to see the beautiful villas along the lake.

Bergamo
Bergamo is a very beautiful city in the north of Italy. The most distinctive aspect of the city is that the old part of town is located high on the hill, surrounded by city walls, providing amazing views. The old town is accessible by a funicular and once you've walked through it, you can even go higher with another funicular and enjoy even more stunning views! The old town is well-conserved and not too big, which makes it a wonderful day trip. There are many nice restaurants (definitely try the local pasta dish called Casoncelli) and the famous stracciatella ice cream originates from here!