Italy

Classic routes

• 🏛️Venice, Florence & Rome9 days · Venice → Florence → Rome
• 🚆Rome to Paris via the Swiss Alps14 days · Rome → Florence → Venice → Lucerne → Interlaken → Paris

🏔️ The Dolomites

The pale, jagged peaks of the eastern Alps: Ortisei in Val Gardena with the Seceda ridge and the Alpe di Siusi, and Cortina d'Ampezzo with the Tre Cime. Hiking from mid-June to September, skiing from December to early April; the lifts close in between.

• Dolomites (Ortisei, Val Gardena)Jagged Peaks, Alpine Meadows and the Seceda Ridge3 days · best June – September, December – March
• Cortina d'AmpezzoThe Dolomites' Smart Resort and the Tre Cime2 days · best June – September, December – March

⛵ Milan, Turin, the Lakes & Verona

Milan's Duomo and the Last Supper, the villas and ferries of Lake Como, the island palaces of Lake Maggiore, Lake Garda's castles and lemon gardens, and Verona's Roman arena on the fast Milan-Verona-Venice rail line, with Turin and its Egyptian Museum an hour west of Milan. Malpensa is the second airport with a non-stop flight from India.

• MilanThe Duomo, the Last Supper and Italy's Fashion Capital2 days · best April – June, September – October
• Lake Como (Bellagio & Varenna)Villas, Gardens and Ferries on the Alpine Lake2 days · best April – October
• Lake Maggiore (Stresa & the Borromean Islands)Island Palaces and Gardens on the Long Alpine Lake2 days · best April – June, September – October
• Lake Garda (Sirmione)Italy's Biggest Lake: Castles, Lemon Gardens and Ferries2 days · best April – October
• VeronaRomeo and Juliet's City and Opera in a Roman Arena1 day · best April – October
• TurinRoyal Arcades, the Egyptian Museum and the Alps on the Skyline2 days · best April – June, September – October

🛶 Venice & Bologna

Venice on its lagoon, with Murano and Burano, and Bologna, the food capital of Emilia-Romagna, an hour and a half apart by train. Venice charges day-trippers an access fee on set spring and summer days and floods at high tide from October to January.

• VeniceCanals, Gondolas and St Mark's Basilica3 days · best March – May, September – November
• BolognaPorticoes, Towers and Italy's Food Capital2 days · best April – June, September – November

🍷 Tuscany, the Cinque Terre & Portofino

Renaissance Florence, the Leaning Tower at Pisa, Gothic Siena, the cypress roads and wine towns of the Val d'Orcia, and, just over the border in Liguria, the five cliff villages of the Cinque Terre and, an hour up the coast, Portofino and Santa Margherita Ligure. Florence is 1.5 hours from Rome by train; Pisa's airport is the cheapest way in.

• FlorenceThe Renaissance City: Duomo, Uffizi and Michelangelo's David3 days · best April – June, September – October
• PisaThe Leaning Tower and the Field of Miracles1 day · best April – June, September – October
• SienaGothic Hill Town and the Palio's Shell-Shaped Piazza2 days · best April – June, September – October
• Val d'Orcia (Tuscan Countryside)Cypress Roads, Hill Towns and Brunello Wine2 days · best April – June, September – October
• Cinque TerreFive Cliffside Villages Joined by Train and Trail2 days · best April – June, September – October
• Portofino (Santa Margherita Ligure)The Riviera's Most Famous Harbour, and the Abbey in a Cove2 days · best April – June, September – October

💎 Sardinia

An island of clear water and granite coves: the capital Cagliari with its beaches, and the Costa Smeralda and La Maddalena islands in the north-east, a summer resort that closes from late October to April. Reached by flight or a long ferry.

• CagliariSardinia's Capital: Castello Quarter and Poetto Beach3 days · best May – October
• Costa SmeraldaEmerald Water, Granite Coves and the La Maddalena Islands3 days · best May – June, September

⛪ Umbria

Italy's green heart, between Tuscany and Rome: Assisi, the hill town of St Francis, with Perugia and Spello close by. About two hours by train from Rome, two and a half from Florence.

• AssisiSt Francis's Hill Town Above the Umbrian Plain2 days · best April – June, September – October

🏛️ Rome & Lazio

The capital: ancient Rome (the Colosseum, the Forum, the Pantheon), Renaissance and baroque Rome, and Vatican City with St Peter's and the Sistine Chapel. Fiumicino is Italy's main airport from India, and the high-speed line runs north to Florence and Milan and south to Naples.

• RomeThe Colosseum, the Vatican and Three Thousand Years in One City4 days · best March – June, September – November

🍋 Naples, Amalfi Coast & Capri

Naples and its pizza, Pompeii and Herculaneum under Vesuvius, Sorrento on its cliff, the villages of the Amalfi Coast, and the island of Capri. Trains, buses and ferries link them; the ferries along the coast run from April to October.

• NaplesPizza's Birthplace, Pompeii and Vesuvius2 days · best April – June, September – October
• Amalfi Coast (Positano & Amalfi)Cliffside Villages, Lemon Groves and the Sea3 days · best April – June, September – October
• SorrentoClifftop Town Between Pompeii, Capri and the Amalfi Coast2 days · best April – October
• CapriThe Blue Grotto, the Faraglioni and La Piazzetta1 day · best April – June, September – October

🏖️ Puglia & Matera

The south-east: the cliffside swims of Polignano a Mare, the trulli of Alberobello, whitewashed Ostuni, and over the border in Basilicata the cave city of Matera. Bari's airport and station serve them all; cheaper and quieter than the Amalfi Coast.

• MateraThe Sassi: a Cave City Carved into a Ravine2 days · best April – June, September – October
• Puglia (Polignano a Mare & Alberobello)Clifftop Swims and the Trulli Houses of Alberobello3 days · best May – June, September – October

🌋 Sicily

The Mediterranean's largest island: Arab-Norman Palermo and its street food, Taormina's Greek theatre above the sea with Mount Etna behind, Syracuse and its island old town of Ortigia, and the Greek temples of Agrigento on the south coast. An hour's flight from Rome, or an overnight ferry or sleeper train.

• PalermoArab-Norman Gold, Street Food and Markets3 days · best April – June, September – October
• TaorminaA Greek Theatre Above the Sea, with Etna Behind2 days · best April – June, September – October
• Syracuse (Ortigia)The Greek World's Great City, and the Island of Ortigia2 days · best April – June, September – October
• Agrigento (Valley of the Temples)A Ridge of Greek Temples Facing the Sea1 day · best April – June, September – October