Guide to Italy

Are you are planning a trip to Italy? Start with our travel guide. Learn about Italy’s top experiences, get helpful hints, and get links to all of our posts.

Italy Blog Posts

One Day in Venice: 3 Different Ways to Plan Your Itinerary

If you are planning to spend one day in Venice, there are several ways to do it. Do you want to spend the day visiting the top sights in Venice, such as St. Mark’s Basilica, Doge’s Palace, and ...

2 Days in Venice Itinerary: Best Itinerary for First-Time Visitors

If you are planning your first trip to Venice, this Venice itinerary is perfect for you. With 2 days in Venice, you have just enough time to visit the highlights of this beautiful city and stroll t...

10 Day Italy Itinerary Rome Florence Venice

10 Day Italy Itinerary: Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre & Venice

For first timers to Italy, Rome, Florence and Venice typically top the “must-see” list. On this 10 day Italy itinerary, you have enough time to visit these three cities and add in another spect...

Where to Stay in Rome – Best Hotels & Neighborhoods for Your Budget

If you are trying to decide where to stay in Rome, you have a lot of options. Do you want to stay in the heart of Rome and easily walk to the city’s top sights? How about a romantic apartment tuc...

How to Plan the Perfect Day Trip to Lake Como

Lake Como is a wishbone-shaped lake nestled in the foothills of the Alps. This is where the rich and famous vacation in luxurious villas and visitors flock to the colorful lakeside towns. It is one...

8 Amazing Things to do in Bellagio, Italy

Lake Como…a destination that is glamorous, romantic, and gorgeous. This lake is a slice of Italian paradise, and for many people, a visit to Bellagio is the highlight. Also called the Pearl of La...

14 Day Italy Itinerary: Best Way to Spend Two Weeks in Italy

If you are planning your first trip to Italy, this Italy itinerary is a great place to start. With two weeks in Italy, you can visit the highlights…Rome, Florence, Venice, the Amalfi Coast, Tusca...

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Where to Stay in Venice: Best Hotels and Neighborhoods for Your Budget

Choosing where to stay in Venice can be exciting yet challenging. Venice is made up of neighborhoods, also called sestieri (singular sestiere), and each neighborhood has its advantages and disadvan...

10 Gorgeous Views of Italy and Where to Photograph Them

If you are researching where to go in Italy, without a doubt you are finding gorgeous, vibrant photos of Italy’s top destinations. Would you like to know how to get these same gorgeous views of Ita...

10 Best Things To Do On Your First Visit To Florence

Florence is one of Italy’s most popular cities to visit, especially for first-timers. Not only is Florence the art capital of the world, it’s a gorgeous city with streets to wander, towers to c...

How to Travel from Rome to Sorrento, Capri & the Amalfi Coast

How to travel from Rome to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast can be a little confusing. You can’t simply hop on a train in Rome and ride it all of the way to Sorrento or Positano. In this post, we ex...

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One Perfect Day in Siena, Italy

Siena is easy to visit if you only have one day since it is a compact city with just a few big sites. With one day in Siena, visit the Duomo, get one of the best views in Italy from the Torre del M...

2 Days in Rome: The Perfect Rome Itinerary for Your First Visit

If you are planning your first visit to Rome and have limited time, this Rome itinerary is perfect for you. With 2 days in Rome, you have just enough time to visit the highlights. Tour the Vatican,...

How to Visit Pompeii when Traveling Between Rome and Sorrento

A visit to Pompeii is one of Italy’s most fascinating history lessons. Pompeii can be visited as a day trip from Rome, Sorrento, Naples, and the Amalfi Coast. For those in transit between any of ...

10 Days in Italy: 3 Amazing Itineraries

Italy is a country that is on many travelers’ wish list. And why not? Italy has it all: fabulous cuisine, gorgeous cities, towering mountains and beautiful beaches, and ancient historical sites. ...

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12 Best Things to do in Verona, Italy

Have you ever visited a new place and instantly fallen in love with it? For us, that was Verona. Verona may not be as popular as other Italian cities like Florence and Venice, but don’t let that ...

Racing IRONMAN Italy Emilia-Romagna

Ironman Italy is destination racing at its finest. Swim in the Adriatic Sea, cycle past pink flamingoes and through Sangiovese vineyards, and then run through a charming coastal town. What a specta...

Best Things to Do in San Marino, Europe’s Most Underrated Destination

San Marino is a tiny, independent nation completely surrounded by Italy. It has a spectacular location, nestled in the mountains near the Adriatic Sea. The capital city, also called San Marino, is ...

20 Photos That Will Make You Want to Visit Venice Italy

Venice is a photographer’s paradise. With its maze of canals, its colorful, crumbling facades, and gondolas silently drifting through the city, it’s hard to leave Venice without a memory card f...

20 Best Places to Visit in Italy (+ Map & Photos)

Are you planning a trip to Italy? If so, be prepared to fall in love with an extraordinary country. The food, the wine, the history, the art and architecture, the quaint, hillside towns in Tuscany,...

Tre Cime di Lavaredo Loop: The Complete Hiking Guide

The Tre Cime di Lavaredo is one of the Dolomites’ iconic hikes. Three massive rocky prominences rise up from the rolling scenery of the Dolomites, surrounded by amazing views and, during the summ...

Best Views of Florence, Italy

Are you planning a trip to Florence? Sure, you can’t miss Michelangelo’s David, the Ponte Vecchio, Italian food and gelato, and the galleries of Renaissance Art, but you also cannot miss the best v...

9 Must-Have Experiences in Venice, Italy

Venice is one of our favorite spots in Italy. Why? It is small and compact, perfect to be explored with just a few days time. Venice is romantic, historic, and gorgeous. The canals, the gondolas, t...

The Cinque Terre for Budget Travelers

The Cinque Terre is one of Italy’s most scenic spots. It is here that five colorful, gorgeous towns precariously sit on the hills that tumble into the Mediterranean Sea. The popularity of the Cin...

Day Trip to the Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Leaning Tower of Pisa, overrated tourist attraction or worthwhile destination? Regardless if you think Pisa is overrated or worthwhile, it still can be a lot of fun doing silly poses in front o...

How to Day Trip to Milan from Florence, Venice and the Cinque Terre

Why go to Milan? It’s the home of Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Last Supper,” one of the most famous paintings in the world. Milan is also home to the Duomo, world-class museums, and trendy shopping...

How to Hike the Puez-Odle Altopiano Trail in the Italian Dolomites

The Puez-Odle Altopiano is a spectacular hike from start to finish. With jaw-dropping views of the Dolomites, fields of wildflowers, and endless alpine views, this is our favorite hike in the Dolom...

Hiking the Lagazuoi Tunnels in the Dolomites, Italy

The Dolomites is by far our favorite place to visit in the Dolomites. On our first visit to Italy, we spent four memorable days driving incredibly winding roads, up and down through mountainous ter...

Touring the Hill Towns of Tuscany

We spent five days in Tuscany, staying in the town of Siena. We picked Siena as our home base because it is well connected by bus to the other hill towns in Tuscany and easy to get to from Florence...

Hiking the Cinque Terre: What You Need to Know

The Cinque Terre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a group of five towns perched on the dramatic coastline of Italy, just north of Pisa. The towns are easily recognizable, with their pastel buildin...

San Gimignano: Photo Tour & the Best Things to Do

Tuscany, Italy is known for its wine and splendid scenery, and we loved the time we spent here. The hill towns of Tuscany are small, walled, medieval towns perched on hilltops overlooking the coun...

Positano, Our Favorite Town on the Amalfi Coast

One of the “must do” activities while visiting southern Italy is to visit the Amalfi Coast. This was something we were all looking forward to, a winding, white-knuckle ride along one of the mos...

Three Days in Sorrento, Italy

During our tour of Italy we had three days to spend in Sorrento. Sorrento is a great home base for exploring this part of Italy, as it is well connected to the island of Capri, the Amalfi Coast, an...

How to Visit the Blue Grotto (and is It Worth It?)

While in Italy, we spent three days in Sorrento and devoted one of these days to visiting the island of Capri. Tim and I couldn’t help but wonder is the Blue Grotto worth seeing? The Blue Grotto is...

Napoli, the Birthplace of Pizza

Napoli, Italy is world famous for its pizza. And yes, we traveled to Napoli just to sample what some people claim to be the best pizza in the world. About Our Experience Our around the world trip b...

Rome in Pictures

Our one year around the world trip began in Rome on June 30, 2014. We had three days to spend here, just enough time to see all of the major sites. Rome is packed with history, many of it centuries...

Biking the Appian Way in Rome

After spending two solid days touring Rome’s must see sights, we chose to go off the beaten path and bike the Appian Way. The Appian Way is one of Rome’s ancient roads, connecting Rome to the A...

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