Italy Travel Guide

Rome, Florence, the Amalfi Coast, Venice and the lakes — how to build the trip without spending it on trains.

Free to readUpdated 2026-09-2212 chapters

The mistake everyone makes in Italy is doing too much. Five cities in ten days means five travel mornings, five check-ins and no actual holiday. This guide is built around the opposite: two or three bases, three to four nights each, and day trips from there. Below you will find the routes that work, what to do in each place, and the food rules that separate a good Italian trip from a very good one.

Start here

Before you go

Italy in July and August is hot, crowded and expensive, and the coast is at its busiest. May, June, September and early October give you swimming weather without the crush. Whatever you do, book the coastal accommodation and the big-ticket entries first — they sell out months ahead, not weeks.

Opening hours, ferry timetables and prices change season to season. Confirm everything directly before you build a day around it.

Book the coast first

Practical tip

Positano, Capri and the good Como hotels sell out four to six months ahead for summer. Lock those dates before anything else and build the cities around them.

Reserve major sights online

Practical tip

The Colosseum, the Vatican Museums, the Uffizi and the Accademia all use timed entry. Without a booking you will either queue for hours or not get in at all.

Cover your shoulders

Practical tip

Churches, including St Peter's and the Duomo, refuse entry with bare shoulders or short shorts. Keep a light scarf in your bag every day.

Cash and cards

Practical tip

Cards work nearly everywhere, but small trattorias, beach clubs and taxis sometimes want cash. Carry 50 to 100 euros.

Heat

Practical tip

July and August regularly sit above 35C. Plan sights before 11am, swim or nap in the afternoon, and go out again after 6pm.

Planning

Routes that actually work

Pick one. Every one of these is ten to twelve days and keeps travel mornings to a minimum.

Classic first-timer: Rome, Florence, Amalfi

Itinerary

10 to 12 days

Three nights Rome, three nights Florence with a Tuscany day, four nights on the Amalfi Coast. All connected by fast train plus one transfer to the coast.

Why it's here: The most satisfying first trip to Italy, in the right order — cities first, coast last.
Best time: May, June, September

Coast and islands: Naples, Amalfi, Capri, Ischia

Itinerary

9 to 11 days

One night Naples for the pizza, five on the Amalfi Coast, two on Capri, two on Ischia. Boats between everything.

Why it's here: For a trip that is mostly swimming, boats and long lunches.
Best time: June and September

North: Milan, Como, Venice

Itinerary

8 to 10 days

Two nights Milan, three on Lake Como, three in Venice. All by direct train.

Why it's here: Cooler, greener and much less crowded than the classic route.
Best time: May, June, September

Slow Tuscany

Itinerary

7 days

Three nights Florence, four in a farmhouse near Siena or in Val d'Orcia with a hire car.

Why it's here: The one route where renting a car is worth it.
Best time: May, June, September, October

Rome

Three full days is right. Ancient Rome in the morning, long lunch, Trastevere at night.

Colosseum and the Roman Forum

Must see

Ancient Rome

Go as a pair — the same ticket usually covers both and the Forum is the better half. Two to three hours total.

Why it's here: You cannot come to Rome and skip it, and early morning it is genuinely atmospheric.
Best time: First entry of the day
Booking: Timed entry online, days to weeks ahead.
What to wear: Hat, water, no shade.
Photo tip: The Forum from the Palatine Hill terrace.

Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel

Must see

Vatican City

Long, crowded, and extraordinary at the end. Budget three hours and go straight through to the Sistine Chapel first if you can.

Why it's here: Worth one difficult morning.
Best time: First slot, or a late evening opening in summer
Booking: Timed entry online, essential. Closed Sundays except the last of the month.
What to wear: Shoulders and knees covered.
Photo tip: No photography in the Sistine Chapel.

Trastevere in the evening

Experience

Trastevere

Ivy, cobbles, tiny restaurants and the whole neighbourhood eating outside. This is where you have your best Roman dinner.

Why it's here: The most alive part of the city after dark.
Best time: From 8pm
Booking: Book the restaurant; walk in for drinks after.
Photo tip: The lanes around Piazza di Santa Maria at blue hour.

Pantheon

Must see

Centro Storico

A two-thousand-year-old dome with a hole open to the sky. Fifteen minutes, and better in the rain.

Why it's here: The single most impressive building in Rome and it is free-standing in a normal square.
Best time: Early morning
Booking: Small entry fee, bookable online.

Villa Borghese and the Galleria

Must see

Borghese

Bernini sculptures in a garden villa, with strict two-hour timed entry that keeps it calm.

Why it's here: The opposite experience to the Vatican — quiet, small, unforgettable.
Best time: Late morning
Booking: Booking compulsory, well ahead.
Photo tip: Rent a rowing boat on the park lake afterwards.

Cacio e pepe, carbonara, amatriciana

Casual eat

Rome's three pasta dishes. Have all three across your stay, in a neighbourhood trattoria rather than anywhere with a photo menu.

Why it's here: This is the food you came for.
Best time: Lunch or dinner

Campo de' Fiori market in the morning

Experience

Centro Storico

Produce, spices and a square that turns into a bar scene at night.

Why it's here: Cheap, colourful and central.
Best time: Before 11am

Tuscany

Florence and Tuscany

Florence is small — you can walk it end to end in 30 minutes. Two days in the city, one or two out in the hills.

The Duomo and Brunelleschi's dome

Must see

Florence

Climb the 463 steps for the best view in the city, or just stand in the square and look up.

Why it's here: The climb is the most memorable hour in Florence.
Best time: First slot of the morning
Booking: Dome climb needs a separate timed ticket booked well ahead.
What to wear: Not for anyone uncomfortable in tight spaces.
Photo tip: Piazzale Michelangelo gives the classic skyline with the dome.

Uffizi Gallery

Must see

Florence

Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo, in a manageable two hours if you are selective.

Why it's here: The best art collection in Italy after the Vatican.
Best time: First entry
Booking: Timed entry online.
Photo tip: The corridor windows over the Arno.

Sunset at Piazzale Michelangelo

Photo spot

Florence

A 20-minute uphill walk to a terrace over the whole city. Bring a bottle of wine and plastic cups like everyone else.

Why it's here: Free, social and the best photograph you will take in Florence.
Best time: 45 minutes before sunset
Photo tip: Shoot back across the river with the dome centred.

Bistecca alla Fiorentina

Restaurant

Florence

An enormous T-bone, served rare, priced by weight, shared between three or four. A proper event dinner.

Why it's here: The one meal to book in Florence.
Best time: Dinner
Booking: Book several days ahead and tell them how many are sharing.

A Chianti or Val d'Orcia wine day

Day trip

Tuscany

Cypress-lined roads, hilltop towns and two or three tastings with lunch in between. Go with a driver so everyone can drink.

Why it's here: The Tuscany everyone pictures, and it is genuinely that pretty.
Best time: May to October
Booking: Book the driver and the wineries at least two weeks ahead.
Photo tip: The road to San Quirico d'Orcia at golden hour.

Siena

Day trip

An hour from Florence

A shell-shaped medieval square you can lie down in, plus a striped cathedral.

Why it's here: The easiest Tuscan day trip by bus, no car needed.
Best time: Any day

Leather and paper shopping

Shopping

Florence

Small workshops still make jackets, bags and marbled paper by hand. Ignore the market stalls near San Lorenzo.

Why it's here: Better souvenirs than anything in an airport.
Best time: Afternoons

The coast

Amalfi Coast and Capri

The part of the trip you will remember. Base yourself in one town and move by boat, not by road, wherever you can.

Positano

Neighbourhood

Amalfi Coast

Pastel houses stacked down to the sea, one main beach and a lot of steps. Beautiful, expensive and worth it for two or three nights.

Why it's here: The most photographed town on the coast, and the best base if budget allows.
Best time: June or September
Booking: Book six months ahead for summer.
Photo tip: From the water — take the ferry in rather than the road.

Praiano or Minori

Neighbourhood

Amalfi Coast

Quieter, cheaper and only 15 to 20 minutes from Positano by bus or boat.

Why it's here: Where to stay when Positano prices stop making sense.

A private boat day

Experience

Amalfi Coast

Half or full day with a skipper: swimming stops, grottoes, lunch in a fishing village, back at golden hour.

Why it's here: The best single day on the whole Italian coast, and split between a group it is very doable.
Best time: Full-day charter, leaving around 9am
Booking: Book a week or more ahead in summer; agree the route before you leave.
What to wear: Take a cover-up for lunch stops.
Photo tip: Shoot from the water back at the towns.

Capri

Day trip

Island

Ferry across, take the chairlift up Monte Solaro, swim at the Faraglioni rocks, walk the Via Krupp, then wander the designer streets around the Piazzetta.

Why it's here: Do it as a full day or an overnight — not a rushed morning.
Best time: First ferry out, last ferry back
Booking: Ferries sell out in August; book the return leg too.
What to wear: Capri dresses up in the evening.
Photo tip: Monte Solaro at the top of the chairlift.

The Path of the Gods

Experience

Between Bomerano and Nocelle

A two to three hour clifftop walk high above the coast with views the whole way.

Why it's here: The best free thing on the Amalfi Coast.
Best time: Start by 8am in summer
What to wear: Proper shoes, water, sun cover.

Ravello

Day trip

Above Amalfi

Gardens on a clifftop with the famous infinity terrace, far above the coast road.

Why it's here: Cooler, calmer and the best view on the coast.
Best time: Late afternoon
Photo tip: The terrace with the busts — go at opening or late.

Beach clubs

Experience

Amalfi Coast

Most swimming here is off rocks and pebbles. A sunbed with an umbrella at a beach club is worth it for a full day.

Why it's here: Realistic expectation setting: these are not wide sandy beaches.
Best time: Book the day before

Venice

Two nights. Stay on the islands rather than the mainland, and walk it after the day-trippers leave.

Get lost on purpose

Experience

Put the phone away and walk away from the main routes. Venice is at its best in the empty back lanes.

Why it's here: The city's whole appeal in one free activity.
Best time: After 6pm, once the cruise crowds leave
Photo tip: Small bridges with laundry overhead, no crowds.

St Mark's Basilica

Must see

San Marco

Gold mosaics across the whole ceiling. Twenty minutes inside, plus the terrace over the square.

Why it's here: Astonishing and quick.
Best time: Early morning
Booking: Skip-the-line entry online is worth the few euros.
What to wear: Shoulders covered.

Cicchetti and a spritz

Casual eat

Venetian bar snacks — small plates on bread — eaten standing with a glass of wine. Do a crawl of three or four bars instead of a sit-down dinner one night.

Why it's here: Cheapest and most fun way to eat in an expensive city.
Best time: 6pm to 8pm

Burano

Day trip

40 minutes by vaporetto

A fishing island of brightly painted houses and lace shops.

Why it's here: The most colourful half day in Venice.
Best time: Morning
Photo tip: Every street works; the leaning bell tower is the landmark.

Gondola, honestly

Experience

Fixed official rates by time of day, split between up to five of you. Take one on the quiet canals rather than the Grand Canal.

Why it's here: Touristy, lovely, and much better value shared.
Best time: Before sunset
Booking: Agree the price and the route before getting in.

The north

Milan and Lake Como

Milan is a one-day city unless you are shopping. Como is an hour away by train and worth two nights.

Duomo rooftop

Must see

Milan

Walk among the spires on the cathedral roof.

Why it's here: The only unmissable thing in central Milan.
Best time: First entry
Booking: Rooftop ticket online; lift or stairs.
What to wear: Shoulders covered.

Navigli aperitivo

Bar

Milan

Canal-side bars where the price of a drink includes a buffet. Start at 7pm.

Why it's here: Milan's best evening, and very good value.
Best time: From 7pm

Varenna

Neighbourhood

Lake Como

Quieter and prettier than Como town, with a waterfront promenade and easy ferries across the lake.

Why it's here: The best base on Como for a short stay.
Booking: Direct train from Milan, about an hour.
Photo tip: The Passeggiata degli Innamorati along the water.

Bellagio

Day trip

Lake Como

Stepped lanes, gardens and boats. Twenty minutes by ferry from Varenna.

Why it's here: The classic lake photograph.
Best time: Late afternoon
Photo tip: The stepped alleyways off the waterfront.

A day on the lake by boat

Experience

Lake Como

Hire a small boat with a skipper and stop at villages and villa gardens around the lake.

Why it's here: Same logic as the Amalfi boat day: the water is the best seat in the house.
Best time: Morning
Booking: Book ahead in July and August.

Food

How to eat in Italy

A few rules that will make every meal better.

Eat where the menu is short

Practical tip

A one-page menu that changes means the kitchen is cooking, not reheating. Photo menus and staff waving you in from the street mean the opposite.

Coperto is not a scam

Practical tip

Most restaurants add a small per-person cover charge. Tipping on top is optional — rounding up is plenty.

Coffee rules

Practical tip

Cappuccino is a morning drink. After lunch it is espresso. Drinking it standing at the bar costs a fraction of sitting down.

Eat regionally

Practical tip

Carbonara in Rome, bistecca in Florence, pizza in Naples, seafood on the coast, risotto in Milan. Ordering the local dish is almost always the best plate on the menu.

Dinner is late

Practical tip

Kitchens open around 7:30pm and fill from 8:30pm. A restaurant serving dinner at 6pm is cooking for tourists.

Gelato test

Practical tip

If the pistachio is bright green and the gelato is piled in mounds, walk on. Good gelato is muted in colour and kept in covered steel tubs.

Nights

Aperitivo and nights out

Dinner is late, drinks come first, and the square is the venue.

Aperitivo, every evening

Bar

A spritz or a negroni with olives and crisps, somewhere with a view of a square, between 6:30 and 8pm.

Why it's here: The single best habit to build into an Italian trip.
Best time: 6:30pm

Trastevere, Rome

Bar

Rome

Bars spill into the lanes and the whole neighbourhood is out until 1am.

Why it's here: Best night out in Rome.
Best time: From 9pm

Santo Spirito, Florence

Bar

Florence

A student-heavy square where everyone sits on the church steps with a drink.

Why it's here: Cheap, young and easy.
Best time: From 9pm

Beach club nights on the coast

Bar

Amalfi Coast

Several clubs run into the night with DJs in summer.

Why it's here: The closest the Amalfi Coast gets to a proper night out.
Best time: July and August
Booking: Ask your hotel who is on that week.
What to wear: Dress up.

Capri's Piazzetta

Bar

Capri

Four cafés in one tiny square, everyone dressed up, drinks priced accordingly.

Why it's here: Worth one very expensive round.
Best time: After 9pm
What to wear: Smart — this is the dressiest square in Italy.

For the camera

Photo spots

Early mornings, again. Italy's best-known spots are beautiful at 7am and unusable by 10.

Positano from Via Cristoforo Colombo

Photo spot

Positano

The postcard view down over the town to the sea.

Why it's here: The shot of the Amalfi Coast.
Best time: Before 8:30am
Photo tip: Shoot from the bend above the town, not the beach.

Piazzale Michelangelo

Photo spot

Florence

The whole Florence skyline with the dome.

Why it's here: Best at sunset with a crowd, best at sunrise alone.
Best time: Sunrise or sunset

Via Piccolomini, Rome

Photo spot

Rome

A street where St Peter's dome appears to shrink as you walk towards it.

Why it's here: Strange, free and almost empty.
Best time: Early morning
Photo tip: Shoot from the far end of the street, zoomed in.

Burano's painted lanes

Photo spot

Venice

Saturated colour on every wall.

Why it's here: Impossible to get a bad photograph.
Best time: Morning

Val d'Orcia cypress roads

Photo spot

Tuscany

Rolling hills, winding road, single line of cypress trees.

Why it's here: Worth the drive on a Tuscany day.
Best time: Golden hour
Photo tip: Pull over safely; the famous curves are on public roads.

Lake Como from the Varenna ferry

Photo spot

Lake Como

Mountains dropping straight into the water with villages along the shore.

Why it's here: The cheapest boat ride with the best view in Italy.
Best time: Late afternoon
Photo tip: Stand at the back of the ferry.

Logistics

Getting around

Trains between cities, boats on the coast, and almost never a rental car.

Take the fast trains

Practical tip

Rome to Florence is about 90 minutes, Florence to Venice about two hours, Milan to Venice about two and a half. Book a few weeks ahead for the cheap fares and always validate regional tickets.

Do not rent a car for cities or the coast

Practical tip

City centres are restricted-traffic zones with automatic fines, and the Amalfi coast road is narrow, slow and impossible to park on. Rent only for Tuscany or Puglia.

Ferries on the coast

Practical tip

Between Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi and Capri, boats are faster, cooler and prettier than the bus. They run roughly April to October and are cancelled in rough weather — keep a backup plan.

Airports

Practical tip

Fly into Rome or Naples for the south, Milan or Venice for the north, and fly out of a different city than you arrived in so you never backtrack.

Luggage

Practical tip

Everything in Italy involves steps: train platforms, Venice bridges, Positano staircases. One bag you can carry up 100 steps yourself.

Money

What to budget

Per person, per day, excluding flights and accommodation.

Coffee and pastry

Practical tip

3 to 6 euros standing at the bar.

Trattoria dinner with wine

Practical tip

30 to 55 euros per person in cities, more on the coast.

Aperitivo

Practical tip

8 to 15 euros in most places, 25 and up in Capri or Positano.

Sunbeds at a beach club

Practical tip

30 to 60 euros per person per day on the Amalfi Coast in high season.

Shared boat day

Practical tip

Roughly 120 to 250 euros per person for a full-day private charter split between a group.

A realistic day

Practical tip

100 to 160 euros per person per day in cities; 180 to 300 on the coast in summer.