The Best Italian Vacation Spots — And What to Eat There

Veneto

Best for: Cicchetti crawls and empty morning canals

When: October–November, February

Eat: Bigoli in salsa, sarde in saor

Stay two nights minimum. Venice at 7am is a different city.

Liguria

Best for: Coastal hiking between five villages

When: April–May, October

Eat: Pesto, anchovies, focaccia

Take the train between towns, hike one leg, swim in Monterosso.

Lombardy

Best for: Ferries, gardens and mountain backdrops

When: May–June, September

Eat: Lake perch risotto, missoltini

Varenna over Bellagio if you want to hear yourself think.

Emilia-Romagna

Best for: Parmigiano, prosciutto and balsamic tours

When: Year round; autumn is best

Eat: Tagliatelle al ragù, tortellini in brodo

Book a dairy visit for 7am. Watching wheels get made beats any museum.

Trentino-Alto Adige

Best for: Hiking, skiing and mountain huts that cook seriously

When: January–March, July–September

Eat: Canederli, speck, apple strudel

Rifugio lunches at 2,000m. Half Italian, half Austrian, entirely good.

Piedmont

Best for: Wine cellars and white truffles

When: October–November

Eat: Tajarin, brasato al Barolo, hazelnut cake

Alba's truffle fair in autumn is the single best food weekend in Italy.

Lombardy

Best for: Design, aperitivo and day trips

When: March–June, September–November

Eat: Risotto alla milanese, cotoletta

Underrated for food if you leave the tourist ring.

Piedmont

Best for: Arcades, chocolate and the biggest aperitivo culture in Italy

When: October–December

Eat: Agnolotti, bicerin, gianduiotto

Larry's family route runs through here. The cafés are 19th-century originals.

Veneto

Best for: Opera in a Roman arena, Amarone next door

When: June–August for opera; September for harvest

Eat: Risotto all'Amarone, pastissada

Stay in the vineyards and taxi in for the show.

Lombardy/Veneto

Best for: Windsurfing, lemon terraces and family travel

When: May–September

Eat: Lake fish, olive oil from Garda

North end for sport, south end for spas and Sirmione.

Liguria

Best for: Harbour glamour and coastal trails

When: June, September

Eat: Trofie al pesto, focaccia di Recco

Base in Santa Margherita and walk over. Same views, half the price.

Liguria

Best for: Europe's biggest medieval old town

When: April–June, September

Eat: Pesto, farinata, focaccia for breakfast

Gritty, underrated, and the food is excellent everywhere.

Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Best for: Coffee houses and Habsburg architecture

When: May–June, September

Eat: Boiled pork at a buffet, Friulano wine

Italy's most un-Italian city, and one of its best-value ones.

Emilia-Romagna

Best for: Producer tours: cheese, ham, vinegar

When: Year round

Eat: Culatello, tortelli, 25-year balsamic

Three producer visits in one morning is completely doable and completely worth it.

Lazio

Best for: Ruins, piazzas and the four Roman pastas

When: April–May, October

Eat: Cacio e pepe in Testaccio, pizza al taglio anywhere

Eat where the menu is one page and nobody outside is holding a laminated one.

Tuscany

Best for: Renaissance art plus a wine drive

When: May, September–October

Eat: Bistecca alla fiorentina, ribollita

Sleep in Chianti, day-trip into Florence. Your evenings improve immediately.

Umbria

Best for: Hill towns without the Tuscan crowds

When: May–June, September–October

Eat: Strangozzi al tartufo, Norcia salumi

Norcia is the pork capital of Italy. That is Larry's kind of pilgrimage.

Tuscany

Best for: The postcard landscape and Brunello

When: May, September–October

Eat: Pici all'aglione, pecorino di Pienza

Pienza for cheese, Montalcino for wine, Bagno Vignoni for the hot spring.

Abruzzo

Best for: Mountains and beaches in the same day

When: June–September

Eat: Arrosticini, spaghetti alla chitarra

Arrosticini are lamb skewers by the dozen. Order more than you planned.

Tuscany

Best for: Medieval spectacle

When: July 2 and August 16

Eat: Pici, panforte, Chianti Classico

If you can't make the Palio, come in low season and have the piazza to yourself.

Campania

Best for: Cliff roads, lemon groves and sea swims

When: May–June, September

Eat: Spaghetti alla Nerano and anything with Amalfi lemon

Base in Praiano if you want the views without the Positano crowd tax.

Puglia

Best for: Trulli towns, olive groves and long lunches

When: May–June, September

Eat: Orecchiette, bombette in Cisternino

Cisternino's butchers grill your meat while you wait. Larry's kind of system.

Campania

Best for: The best pizza on earth and the most alive streets in Italy

When: March–May, October

Eat: Pizza margherita, ragù napoletano, sfogliatella

Loud, chaotic, unmissable. Also the gateway to Pompeii and Capri.

Campania

Best for: A calm base for Capri, Pompeii and Amalfi

When: May–June, September

Eat: Gnocchi alla sorrentina, limoncello

Cheaper and better connected than the Amalfi towns themselves.

Campania

Best for: Boat days and cliff walks

When: May, late September

Eat: Ravioli capresi, insalata caprese

Stay overnight. The island empties at 6pm and becomes worth it.

Basilicata

Best for: Cave dwellings lit up at night

When: April–June, September–October

Eat: Peperoni cruschi, pane di Matera

Sleep in a cave hotel. Larry did, and reported excellent silence.

Puglia

Best for: Baroque streets and two coastlines

When: June, September

Eat: Rustico leccese, sea urchin in season

Ionian side for calm water, Adriatic side for cliffs.

Puglia

Best for: Old-town pasta grandmothers and seafront passeggiata

When: May–June, September

Eat: Orecchiette, raw seafood at the port

Bari Vecchia's orecchiette street is a real thing and worth the trip.

Campania

Best for: Thermal baths and pastel harbours

When: May–June, September

Eat: Coniglio all'ischitana, lemon everything

The Bay of Naples islands the crowds skip on their way to Capri.

Calabria

Best for: Cliff beaches and the sweetest onions in Italy

When: June, September

Eat: 'Nduja, Tropea onion, swordfish

'Nduja belongs on Larry's sausage and peppers. He's tested it.

Sicily

Best for: Street food, markets and Arab-Norman architecture

When: April–June, September–October

Eat: Pani ca meusa, arancine, cannoli

Ballarò and Vucciria markets first. Everything else after.

Sicily

Best for: Volcano hikes and a Greek theatre with a view

When: May, September

Eat: Pasta alla Norma, Etna reds

Book the sunrise crater tour, then eat pizza in Solicchiata.

Sardinia

Best for: Caribbean-grade water

When: June, September

Eat: Fregola with clams, porceddu

Go inland one day. The Barbagia is the real Sardinia.

Sardinia

Best for: Catalan old town and cliff drives

When: May–June, September

Eat: Lobster alla catalana

Cheaper than the Costa and more interesting to walk.

Sicily

Best for: Volcanoes, boats and total disconnection

When: June, September

Eat: Pasta with capers from Salina, Malvasia wine

Stromboli's night eruptions from a boat. Larry called it 'a good screensaver'.