Best Places To Visit In Italy For The First Time
by Admin
Posted on 10-05-2025 03:49 PM
Liguria is the coastal region in the north of italy with cinque terre and portofino and, to the surprise of many, it is one of the best places to visit in italy with a baby or toddler if you want a local and mellow sea and sun vacation!
while portofino and cinque terre are not traditionally toddler friendly (mostly due to uneven terrain and steps) many towns in liguria are wonderful and perfectly equipped for little kids with nice hotels, playgrounds, beaches and summer entertainment. Some we love are chiavati, sestri levante, santa margherita ligure, levanto and diano marina.
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here our guide to visiting liguria with kids.
Milan doesn’t really deserve to go on this list but if you’re low on time and funds, you could probably skip it. When i say that i’m over cities, i really do mean it. Milan was just another city where people were living their own lives and that’s totally cool…just something i’ve already seen and done. However, if you're into fashion, then you should probably add milan to your "visit" list. It’s home to some of the biggest names in luxury fashion and the thrifting scene is phenomenal. Other than that, it’s a pretty quiet and somewhat spread out city. https://www.italia.it/en
Are you planning a trip to italy in december? december may not be everyone’s ideal time to visit italy. It’s cold, cloudy, and the days are shorter. However, there are a few perks to visiting during the winter instead of the high season. For starters, december is low season, which means fewer tourists, less crowds, and cheaper prices. Visiting during this time gives you the chance to experience italy with the locals and without the high costs. Additionally, italians know how to celebrate the holiday season. The streets are decorated with christmas trees and lights, and you can explore christmas markets in both small towns and big cities. https://www.turismoroma.it/en
Top 3 Places To Visit In Italy
Lake garda: italy’s largest and most popular lake credit: getty
pros: accessibility, good water sports, quieter northern reaches
cons: crowded and compromised main centres, built-up in places
lake garda is italy’s largest and most popular lake, with over 25 million visitors annually.
Sadly, as a result, many villages lining its shores – even if they preserve picturesque corners – are compromised by crowds, middling hotels and tourist tat. There are partial exceptions, of course, and the lake itself retains the beauty that has long made it popular, from its mediterranean southern reaches, all low hills, olives and vines, to the more rugged alpine north, where mountains plunge to a narrow shoreline.
https://www.firenzeturismo.it/en
Tucked between florence and rome, umbria’s landscape is similar to what you’ll find in tuscany — medieval hilltop villages, roman ruins, baroque villages, and, of course, farms and vineyards draped over fertile hills, producing some of italy’s best food and wine. But, fewer visitors reach umbria, giving it a quieter atmosphere. Highlights here include the hill town of assisi , birthplace of saint francis, and the walled town of oriveto , with its massive gothic duomo. You can explore oriveto and the surrounding countryside on an e-bike to take in the gentle rural scenery. Umbria is also home to perugia, a city that’s often as overlooked as the region. https://www.salute.gov.it
For a first trip to italy for two weeks, i suggest doing venice, florence and rome as well as a side trip to the naples area. In the naples area, stay in sorrento and visit pompeii, capri and the amalfi coast. You need 3 nights there. Venice 3 days, florence 3-4 days, rome 4-5 days. The beaches in italy aren't that super. I suggest skipping the beach or lake and save that for a trip to florida or california where the beaches are great.
Breakfast in london, lunch in paris, tea in the alps, dinner in italy. Options 1 & 2 are the fastest and cheapest way to reach italy by train. It's safe, civilised & scenic, it's the route shown in dark blue on the route map above. Take a morning eurostar to paris and trenitalia's afternoon frecciarossa to turin or milan. Stay overnight and continue to venice, florence, rome or naples next morning. Or take an evening eurostar to paris, stay overnight, then take the morning frecciarossa to turin or milan, changing in milan for onward trains to anywhere in italy.
Pompeii is one of the best places in italy to visit if you want to see the ruined city that was devastated thousands of years ago. We loved our visit and it’s well worth seeing for a half a day trip when driving between naples and the amalfi coast. Once here, you can visit the historic site of pompeii and even see streets, houses and even people of the town that were desecrated by mount vesuvius all those years ago. One of the best ways to see pompeii would be to arrive there first thing in the morning before it gets too busy.