Things to do in Italy

35 things to do in Italy

Listed in full below. The running order is set by votes and loads with the page.

• Watch Rome wake up from the Spanish Steps

  Start early, walk through the historic center, and let the city fill in around you.

  Rome

• Take a slow food day in Bologna

  Make the city your table: pasta, markets, mortadella, and long espresso breaks.

  Bologna

• Ride a ferry along the Amalfi Coast

  See the cliffs and towns from the water instead of fighting the road traffic.

  Campania

• Stand under the Pantheon oculus

  Step inside Rome's ancient dome and watch daylight fall straight into the room.

  Rome

• Get lost in Venice after midnight

  Leave the main route and follow quiet canals, bridges, and echoing alleys.

  Venice

• Hike between villages in Cinque Terre

  Trade one postcard village for another on cliff paths above the Ligurian Sea.

  Cinque Terre

• See Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo

  Climb for the view and watch the Duomo, bridges, and hills settle into one frame.

  Florence

• Walk through Pompeii with time to spare

  Let the streets, bakeries, frescoes, and mountain backdrop make the ancient city feel near.

  Pompeii

• Taste wine in the Val d'Orcia

  Spend a slow day between hill towns, vineyards, cypress roads, and long views.

  Tuscany

• Take a boat around Capri

  See sea caves, cliffs, and blue water from the island's best angle.

  Capri

• Explore the Colosseum in Rome

  Walk through the ancient amphitheatre where gladiators once fought before 50,000 spectators. Stand on the arena floor and look up at the towering travertine walls that have endured nearly two millennia.

  Rome

• Take a gondola ride through Venice canals

  Glide beneath ornate bridges and past centuries-old palazzi along the Grand Canal. A gondolier navigates narrow waterways most tourists never see from the streets above.

  Venice

• Hike the Sentiero degli Dei on the Amalfi Coast

  The Path of the Gods clings to cliffs high above the Tyrrhenian Sea, stretching from Bomerano to Nocelle. Sweeping views of Capri, Positano, and terraced lemon groves reward every step.

  Amalfi Coast

• See Michelangelo's ceiling in the Sistine Chapel

  Craning your neck inside the Vatican's most sacred room, you face the iconic Creation of Adam across 500 square metres of frescoed ceiling. The Last Judgement altar wall completes one of humanity's greatest artistic achievements.

  Vatican City, Rome

• Eat Neapolitan pizza at L'Antica Pizzeria Da Michele

  This no-frills pizzeria has served only Margherita and Marinara since 1870. Soft, blistered dough and San Marzano tomatoes on marble tables define the benchmark for pizza worldwide.

  Naples

• Visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa

  Climb the 294 steps of this 56-metre tilted bell tower on the Piazza dei Miracoli. The unintended lean from soft foundation soil has made it one of the world's most recognisable structures.

  Pisa

• Wander the cliffside streets of Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre

  Colourful tower houses cling to a steep ravine leading to a tiny harbour in the southernmost of the five villages. Watch fishing boats slam against waves while vineyard terraces climb the surrounding hills.

  Cinque Terre, Liguria

• Tour the Uffizi Gallery in Florence

  Botticelli's Birth of Venus, Caravaggio's Medusa, and works by Leonardo and Raphael fill a 16th-century corridor overlooking the Arno. It houses the world's finest collection of Renaissance painting.

  Florence

• Watch sunrise over Lake Como from Bellagio

  From the promontory where the lake splits into its two southern arms, dawn light creeps down alpine slopes and turns the water silver. Gardens, stone staircases, and villa rooftops glow in the first warmth.

  Bellagio, Lombardy

• Explore the ruins of Pompeii

  Frozen in AD 79 by Mount Vesuvius's eruption, this city reveals plaster casts of victims, frescoed villas, and an intact amphitheatre. Walking the ancient streets feels like time travel.

  Pompeii, Campania

• Drink espresso at Caffè Florian in Venice

  Opened in 1720, it is the oldest café in continuous operation in Europe. Ornate mirrors, frescoed ceilings, and live orchestra music under the Procuratie Nuove arcade set the scene.

  Venice

• Drive the Stelvio Pass in the Italian Alps

  This legendary road climbs to 2,757 metres with 48 hairpin switchbacks on the north face. In summer, cyclists and motorcyclists share dramatic switchbacks above green alpine meadows.

  South Tyrol / Lombardy border

• Visit the Pantheon in Rome

  Built around 125 AD, its unreinforced concrete dome remains the largest in the world. The oculus at the apex lets a shaft of sunlight sweep across the marble interior, marking the hours.

  Rome

• Attend a truffle hunt in Piedmont

  Join a trifolau and his trained Lagotto dog through misty hazelnut groves near Alba. Dig out prized white truffles and taste them shaved over tajarin pasta at a farmhouse lunch.

  Alba, Piedmont

• Walk across Florence's Ponte Vecchio

  Medieval goldsmiths' and jewellers' shops line this 14th-century bridge over the Arno, the only one in Florence spared in WWII. Dawn is the best time to admire the cantilevered balconies in peace.

  Florence

• Sip Barolo wine in the Langhe vineyards

  Rolling hills covered in Nebbiolo grape vines surround the medieval village of Barolo itself. Visit a cantina carved into limestone, then taste structured vintages paired with braised beef.

  Langhe, Piedmont

• Discover the Trulli houses of Alberobello

  Over 1,500 whitewashed conical-roofed stone huts fill the Rione Monti district, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Some have been converted into shops and trattorias; others remain private homes.

  Alberobello, Puglia

• Ski the Dolomites at Cortina d'Ampezzo

  Dramatic pale peaks rise above 120 km of groomed runs in Italy's most glamorous ski resort. The Sellaronda circuit connects four passes in a single unforgettable day on the slopes.

  Cortina d'Ampezzo, Veneto

• Watch the Palio horse race in Siena

  Ten bareback riders representing city contrade thunder three laps around the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo twice each summer. Medieval pageantry, fierce local rivalry, and pure chaos define thirty seconds of racing.

  Siena, Tuscany

• Explore the underground city of Matera's Sassi

  Carved into a limestone gorge, these cave dwellings are among the oldest continuously inhabited settlements on Earth. Rock-hewn churches with Byzantine frescoes sit beside modern boutique hotels in hollowed stone.

  Matera, Basilicata

• Visit St. Mark's Basilica in Venice

  Over 85,000 square feet of gold-ground mosaics cover the interior of this Byzantine masterpiece. Four bronze horses looted from Constantinople stand above the main entrance.

  Venice

• Explore Milan's Navigli canal district at night

  Illuminated reflections shimmer on the water as aperitivo bars and live-music venues fill with locals along Vicolo dei Lavandai. It is the beating nightlife heart of Italy's fashion capital.

  Milan

• Hike to the summit of Mount Etna

  Europe's tallest active volcano rises 3,357 metres above eastern Sicily. A cable car and 4x4 shuttle get you to the upper craters, where sulphur vents and black lava fields surround you.

  Catania, Sicily

• Ride a Vaporetto down Venice's Grand Canal

  Line 1 public water bus passes beneath the Rialto Bridge and past over 170 palaces in a 45-minute journey from the train station to San Marco. It costs a fraction of a private water taxi with almost the same views.

  Venice

• Taste gelato at Gelateria Dondoli in San Gimignano

  World Gelato Champion Sergio Dondoli scoops inventive flavours like rosemary-honey and Vernaccia wine cream from a tiny shop in the medieval square. Stone towers frame every lick.

  San Gimignano, Tuscany