Italy - please share your favourite places..

[Luredbyapomegranate]

Long trip planned 😀 surprising ideas /rarely visited bits especially welcome

thank you!

Mulazzo and surrounding area. No-one speaks English, it is truly glorious.

Hopping on this thread as I'm also interested!

@porkypine would you say you have to learn a reasonable amount of Italian to get the most out of the trip?

Blimey - and that’s Tuscany (I just looked it up) I thought that whole area was v international touristed up. Thanks v much

Ischia.

Also Scauri-Minturno - quiet seaside resort in Lazio region. Beloved by Romans for their summer breaks. On Rome-Naples trainline.

Orvieto - stunningly beautiful city so ancient is has Etruscan tombs that predate the Roman’s. Amazing food, wine, museums, art, etc…
Pienza - gorgeous walled city on top of a hill
Bolsena - lesser-known lake town with giant villas and a Medici castle that is still inhabited.
Viterbo - The most amazing garden I have ever had the joy of wandering (Villa Lante).

Agree Orvieto is just stunning
and Assisi is a must visit

Aosta, Cogne, Lago d'Orta

Florence is just wonderful, my favourite place. Siena definitely worth a trip, also San Gimignano which is near Siena. The Cinque Terra villages and national park are a must. San Marino, technically not Italy as it's an independent state in its own right, but it's inside Italy - definitely worth visiting, lovely pretty town on top of a mountain. The lakes, Como and Garda, also very pretty.
Vienna and Rome, places you should see but I didn't particularly enjoy much.
Pisa - don't bother.

Matera is fantastic.

@valadon68 I think it depends what you're after. It's not a tourist area, and we spoke very very basic Italian and got on fine. We pottered about, explored local markets and restaurants, ate way too much amazing breakfast at a fab b&b (the owner did speak English) called La Pulce Dorata, and enjoyed the views of the mountains in the medieval mountain village. We've been there a few times.

Thanks so much everyone

San Gimignano in Tuscany. Absolutely stunning, like a total dream place and not overrun with tourists. It’s a walled town with loads of restaurants, museums and wonderful people. Very much a classic Italian place. It’s my favourite place in the world, there’s so much to see and do. If beach holidays are your thing maybe give it a swerve (there are hotels with outdoor pools however) but I’d choose San Gimignano over the likes of Rome (dirty, over crowded, EXPENSIVE, full of beggars and pick pockets, you get hassled and the roads are insane) every time.

Whenever I go to San Gimignano I just have this blissful euphoria, it’s the perfect place to be.

And if my post didn’t convince you, here’s a picture of the town from about 500m away

Bologna, Rome and Matera.

Rome is my favourite place in the world, but obviously not "less well known"!
Padua is lovely. Also Ravenna and Bologna - all fairly mainstream, but well worth visiting.

Went to San Gimignano about 20 years ago - it was incredibly touristy in the daytime, but quieter in the evenings when the trippers had gone.

Bellagio
Portofino
Capri
Positano
Milan

Bologna, Lake Como, Sirmione on Lake Garda , Volterra, Florence

I’ve just added a show to my Prime list with James May in Italy. Don’t know where he’s going but it may give you some inspiration.

Following for more ideas - Ischia was mentioned on a previous thread and it’s now on my bucket list.

Lucca’s lovely. Puccini’s birthplace and a gorgeous untouristy walled town. Easy to get to Florence for a day from there.

I lived for a long summer in Valle d’Aosta. Beautiful place on the alps.
loved Rome (obvs!! Who doesn’t)
we also had a family holiday in Caorle, which is along the coast from Venice. Gorgeous town, not far to go for day trips to Venice and lake Garda etc.

I love the Amalfi Coast - I know, very popular, hardly off the beaten track!
Pompeii & Herculaneum are very easy to do by public transport (train) & get the bus down the Amalfi Coast is amazing.
I love a little town along there called Minori - was the first place I stayed when my mum & I went there. It has a preserved Roman villa under the town which is free to visit. & the cafes around the square are lovely, it has one of the best seafood restaurants & a famous dessert restaurant too. And you can pick up bits of sea pottery on the beach.

Lake Garda. I have been twice and stayed at a different place the second time. We took ferries all over the lake to visit different towns. I know it is popular, but it is stunningly beautiful.

Lake Lugano - Italian side. Really unspoilt and beautiful

Isola d'Elba...I'm here now, used to live here with DH, and now only get to return for holidays to visit the in laws. The whole island is beautiful and I believe a national park.

Train hopping through the Cinque Terre