Best city to visit in Italy??

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I am so stuck! I’m booking a 3 night stay for me and my husband for his 30th in July! I can’t for the life of me decide where to go, he’s mentioned Naples before but Google just tells me it’s dangerous and not the best place to go! (Happily have someone prove that statement wrong with a great experience!) Rome could be good but I know we will want a mixture of city life, good restaurants, sight seeing but also a beach day too!? Is this even possible? Grateful to anyone who reads this!

For 3 days I'd pick a smaller city with less to do. I went to Rome for a fortnight, was busy every day and left filling disappointed I'd missed half of it.

A beach day may be pushing it plus my experience of Italian beaches is less romantic getaway, more nose to tail Italians under sunshades.

It will also be very hot!

What about Milan with a day at the lakes? Or Genoa plus Ligurian coast?

Wow wow wow I can’t thank everyone enough for your replies/advice!! Seems Naples is very 50/50 split decision! It could still be an option! I now have the difficulty of I have too much choice 😂 Verona, Genoa with a Lake Garda trip looks beautiful. Also love the idea of Sorrento or Capri to maybe have a Naples day visit! My husband is half Italian but born in England and he’s always wanted to go but we’ve never got around to it so hence why I want to surprise him with the trip to Italy! Thankyou so much I’ll report back of what I decide!

Another vote for Genoa which might not be quite as boiling in June as Rome. Milan is also gorgeous and you could do a day at Lake Garda from there possibly?

Does it have to be Italy? Valencia and Barcelona would cover all bases for you too.

If you went to Venice you could go to the Lido by Vaporetto right from the centre of the city. There's a proper beach there, only a few minutes walk from where you come in.
Coming into Venice by water in the evening is magical.

If you did Verona then it would be opera season (even if you don't like opera seeing one in the arena is worth it)

For Venice I'd do the Venice Padua canal trip having a lovely lunch and stopping off at palaces instead of the Lido. DH tried taking me to the Lido on a hot day and I was unimpressed to say the least.

Verona with a day trip to Venice.

I did Venice for a week last October with a day trip to Verona and I thought Verona was wonderful. I would definitely be up for a long weekend there. Venice was amazing too, but it was fairly hot and very crowded even in October. Not sure I’d want all three days there in July.

I was in Venice last November and it was heaving then! Like it used to be in the summer, pre-pandemic. And the Chinese hadn’t returned to travelling then. I dread to think what it will be like now in July. The mosquitoes are utterly ferocious in the summer too, far worse than Africa or Asia.

I just Googled the canal to see if it was the one I was thinking of and it is :) Villa Pisani was beautiful :) We went there on a day trip from Bologna last year. Navigating trains and buses was a bit of nightmare so I wish we'd had the option of a boat but we got there in the end 😅

Venice, for me, been six times!

Definitely not Rome in July. Crowded and super hot. I'd say Florence, Venice or Puglia.

I really want to go back but my son is the kind of toddler who would purposely fall in a canal 😂 I'm at three trips now 😬

Rome will be really hot and crowded and not the best for sightseeing.

I would choose somewhere like Sienna or Verona as a base and forget the beach aspect.

Meran in Tirol.

Another vote for Venice, I love it.
Give Naples a wide berth, I was there about 5 minutes before I got accosted, a security guard saved me.
Naples isn't nice, doesn't have a nice feeling

Another one who loved Naples!! I think part of the problem is the train station is in a rough part of town and people wander around there and aren’t impressed. Get away from that (use the metro, some fab stations) and I think it’s a great city with so much interesting stuff on the doorstep. And the best pizza!

Rome is full of really famous sites and sights, plenty to do and see, some great parks and piazzas full of tempting cafes. Not much point going to the beach though, they aren’t all that around there.

Venice will be hot and busy in summer but has to be the most unique city of them all. Breathtakingly old and battered but just gorgeous. You can go over to Lido for the beach, but also consider boat trips to Murano and Burano.

Any of those has enough to keep you busy for three days without having to go too far. Amazing country, you can’t not love Italy so wherever you choose you’ll have a great time!

Alghero is just perfect for a short city break with beaches. That would be my top choice. Trapani is also good. Both small, picturesque cities on the coast with great beaches nearby. Cagliari might fit the bill too, although it’s less pretty.

Also agree with the recommendations for Bari or Lecce.

I really like Genoa, but it has a gritty feel that’s not dissimilar to Naples, so if Naples is making you nervous I’d skip Genoa too. Maybe leave those until you’ve been somewhere else first if you’re not sure?

Love Venice but July is not a good time for Venice as the canals can smell then. Another time the Venice Lido is a good option with a beach (but make sure its the Venice Lido not another Lido)

If he's said Naples maybe not Naples itself as have also not heard much positive but Amalfi Coast, maybe Sorrento with trips to Capri and/or Vesuvius.

We loved pretty much all of Italy but not keen on Lake Como, though maybe as we went on a trip full of old people.

City breaks in extreme heat are not for me. But with only 3 nights, I would not want to waste time getting somewhere far from an airport.

Venice. Not in July. Crowded like Disneyworld during term break. Hot and muggy.

Palermo - amazing place - will be shocking hot in July. Beaches are close by, food is incredible. If you can take the heat, this is a great choice - close to an airport, very beautiful, undeniably an 'Italian' experience. Easy to organise a day at the beach (you will need to reserve sunbeds at a stabilimento in advance!). Ditto Ortigia (Siracusa). Touristy in the best way, on the water, plenty to keep you busy for 3 nights, romantic. Depends how you get there (flying into Catania then transfer?).

Your partner wants to go to Naples. I love it - but again I would be tempted to stay at the beach and travel into Naples for an afternoon and a night out. Avoid Pompeii, because... hot and crowded. Herculaneum instead if ruins are your thing. I think you could have a fabulous 3 nights there. It is more chaotic and keep-your-wits-about-you than other cities. But the food and the energy make up for it.

Puglia. Any excuse to go to Puglia is a good excuse. Great beaches. Amazing hill towns (organise a tour). Even better wine.

Rome - not a bad choice. Yes, crowded, also hot, but it's a big city and can take it - better on this score than Florence. There are good beaches nearby. Very hot, but that's a theme here, eh?

Florence... not in July.

The lakes in the north - great idea. But you need to get to them. And I worry about that taking up your time. Depends on how you organise transport from Milan.

Same with Cinque Terra. You need to travel on from Genoa to get there. Worth it if you don't mind that.

Hope you and dp have a good trip!

Left field, but Bolzano in Alto Adige. Small town, great for cycling and walking, cable car up to the mountains and lovely walking trails, museum with Otzi the ice man, mountain museums etc nearby, modern art gallery, lots of interesting day trips eg to Merano, Verona, the Sarentino valley. Great food, wine, beer, Austrian style cake shops...

Just come back from Milan - would recommend and combine with Lake Como
Would also recommend:

Naples / Pompei / Amalfi coast

Venice

Florence but I think Siena is supposed to be better

Rome - was only ok

Bologna. Incredible food, very walkable city, has its own airport. Do a day trip to either Parma or Modena.

Bologna in July will be unbearable. Trust me, this was my honeymoon.

Which area of Italy is your husband originally from as some Italians often prefer North or South or a particular region depending on where they are from.

Heat is definitely a factor to bear in mind. If she struggles with the heat this would apply to most places in Italy. I have family in the north, and it’s often colder I than the UK in winter but is boiling hot with mozzies galore in July and August!

It’s probably less of an issue in smaller places where you can stop and have a cold drink without feeling you’re missing out on valuable sightseeing time than Rome, which is notorious for ensuring you get a very high step count every day you’re there! And places where you can combine sightseeing with beach.

I'm going to suggest Verona - small as a city but it's lovely . You can easily get to either Venice or Lake Garda (Desenzano or Peschiera) on the train. From recollection I think Verona is half way between the two. Or you could stick with Venice which I believe offers a beach (or is close).

Lecce is lovely (Puglia) and close to coast . Alternatively you could visit the coast from any of the Tuscany cities. We stayed along the coast there - I'm trying to think of the name of the place . We also stayed somewhere on the coast between Rome and Naples and got the train into Rome from there - you could do it in reverse .

That time of year I would probably choose northern Italy as the south would be too hot for me .