If you were going to Italy for a weekend to mark a special occasion, where would you go?

[CultureAlienationBoredomandDespair]

It would be in April. Just me and DH, 2 or 3 nights as we’d be leaving the DC behind. Just trying to decide (and get excited for!) a trip away. I’ve always wanted to go and want to enjoy good food, wine, architecture, museums (but not galleries really), I’d love to visit pompeii but I’m not sure Naples would be the best place to stay at that time of year.

Definitely Sorrento. Easy to get to Pompeii from there on the train. Also can fly into Naples from uk which is usually a fairly cheap flight. And get coach from airport to Sorrento easily.
Lovely places to stay in and around Sorrento.

Lago d’Iseo or Lake Garda are lovely.

Florence, is beautiful. Lots to do, but also the perfect place to do nothing.

Verona

Rome.

Modern Pompei is handy for the sights but not very special.

Given you're only going for a short time and therefore presumably want to maximize time there then somewhere you can fly directly to. I adore Rome, didn't love Florence as much (but recognise that may be because I had a toddler with me at the time!), Venice on my list.

"Ryanair fly to Treviso airport ( but they call it Venice)."

Only from 3 small uk airports. The rest of them they fly to Marco Polo.

For the OP to fly Ryanair to Treviso she couldn't go from Manchester, Stansted etc.

Amalfi Coast!

So much food for thought! We’re not actually going until 2026 so lots of time to plan and it won’t be jubilee year or Easter.

Venice every time. Absolutely magical.

If you want it to be reasonably warm and sunny I would head south. Naples gets some flak but it is an incredibly interesting and vibrant city. You will be very near to Pompeii and Herculaneum, which in my opinion are unmissable. The food, wine and coffee are also to die for. Otherwise Sorrento is a good shout with Pompeii, the stunning Amalfi coast and Capri all easily accessible and you could easily visit Naples too if you wanted.

Venice, Florence were my top that meet your requirements.

Como was beautiful, but I'm not sure about museums

Rome has everything you want - it's a big city, and think think the Trastevere neighbourhood is a great base. (I personally didn't enjoy Rome as much as the other places, but I think I'm in a minority)

Absolutely hated Napels (I was there for 24 hours) and wouldn't go back. It was completely underwhelming, it felt dirty and the people (e.g. restaurant staff) were a bit rude. I actually struggled to find interesting things to see and do in the city.

As it is for a short break I would take into account where I could fly from locally as I wouldn't want to spend all day travelling at either end. Also, how easy it is to get from the airport at the other end.

Florence has been the place in Italy I’ve enjoyed most, so it would get my vote. Beautiful streets, great food, wonderful art, lovely gardens for strolling. The list goes on!

Venice is very pretty though, and every corner you turn is like a postcard. I found it fairly cheap to eat & drink here too.

Lake Como is also beautiful, although it took me 6 hours to reach my hotel in Menaggio from Milan, so if you do fancy there I recommend staying in Como town I stars of the towns further up the lake to save travel time.

Assisi. Amazing atmosphere, wonderful walks, friendly inhabitants. But I have been a fan of St Francis since I could talk.

Venice is magical. Stay in Venice, getting lost at night is part of the charm. Amazing food and drink (from bar hopping cicchetti to Michelin stars), so much to see and do, so romantic. I’ve been so many times and still have so much I want to do.

Venice
Rome
Florence

Sicily. Palermo!

Pompei. It's beautiful

Verona. Perfect for that length of time.

Rome! And stay in Trastevere. And watch the Stanley Tucci doc first

Venice or Bologna. And it's only 40 minutes by train from Bologna to Florence if you fancied a day trip there. I must say I preferred Bologna to Florence. We found Florence very touristy.

Assisi is lovely but very small.

I preferred Bologna to Florence.

Rome is obviously amazing as well.

If you've never been before, it's got to be Venice 💜

Snap! @rosyvalentine. We did a train trip from Bologna to Florence and then on to Ancona where we met family friends who we stayed with in another town, Jesi, a beautiful place.