Italy
Art cities, coastlines and the finest cuisine in Europe — Italy is where culture, beach and food flow seamlessly into one another.
Über Italy
No country packs so many different holidays into one destination. The north gives you the lakes (Garda, Como, Maggiore) against an Alpine backdrop, plus art cities like Venice, Verona and Milan; Tuscany and Umbria are rolling hills, vineyards and agriturismi; Rome, Florence and Naples stack two thousand years of history on top of each other. Head south and it grows warmer and looser: the Amalfi Coast, Puglia with its trulli and olive groves, and the islands of Sardinia and Sicily with beaches that rival the Caribbean.
Italy rewards anyone who lets the plate and the local clock set the pace. A morning in a museum, a long lunch, the passeggiata at sunset. Cities are best in spring and autumn, when it's pleasant and the queues are shorter; the coast and islands run at full tilt in July and August, while June and September strike the finest balance of sea and calm.
☀ cities & lakes Apr–Jun and Sep–Oct; coast Jun–Sep