trip to italy

I'm afraid you can't have it both ways - if you go to "see the sights" then you won't be the only one there. There will be other tourists. If you go where there are no tourists then there is usually a reason.

Most good guide books about Italy will have somewhere more than 1,000 pages. I'm sorry, but there's no way to duplicate that here on the Forum.

Can you do some research and come back with a more specific question?

Well said, Nigel. I would add that a few hours spent watching Rick Steves TV shows may help you determine places of interest. Available here under Italy are a couple dozen episodes.

....I want to visit picturesque places where there are few tourists...... Love that statement !!! Why ??? Your are a tourist. If no one else is there, there has to be a reason. Get serious. Spend some time with DVDs, especially the Steves' DVDs. If you don't want to buy them, check them out from your local library. Check out some guidebooks for ideas. Picturesque places almost always have lots of tourists. If you really want to get off the beaten path, start leaning Italian. You will need it. There are lots of great places but great to one person maybe a dump to another. You need to set some priorities.

Wasn't paying attention. You put your question in the Review section. Not the best choice. You will receive better and more responses if you post you question in the proper section -- Destination Q & A, -- Italy. Then delete it here so you don't have the confusion of double posting the same question.

The word “excursions” makes me think you might be planning to go on a cruise. If so, please share which cities you will be near. Otherwise, when I’m helping friends begin to plan a trip, I ask them to describe what they would be doing during a couple of perfect days on vacation without naming cities. Then I can tailor my answer, and in your case, suggest a few less touristy locations that would fulfill that description. I also heartily agree with others who commented to look on YouTube, pick up an Italian guidebook at the library, etc. to narrow down this very general question in order to obtain much better information from us.

hey hey lalymadyson
i agree with the other posters here.
thanks Nigel, i would have said the same thing. do some research where you want to go, what time of year, how many travelers, budget in euros. we are just volunteers here to give info not here to plan your trip. read the guide books, listen to rick steves episodes. it's a big country with lots of tourists everywhere, and what are useless excursions? as jean mentions, sounds like a cruise with stops in different ports.
do some research as to where and when, then come back and give more info about what you're hoping to accomplish.
aloha
mele kalikimaka & hau'oli makahiki hou

Sounds like you need to buy some guidebooks and read up on Italy to figure out what you want to see. So much of Italy is picturesque and beautiful. The time of day you visit places can aid in there being "few tourists". Once we decide on the places we want to visit I start reading blogs and trip reports to see how others planned their visits, what their experiences and tips are. People also post vlogs on youtube to record their trips, those can be fun to watch also.
What are your trip dates? Hopefully you will have a good 6 months to figure it all out.

Wonderful, scenic places without other tourists. In Italy. This is a tall order.

In fact, these do exist. But finding them, and getting to them when they fit that description...that requires a fair amount of effort. You need to invest time in learning about all sorts of things: what you like (and don’t), where to go, where others go, when to go, how to get there, etc, etc etc. That requires time, effort, and the willingness (even some enthusiasm) for “doing the work” of research and planning.

if you don’t make the slightest effort, then you get to squeeze in, shoulder-to-shoulder with thousands of strangers who also didn’t make the slightest effort to learn what they needed to know. You can, to some degree, “buy” your way out of doing the work, by purchasing an organized tour. Of course, that tends to put you right in the thick of other tourists, who have also bought a tour, and all those tours usually go to the same places (and usually put you there at the same time) because it makes logistical sense (a few specialty tour, like the Rick Steves tours, will try to mitigate the crowding to some extent, but all tours concentrate tourists, by definition). If you really want to have places to yourself, you generally can’t go to famous places.

Most of all, you need to invest your time. The more effort you put in, the better the trip you will have. Or you can rely on luck and the kindness of strangers. Personally, for most trips I invest a lot of time in research and planning, and find that as enjoyable as the actual trip - the planning is part of the trip experience.

Bottom line: OP needs to roll up their sleeves and make an effort. Start with a good guide book, watch the videos, take notes, google click click click, work up a plan, refine it, rinse and repeat.

Well said to all of the above contributors. A successful trip is a well planned trip with lots of thought and research. If you don't want to put the energy into doing that maybe a travel agent would be where you need to go. But keep in mind the planning is half the fun.

Good Luck!