I’m in the very early stages of planning my next trip to Europe and originally was thinking other countries but the more I think about it the more I just want to go to Italy! I’ve been to the obvious places including Venice, Florence, Siena, Cinque Terre, Rome and Sicily; any suggestions for my next destination?
Posted by
Idaho, USA
7877 posts
Hi Steve, I love Italy, also, and am currently planning my 8th trip there for a month next May to the Puglia, Abruzzo & Umbria regions. It might help if you share what activities you prefer while you’re there. In the meantime, I’ll share a couple of my trip reports to Italy since I stay in a lot of locations which might give you ideas.
These cover Stresa, Milan, Verona, Venice, Ferrara, Ravenna, Parma, Cremona, Mantova, Bergamo, Pisa, Florence, Arezzo, Montepulciano, Lucca, Salerno, Amalfi, Rome, Spello, Perugia.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/solo-trip-to-italy-2018
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
7225 posts
Puglia and/ or Amalfi coast
Northern Italy -Dolomites and Lakes
Verona, Padua, Bologna etc
Posted by
Bend, Oregon
2571 posts
Stresa
The Dolomites
Posted by
12 posts
Further to above and places we have visited and enjoyed: Lake Como, Matera, Sorrento (as a base for area travel). Not Italy but a short flight away and highly recommended is Malta.
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
4624 posts
We spent 11 days in Sorrento in April and loved it. Our primary focus was Pompeii and the other Vesuvius excavation sites, but also spent 2 days touring the Amalfi Coast and 1 day on Capri.
Posted by
Boise, ID, USA
2309 posts
My husband and I took 12 trips that either were solely Italy or included Italy. On our 13th, we visited the Dolomites. Our take: "Why did it take us so long?"
Posted by
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
355 posts
Clearly Bologna and Emilia-Romagna more broadly. If you love Italy (especially the food), you will love that area.
Posted by
Sidney, BC, Canada
993 posts
One area that is appealing to me is Piedmont, Lombardy and Turin. Stunning mountain scenery and an interesting city, especially if you like Italian cars! Something different and maybe a bit less overwhelmed with tourism.
I did the RS Southern Italy tour a few years ago. Puglia was certain interesting and again, a bit off the tourist routes. Matera is certainly worth exploration. The tour also included the Amalfi Coast, Sorrento and Naples; another interesting area and of course a ton of wonderful archaeological sites to visit - Paestum near Salerno (and a visit to the buffalo farm nearby is highly recommended!), Pompeii and Herculaneum as well as a bunch of smaller and interesting sites.
Posted by
29 posts
We are planning our 4th trip too! I love the off the beaten track type of trips. The most magic and most human times are in towns or villages with 600 folks.
A couple of points about how I plan travel: fooooood. Wine. Small villages to wander and see and sense the quiet. And… gorgeous views of mountains or water.
Some faves included:
Modena. Every morning I loved walking to the market and picking breakfast. Cheese pastry cappuccino yum!!! Small town, clean. I want to live there.
Matera. We stayed in a cave. We learned about the history. We took tours and learned from locals. It was spiritual. The birds and the lizards were part of the magic.
La Morra and Piedmont. We love Barolo wine. We were there in the spring. I will never forget the smell of roses in the vineyards.
Get a car. Explore.
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
Steve, I've been to all of those places too (except Sicily). I loved the Cinque Terre and have since visited more of the Italian Riviera, mainly the area to the north, the Portofino peninsula (Santa Margherita Ligure, Rapallo, and (my favorite) Camogli. It feels a lot like the Cinque Terre except without the crowds (not in May, anyway - I'll bet July and August are crazy).
You could also visit Piedmont e.g. Turin, a fairly big town that is not really on the tourist trail with Rome-Floence-Venice.