Italy: Your Favorite Places Outside the Obvious Ones

Lucca, Orvieto, Assisi, Sorrento. Buon viaggio!

I really love the Dolomites in early October. Ortisei is my favorite town. The Piedmont region is also another favorite in the fall. If you haven’t seen Stanley Tucci’s Piedmont episode then you will enjoy watching it. In addition to the places he visits I like Alba, Monforte d’Alba, Barolo, etc.

Trieste, Torino, Alba, Parma, Bolzano. All easily accessible by train. Autumn is a great time to visit. If you can tolerate crowds, attend the October White Truffle festival in Alba. My traveling companion and I thought these four were definitely worth visiting and were notably less touristed than all things Rick. The stretch from Trieste to Verona is worthwhile even if you don’t visit Venice. We stayed a few nights in Padua with day trips to Verona, Vicenza and Treviso.

Tell me what you loved about ALBA and TURIN?

The Veneto—-Venice, Verona, Padua, Bassano del Grappa; also Lago di Garda and Dolomites early in October but not later.

For late autumn, Puglia.

My future bucket list includes Bologna, Ravenna, and Orvieto-and I will always spend some time in Florence. I also want to spend a couple of nights in Siena to do Roberto's Tuscany tour.

Spello, Montefalco, Gubbio, Ravenna, and Bologna.

Put me down for Torino, Pistoia, Montecatini Terme, Udine.

@periscope, we are staying a few days in Udine in late September. Would love to hear your thoughts about it and the FVG province, either here or via DM.

These are worth a look: Ferrara, Ravenna, Asti, Alba. Aosta, Courmayeur, Cogne. Pavia, Treviso...all train or busable.

Puglia east coast : the train line runs right along most of it so easy access everywhere from Barletta to Monopoli.
Bari Monopoli Polignano Barletta Giovinazzo Molfetta Trani and further south Lecce and Brindisi
Trani is my favourite town
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2023/04/why-i-love-trani.html?m=1

The tiny villages of Calabria and the very south of Italy. My first trip to Italy included RS South of Italy tour. Highlight of the tour was Matera with ancient history and cave dwellings.
However the real highlight was after the tour when my sister-in-law and I visited the village her grandparents emigrated from in Calabria. It was so small that it didn't have a hotel, so we stayed 3km away in a larger village. You have to rent a car to reach both. Although we don't speak Italian and they didn't speak English, people were so friendly and curious. Pointing and a few key words worked wonders. The area has few tourists so we were the weekend's entertainment. Unfortunately after a century, there was no trace of her grandparents' families, although the surname is common there. (I wish she would have done more family research but that was her decision.)
My happy spot in Italy is Venice. Third visit will be next year.

I visit Venice every two years, staying for at least a week, so that's definitely in the top tier for me. However, I have a particular interest in art, including contemporary art, so I go for the Biennale.

Other favorites include many of those mentioned above, including, in no particular order: Torino, Ferrara, Ravenna, Napoli, Atrani, Matera, Bari, Monopoli, Lecce, Palermo, Siracusa/Ortigia, Ortisei, Orvieto...the list goes on and on. If you add a rental car, it gets even longer.

It's hard to pick a favorite, as they have all been enjoyable in different ways. I'm not a Lucca-lover nor a Bologna-lover, although Bologna is awfully convenient for day trips by train. What do you like to do on your vacations? I think that would help determine where you go next.

I enjoyed a short stay (two nights) in Arezzo last October between staying in Rome and Florence for several days. It was a nice change of pace from the hustle of the bigger cities. A nice, walkable town, although with some good hills. I enjoyed the National Museum of Medieval and Modern Art very much. The open hours vary, so check to make sure. The frescoes in the Basilica di San Francesco are stunning. Arezzo Cathedral is on top of a hill and well worth the walk to visit. Easy train from either Rome or Florence.

agree with Elena & others about the Adriatic side destinations. The Adriatic is popular with Italians but much less visited by American tourists. Their are trains and you can visit many towns but it's a good idea to do research ahead of time. For example you can get to Lecce on a mainline Trenitalia line and then take a local train to visit several towns in the area, but my understanding is those trains don't run on Sundays.

Hello Terri, you don't list Venice so I would say:

Venice, Verona, Siena and Tuscan countryside (non-car access is somewhat limited), Lucca, Orvieto, Lerici and surrounding towns, Sorrento and Amalfi coast.

Still on my list of places I'm intrigued by - Ligurian coast like Chiavari and Sestri Levante, Salerno, Paestum, Livorno, Bari and surrounds and many, many others.

Have an awesome trip,
=Tod

Pescara, Senigallia and all the Cilento Coast.

The islands of Caprera, Ventotene and Procida.

The Maremma Regional Park. The Abbruzzo National Park.

Padua, Mantua, Modena and Ferrara. I grew up reading novels based in Ferrara, but it's not famous for a specific actraction. It's just beautiful.

The 3 lakes recently called "the 3 best Lakes in Italy" by the Esquire (italian edition): Braies, Sorapis and Trasimeno.

Senigallia and Ferrara also both feature some wonderful restaurants.

Dario, is Senigallia easy to do by train/bus? I had a car when I was there but would like to revisit and if I don't need to drive, even better (though I didn't find the driving stressful in Le Marche, either coast or inland).

It depends on your where you are departing from. Senigallia is now "blessed" by 9 direct trains from Milano Centrale each day, 6 from Bari and 1 IC from Rome. There are Many more options from all over Italy if you change somewhere on the way.

My husband and I had been all over Italy (including two trips to Sicily) after 12 trips, but on our 13th we went to the Dolomites. That's what I would put at the top of your list now.

@Dario, thank you. I'll check the train schedules out. Last time I headed that way (2019), I was coming from Venice.

Hi Terri,

These are cities where I’ve stayed somewhat in the order of my favorites, beginning with Venice. I added a quick highlight. Yes, I do love Italy!

Everything was traveling by train except where I noted “bus”.

Venice - So unique! Put the map away & purposely roam. Evenings at San Marco enjoying the music & quiet calm. Burano’s colorful buildings.
Stresa (Lake Maggiore) - Stresa Music Festival, peaceful Isola Bella overnight, gardens
Spello - Infiorate & overall gorgeous flowered village
Bergamo - Citta Alta & sketch/painting classes
Verona - Opera Season, Cooking class, city bike tour
Cremona - climbed the tower! And Stradivarius concert
Mantova - Gonzaga dynasty, multiple social piazzas
Perugia - painted stained glass lab museum private tour
“Bus” - Moena - steep mountains & old ladies working hay, tending cemetery
(RS tour) Castelrotto - Alpe di Siusi (Dolomites)
(RS tour) Cinque Terre - quaint hilly villages hugging the shore
Ravenna - stunning mosaics
“Bus” -Montepulciano - favorite hill town, hearing the music studio practicing with a view
“Ferry” - Amalfi - lemons with even a lemon trellis restaurant & ferries
Torino - MITO (Milan/Torino) Music Festival, palace
Florence - Pasta class, Uffizi, etc.
Rome - Cooking class, Pantheon at night, Vatican & Roman Forum, Mr. 100 Tiramisu, Borghese Park 2-person bike carts
“Bus” - Siena - Palio atmosphere, the Campo in the evening, cathedral floor carvings
Parma - my favorite Cathedral!, fantastic dinner!
Arezzo - Jousting Festival
Lucca - Professional chef cooking class, historical wall to enjoy
Salerno - beautiful palazzo bedroom, traditional passegiata
Varenna (Lake Como) - beautiful villas & water views
Padova - Scrovegni Chapel, St. Anthony Basilica
Ferrara - pumpkin ravioli & best tiramisu
“Bus” - Grosseto - Night Luminara Festival
Vicenza - Palladio architecture, mango tiramisu
Milan - the Duomo; to be fair, haven’t spent much time here
Pisa - Luminara Festival & Leaning Tower; otherwise, not exciting
Bologna - just didn’t excite us. Dan’s pickpocket experience
Trento - a disappointing hotel mansion; didn’t stay long here

Lucca, hands down.

Dolomites, Lucca, Siena, Assisi