Check the weather city by city, starting with Rome.
Italy is the land of la dolce vita: Rome the Eternal City, Florence and the Renaissance, Venice and its canals, the Amalfi Coast, Sicily and its Mediterranean-influenced cuisine. The largest concentration of UNESCO heritage in the world.
The Eternal City concentrates 2,500 years of history in a few square kilometres: the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and the Vatican Museums.
Highlights : Colosseum, Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain.
The cradle of the Renaissance, Florence holds the greatest concentration of masterpieces in the world. The surrounding Tuscan countryside offers golden hills, vineyards and medieval villages.
Highlights : Uffizi Gallery, Cathedral (Duomo) & Brunelleschi's Dome, Michelangelo's David — Galleria dell'Accademia, Chianti vineyards.
The Serenissima, built on 118 islets. Gondolas on the canals, St Mark's Square, Gothic palaces reflected in the water — a city unlike any other, best visited off-season.
Highlights : St Mark's Square, St Mark's Basilica, Grand Canal by vaporetto, Doge's Palace.
Spectacular cliffs plunging into the Mediterranean, colourful villages clinging to the rock, giant lemons and limoncello. Capri, Positano and Ravello on the itinerary.
Highlights : Positano, Isle of Capri, Ravello and its Villa Cimbrone, Blue Grotto of Capri.
The largest island in the Mediterranean, a crossroads of civilisations. Greek temples of the Valley of the Temples, Mount Etna, cuisine with Arab, Baroque and Greek influences.
Highlights : Valley of the Temples, Agrigento, Mount Etna, Taormina, Norman Palace — Palermo.
The UNESCO-listed Dolomites raise their pink limestone peaks above green valleys and legendary ski resorts. Further west, the Aosta Valley shares the Mont Blanc massif with France. Skiing in winter, hiking and via ferrata in summer: an Alpine paradise.
Highlights : Cortina d'Ampezzo, Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Courmayeur & the Italian side of Mont Blanc, Alta Badia — ski World Cup, Lago di Braies.
The world capital of fashion and design, Milan is home to Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, the Gothic Duomo and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. An hour away, Lake Como, Lake Maggiore and Lake Garda offer postcard-perfect scenery: pastel villages, Belle Époque villas and Alpine peaks reflected in deep blue waters.
Highlights : Milan Cathedral & panoramic terraces, Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper — Santa Maria delle Grazie, Lake Como — Bellagio & Belle Époque villas, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II — Italy's oldest shopping arcade.
Naples, a fiery and authentic city, is the world capital of pizza and one of the oldest cities in Europe. 30 minutes away, Pompeii reveals a Roman city frozen in time by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD — the world's most impressive archaeological site. Offshore, Capri and the Blue Grotto complete an exceptional itinerary.
Highlights : Ruins of Pompeii — Roman city frozen by Vesuvius, Mount Vesuvius — active volcano overlooking the Bay of Naples, National Archaeological Museum of Naples — treasures from Pompeii.
Italy is affordable if you avoid tourist traps. Local trattorias and markets offer excellent food at reasonable prices. Big cities like Venice remain expensive.