Italien

This part of central Sardinia boasts much of what makes the island such a beautiful and intriguing place: sublime beaches, verdant hills, ancient ruins and mysterious nuraghic temples.

This part of the city fuses a gutsy market precinct – a covered produce market and noisy street stalls surrounding the Basilica di San Lorenzo – with capacious Piazza San Marco, home to Florence University and a much-loved museum. Between the two is the world’s most famous sculpture, David. The result is a sensory experience jam-packed with urban grit, uplifting art and some fabulously authentic, local-loved addresses to eat, drink and shop.

The Italian boot’s heel (Puglia), instep (Basilicata) and toe (Calabria) are where the 'Mezzogiorno' (southern Italy) shows all its throbbing intensity. Long stereotyped as the poorer, more passionate cousins of Italy's sophisticated northerners, these regions are finally being appreciated for their true richness. You will see washing on weather-worn balconies, scooters speeding down medieval alleys and ancient towns crumbling under Mediterranean suns. But look past the pasta-advert stereotypes and you'll find things altogether more complex and wonderful; gritty, unsentimental cities with pedigrees stretching back thousands of years; dramatically broken coastlines that have harboured fisherfolk and pirates for millennia; and above all, proud and generous people, eager to share these delights with you.

Uppför dig och visa respekt för de som bor här. Eller riskera att bli bötfälld. Det är budet från Florens som infört nya regler för turister som besöker den historiska staden.

Italien har ingen brist på cykelvägar med undersköna vyer – men kommande Ciclabile di Limone sul Garda spås bli något i en klass för sig. Den 140 kilometer långa sträckan kommer att gå runt hela Gardasjön och har redan titulerats "Europas mest spektakulära cykelbana".

Drömmer du om att ge dig ut på ett äventyr till fots? Vi tipsar om sju långa vandringsleder på hyfsat nära håll i Europa.

In Puglia, everything the Italophile craves is here in abundance: ancient towns, extravagant churches, seas of olives, olive-green seas and food to equal of anywhere else in Italy.

Italy's peeling, sun-bleached south is the country at its most ancient, soulful and sensual. Down here, the ruins are older, the lunches longer, and the landscapes wilder and more intense.

I juni längtar vi till Medelhavets inbjudande vatten, lummiga vandringsstigar och solnedgångar på mysiga restauranger vid havet. Men även till karga landskap och dramatiska vyer. Här är tio tips på sköna resmål i juni.

The eastern edge of Tuscany is beloved by both Italian and international film directors, who have immortalised its landscape, hilltop towns and oft-quirky characters in several critically acclaimed and visually splendid films. Despite this, the region remains largely bereft of foreign tourists (Cortona is a notable exception) and so offers uncrowded trails and destinations for those savvy enough to explore here. Attractions are many and varied: spectacular mountain scenery, hidden hermitages and walks in the Casentino; magnificent art and architecture in the medieval destinations of Arezzo, Sansepolcro and Cortona; one of Italy's most significant Catholic pilgrimage sites, La Verna; and Tuscany's best bistecca alla fiorentina (T-bone steak) in the Val di Chiana. Here, your travels may be solitary – particularly in the low season – but they'll always be rewarding.