Italien

Encompassing two of Rome's seven hills, this sweeping, multifaceted area offers everything from dramatic basilicas and medieval churches to ancient ruins, colourful markets and popular clubs. Its best-known drawcards are the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano and Terme di Caracalla, but there are heavenly views to be had on the Aventino and Villa Celimontana is a lovely, tranquil park. Down by the river, Testaccio is a trendy district known for its nose-to-tail Roman cuisine and weekend clubbing.

Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper and the Basilica di Sant’Ambrogio draw visitors to these leafy streets, but there’s an equal mix of sacred and secular here. Milan’s stock exchange sits on Piazza degli Affari, hence the chic shops on Corso Magenta and the aperitivo bars full of young bankers. Historically affluent, this neighbourhood is also home to the Milanese elite, and if you're lucky you may glimpse a sumptuous private courtyard. To the south and west, the vibe grows more casual, influenced by students at the sprawling Università Cattolica.

The best way to arrive in Sardinia’s historic capital is by sea, the city rising in a helter-skelter of golden-hued palazzi, domes and facades up to the rocky centrepiece, Il Castello. Although Tunisia is closer than Rome, Cagliari is the most Italian of Sardinia’s cities. Vespas buzz down tree-fringed boulevards and locals hang out at busy cafes tucked under arcades in the seafront Marina district.

Toscana är en välbesökt region i Italien och de vanliga resmålen som Siena, Florens, San Gimignano och Pisa dryper av turister. Men är man en vin-nörd, eller reser med en, hittar man guldklimpar bortom turiststråken. Här är en favorit!

The beauty of northwestern Italy is its diversity. Piedmont's capital, Turin, is an elegant, easy city of baroque palaces, cutting-edge galleries and fittingly fabulous dining. While the region might have been one of Italy's 20th-century industrial success stories, it has also retained deep, lasting links to the soil, its wines and culinary offerings earning it the name of the ‘new Tuscany’.

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.

Italy's second-largest lake, Maggiore is one of Europe's more graceful corners. Arrayed around the lakeshore are a series of pretty towns (Stresa, Verbania, Cannobio and, on the Swiss side of the border, Locarno) and these serve as gateways to gorgeous Maggiore islands. Behind the towns, wooded hillsides rise, strewn with decadent villas, lush botanical gardens and even the occasional castle. Further still from the lakeshore, but not as far as you might think, the snow-capped peaks of Switzerland provide the perfect backdrop and idyllic vantage points over the lake are many, from the breakfast terrace of your lakeside hotel to the eyries reached by cable car from Locarno, Laveno and Stresa. And fabulous detours await, whether into the high valleys from the northern end of the lake or to Orta San Giulio to the southwest, one of the region's most beguiling villages.

I Santo Stefano di Sessanio hittar Vagabonds chefredaktör ett hotell som ligger utspridd i olika tradtionella hus runtom i den medeltida bergsbyn.

Turister på Sardinien har tyckt att sanden på stränderna är så oemotstÙ�ndlig att man valt att packa ner lite i bagaget inför hemresan. Men nu ska sanden som beslagtagits tillbaka där den hör hemma – på den italienska öns idylliska kustlinje.

Vinet, maten, historien. Under en weekend i Rom hinner du både med att beundra konst i Vatikanstaten, promenera runt i stilsäkra Centro Storico och barhoppa i de hippa kvarteren Monti, Trastevere och San Lorenzo. Här är några av stadens bästa boenden – från billiga hostels till lyxiga boutique-hotell.