Italien

Vagabonds redaktör Karin Wimark bodde ett år i Florens och förälskade sig i människorna, maten och kulturen. Här är hennes bästa tips till staden bland Toscanas kullar.

Much of Basilicata is an otherworldly landscape of mountain ranges, trackless forests and villages that seem to sprout organically from the granite. Not easily penetrated, it is strategically located, and has been dominated by the Lucanians, Greeks, Romans, Germans, Lombards, Byzantines, Saracens, Normans and others. Being the plaything of such powers has not been conducive to a quiet or happy fate.

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.

Vagabonds Åsa Johansson, som bor i Toscana, bjuder på sina italienska bergsfavoriter. Ta din Italien-resa till nya höjder i bland annat Dolomiterna och Valle d'Aosta.

There's far more to this green corner of Tuscany than Italy's iconic Leaning Tower. Usually hurtled through en route to Florence and Siena's grand-slam queue-for-hours sights, this is the place to take your foot off the accelerator and go slowly – on foot or by bicycle or car. Allow for long lunches of regional specialities to set the pace for the day, before meandering around a medieval hilltop village or along an ancient pilgrimage route.

Vagabonds praktikant William Åberg reflekterar över resan till Bari. På sin höjd skulle resmålet vara en betydelselös mellanlandning, men den italienska kuststaden överraskade.

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".

Literally the ‘other side of the Arno’, this achingly hip ’hood is traditionally home to Florence's artisans and its old-world, bohemian streets are sprinkled with botteghe (workshops), independent boutiques and hybrid forms of both. It embraces the area south of the river and west of Ponte Vecchio; its backbone is Borgo San Jacopo, clad with shops and a twinset of 12th-century towers, Torre dei Marsili and Torre de' Belfredelli. Cuisine – prepared using artisanal ingredients, of course – is a real strength here, with bags of fashionable restaurants and drinks to entice.

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’.

Upp på cykelsadeln, botanisera bland vinrankorna och besök Apuliens mathuvudstad. Vagabonds redaktör knådar pasta med proffs och letar södra Italiens bästa vingård.