Italien

Gourmets get ready to indulge: the rolling hills, valleys and townships of southern Piedmont are northern Italy's most redolent pantry, weighed down with sweet hazelnuts, rare white truffles, arborio rice, delicate veal, precious cheeses and Nebbiolo grapes that metamorphose into the magical Barolo and Barbaresco wines. Out here in the damp Po river basin, the food is earthy but sublime, steeped in traditions as old as the towns that foster them. There's Alba, the region's vibrant, pretty capital; Bra, home of the Slow Food Movement; Pollenzo, host to the University of Gastronomic Sciences, and the constellation of charming villages that includes La Morra, Neive, Barolo and Barbaresco. Further north, the Monferrato area occupies a fertile triangle of terrain between Asti, Alessandria and its historical capital, Casale Monferrato. Vineyards fan out in all directions interspersed with castles and celebrated restaurants.

Växla mellan varmt och kallt. Här kommer sex ställen där du kan kombinera gnistrande vit snö med ljummet hav och soliga storstadsparker. Bäst tid att blanda skidåkning med utekafésittande i Europa är mars och april.

Turin är den norditalienska industristaden som satt på sig finkläderna utan att förlora sin arbetarsjäl. Åsa Johansson guidar till en stad som överraskar.

Det är väl härligt att Italien aldrig slutar att överraska en? Under coronapandemin har ett speciellt fönster gjort comeback – ett fönster som uppfanns under en annan pandemi för 400 år sedan.

Det vimlar av charmiga byar i mellersta Italien! Här är tre favoriter väl värda ett besök – det vill säga om du lockas av trånga gränder, storslagna vyer och pittoreska torg.

Maggiore is Italy’s international lake – its northernmost point protrudes sinuously into Switzerland, while its Italian shores are shared by Piedmont (west) and Lombardy (east). Free of Como’s overt glamour or Garda’s Disney-esque theme parks, it is often considered the most peaceful of northern Italy’s great bodies of water, its shores a little less crowded and its hinterland intriguingly wilder. The star attractions are the Borromean Islands, which, like a fleet of fine vessels, lie at anchor at the Borromean Gulf’s (Golfo Borromeo) entrance, an incursion of water between the lake’s two main towns, Stresa and Verbania.

Inspiring natural beauty goes hand-in-hand with history and urban charm in Sardinia's northwestern corner.

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

The main attraction of Sicily's Mediterranean Coast are the spectacular ruins of the Valley of the Temples, unparalleled across the island for their significance, expanse and beauty. Nearby, Agrigento has an elegant medieval old town with good restaurants and accommodation, in contrast to the tower blocks punctuating other parts of the city. West of Agrigento, the development subsides and the landscape takes on a wilder, more natural aspect.

There's a whiff of Paris in Turin's elegant tree-lined boulevards and echoes of Vienna in its stately art-nouveau cafes, but make no mistake – this elegant, Alp-fringed city is utterly self-possessed. The industrious Torinese gave the world its first saleable hard chocolate and Italy's most iconic car, the Fiat.