Italien

Anchored by its magnificent basilica, this ancient and intriguing part of Florence defies easy description – from the rough-cut streets around the central train station it’s only a short walk to the busy social scene around increasingly gentrified Piazza di Santa Maria Novella and the hip boutiques on the atmosphere-laden, old-world ‘back streets’ west of Via de’ Tornabuoni. Shopping here, intermingled with a multitude of attractive dining and drinking options, is among the best in Florence.

Known as the land of the sirens, in honour of the mythical maiden-monsters who were said to live on Li Galli (a tiny archipelago off the peninsula’s southern coast), the area to the west of Sorrento is among the least developed and most beautiful in the country.

Italy's famed crescent of Mediterranean coast, where the Alps and the Apennines cascade into the sea, is defined by its sinuous, giddy landscapes. The Italian Riviera, synonymous with the Ligurian region, is shaped by its extreme topography – its daily life is one of ascents and descents, always in the presence of a watery horizon.

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.

Sagolika stränder, autentiska lantgårdar och underskattade storstäder. Italienska Sardinien har det mesta en Medelhavsö kan tänkas behöva. Här är fem favoriter från norr till söder.

Den eviga staden Rom har ingen brist på varken sevärdheter eller upplevelser. Men kanske vill du maxa din semester med en liten utflykt? Vi har listat sju förslag på trevliga avstickare från Rom.

Deemed an outstanding example of a Mediterranean landscape by Unesco, the Amalfi Coast is one of Italy's most memorable destinations. Here, mountains plunge into the sea in a nail-biting vertical scene of precipitous crags, cliff-clinging abodes and verdant woodland.

Fenomenet med italienska byar som rear ut hus för en spottstyver har pågått några år. Oftast har det handlat om orter en bra bit från huvudstaden, men nu har bergsbyn Maenza – bara sju mil söder om Rom – lagt ut sina första hus för 10 kronor. Totalt vill man sälja 100 hus!

The coastal stretch between Palermo and Milazzo is packed with dramatic beach and mountain scenery, and appealing coastal towns like Cefalù and Castel di Tusa – but once summer rolls around, it's holiday central, characterised by crowded roads and beaches. Somehow neither this, nor the ever-growing proliferation of concrete buildings marring the coastline, can dissuade locals from coming here for their annual vacation and having a whale of a time.

A local legend says that when Venus rose from the waves seven precious stones fell from her tiara, creating seven islands off the Tuscan coast. These little-known gems range from tiny Gorgona, just 2.23 sq km in size, to the biggest and busiest island, 224-sq-km Elba (Isola d'Elba), best known as the place where Napoleon was exiled.