Italien

More than any other city, Syracuse (Siracusa) encapsulates Sicily's timeless beauty. Ancient Greek ruins rise out of lush citrus orchards, cafe tables spill onto dazzling baroque piazzas, and honey-hued medieval side streets lead down to the sparkling blue sea. It's difficult to imagine now, but in its heyday this was the largest city in the ancient world, bigger even than Athens and Corinth. Its 'once upon a time' begins in 734 BC, when Corinthian colonists landed on the island of Ortygia (Ortigia) and founded the settlement, setting up the mainland city four years later. Almost three millennia later, the ruins of that then-new city constitute the Parco Archeologico della Neapolis, one of Sicily's greatest archaeological sites. Across the water from the mainland, Ortygia remains Syracuse's most beautiful corner, a deeply atmospheric quarter with an ever-growing legion of fans enamoured with its beautiful streetscapes and attractive dining, drinking and shopping options.

Vagabonds guide till Palermo. Tips på bra hotell och restauranger.

Öluff i Italien – visst låter det som en dröm! Vi guidar dig till Eoliska öarna och tipsar om hur du tar dig dit, hur du tar dig runt, vart du ska bo och introducerar de sju öarna.

Counting the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps among its A-list sights, this central part of Rome is debonair and perennially packed with tourists. Designer boutiques, fashionable bars, swish hotels and a handful of historic cafes and restaurants crowd the streets between Piazza di Spagna and Piazza del Popolo in Tridente, while those around Piazza Barberini and the Trevi Fountain, within shouting distance of the president's palace on the Quirinale Hill, are home to multiple art galleries and an array of eateries that vary wildly in type and quality.

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.

Most visitors to the Veneto devote all their time to Venice, which is understandable – until you discover the rich variety of experiences that await just an hour or two away.

Covering 370 sq km, Lake Garda is the largest of the Italian lakes, straddling the border between three regions: the Lombard plains to the west, Alpine Trentino Alto-Adige to the north and the rolling hills of the Veneto to the east. Look around and you’ll be surprised to see a Mediterranean landscape of vineyards, olive groves and citrus orchards that is thanks to the lake's uniquely mild microclimate.

The Penisola Salentina, better known simply as Salento, is hot, dry and remote, retaining a flavour of its Greek past. It stretches across Italy's heel from Brindisi to Taranto and down to Santa Maria di Leuca. Here the lush greenery of Valle d'Itria gives way to flat, ochre-coloured fields hazy with wildflowers in spring, and endless olive groves.

Införandet av den omdiskuterade turistavgiften i Venedig planerades att införas sommaren 2020 men nu skjuts den upp till 1 juli 2021.

Named after Sulci, the ancient city the Phoenicians established on the Isola di Sant’Antioco, the Sulcis area encompasses Sardinia’s southwestern corner and its two offshore islands. Attention here is largely focused on its beaches and coastal splendours but venture inland and you'll discover a mountainous interior speckled with historical interest.