Italien

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.

Utanför den italienska småstaden Bomarzo är skogen full av monster. Med förvrängda och groteska ansikten och förtvivlade sneda grimaser vittnar de om deras skapare Pier Francesco Orsinis stora sorg efter förlusten av hans fru.

Venetian life had its origins in the northern reaches of the lagoon, and when things get too frantic in the city proper, these ancient island settlements remain the best escape. Serious shoppers head to Murano for one-of-a-kind glass art. Others prefer to head to the islands of Burano and Mazzorbo for extended seafood feasts, or to Torcello for glimpses of heaven in the golden mosaics.

From urban clamour and cultural gems to wild, inhospitable mountains and thrilling coastlines, Sardinia’s southeast makes for a wonderful introduction to the island.

The Costa Smeralda evokes Sardinia’s classic images: pearly-white beaches and weird, wind-whipped licks of rock tapering into emerald seas. The dazzling coastal strip that the Aga Khan bought for a pittance is today the playground of millionaires and A-listers. Come summer, scandal-hungry paparazzi haunt the marinas, zooming in on oligarchs cavorting with bikini-clad beauties on yachts so big they eclipse the sun.

Reseappen Gayze vill öppna upp världen för HBTQ+-resenärer. Bakom appen, som är en kombinerad dating-, rese-, och informations-app står den svenska doun Stelios Vasilantonakis och Elin Wibel.

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.

Södra Italien vimlar av galet pittoreska byar – från grottstäder till kustnära semesterfavoriter. Här är 6 syditalienska höjdare du inte får missa.

Sweeping north from the Apennines to the fertile Po valley, Emilia-Romagna boasts some of Italy’s most hospitable people, some of its most productive land, some of its fastest vehicles (Ferrari, Ducati, Maserati and Lamborghini call Emilia-Romagna home) and most soul-satisfying food. Since antiquity, the verdant Po lowlands have sown enough agricultural riches to feed a nation and finance an unending production line of lavish products: luxury cars, regal palazzi (mansions), Romanesque churches, prosperous towns and a gigantic operatic legacy (Verdi and Pavarotti, no less).

Kombinera sol- och badsemester med Italiens kanske mest underskattade stad. Cagliari bjuder på mysiga uteserveringar, rosa flamingor och närhet till de bästa stränderna på Sardinien.