Italien

The jagged peaks of the Dolomites span the provinces of Trentino and Alto Adige, jutting into neighbouring Veneto. Europeans flock here in winter for highly hospitable resorts, sublime natural settings and extensive, well-coordinated ski networks. Come for downhill or cross-country skiing and snowboarding or get ready for sci alpinismo (an adrenaline-spiking mix of skiing and mountaineering), freeride, and a range of other winter adventure sports including those on legendary circuit Sella Ronda. This is also a beautiful summer destination, offering excellent hiking, sublime views and lots of fresh, fragrant air.

Inkilade bland väldiga kullar klädda i terrasser med vinrankor väller pastellfärgade hus ner i havet. Här är allt du behöver veta för en lyckad vandring mellan de pittoreska byarna.

Set in the shadow of the snow-covered Rhaetian Alps and hemmed in on both sides by steep, verdant hillsides, Lake Como (aka Lake Lario) is perhaps the most spectacular of the three major lakes. Shaped like an upside-down Y, measuring around 160km in squiggly shoreline, it's littered with villages, including exquisite Bellagio and Varenna. Where the southern and western shores converge is the lake's main town, Como, an elegant, prosperous Italian city.

Införandet av den föreslagna skatten för turister som besöker Venedig utan att övernatta har ännu en gång skjutits upp. Anledningen är att man inte kommit på hur avgiften ska krävas in. Men första januari nästa år hoppas kommunen att den nya lokala turistskatten ska vara verklighet.

Rom har ett överflöd av antik historia, mysiga gränder och enastående matupplevelser. Men det är lätt att gå vilse bland alla frestelser. Vagabonds Peter Loewe, som sedan länge bor i Rom, berättar hur du bäst tillbringar din tid i Den eviga staden.

The volcanic outcrop of Ischia is the most developed and largest of the islands in the Bay of Naples. An early colony of Magna Graecia, first settled in the 8th century BC, Ischia today is famed for its thermal spas, manicured gardens, striking Aragonese castle and unshowy, straightforward Italian airs – a feature also reflected in its food. Ischia is a refreshing antidote to glitzy Capri.

Best known for its Shakespeare associations, Verona attracts a multinational gaggle of tourists to its pretty piazzas and knot of lanes, most in search of Romeo, Juliet and all that. But beyond the heart-shaped kitsch and Renaissance romance, Verona is a bustling centre, its heart dominated by a mammoth, remarkably well-preserved 1st-century amphitheatre, the venue for the city's annual summer opera festival. Add to that countless churches, a couple of architecturally fascinating bridges over the Adige, regional wine and food from the Veneto hinterland and some impressive art, and Verona shapes up as one of northern Italy's most attractive cities. And all this just a short hop from the shores of stunning Lake Garda.

Imagine the audacity of building a city of marble palaces on a lagoon – and that was only the start.

Having been the crossroads of civilisations for millennia, Palermo delivers a heady, heavily spiced mix of Byzantine mosaics, Arabesque domes and frescoed cupolas. This is a city at the edge of Europe and at the centre of the ancient world, a place where souk-like markets rub up against baroque churches, where date palms frame Gothic palaces and where the blue-eyed and fair have bronze-skinned cousins.

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.