Italien

Gardasjöns norra spets är ett epicentrum för alla som törstar efter en aktiv semester. Mellan alptopparna och sjöstränderna väntar slingrande cykelvägar och bedårande utsikter.

Ù�r du en finsmakare som känner dig som hemma i Italien? Nu kan du söka jobb som provsmakare på chokladfabrik.

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

Poets and politicians, divas and dictators, they've all been drawn to captivating Lake Garda (Lago di Garda). In fact, 7% of all tourists to Italy head for the lake’s shores, taking to its wind-ruffled waters in the north and village- and vineyard-hopping in the south. Surrounded by three distinct regions – Lombardy, Trentino Alto-Adige and the Veneto – the lake’s cultural diversity attracts a cosmopolitan crowd. Mitteleuropeans colonise northern resorts such as Riva del Garda and Torbole, where restaurants serve air-dried ham and Austrian-style carne salada (salted beef), while in the south, French and Italian families bed down in Valtenesi farmhouses and family-friendly spa towns such as Sirmione and Bardolino.

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.

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.

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

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.

Snart måste besökare betala för att njuta av en av Sardiniens vackraste stränder – La Pelosa. Detta för att myndigheterna ska ha råd att ta hand om strandens ekosystem och minska antalet gäster.

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