Italien

A tightly packed tangle of cobbled alleyways, Renaissance palaces, ancient ruins and baroque piazzas, the historic centre is the Rome many come to see. Its theatrical streets teem with boutiques, cafes, trattorias and stylish bars, while market traders and street artists work its vibrant squares. The Pantheon and Piazza Navona are the star turns, but you’ll also find a host of monuments, museums and churches, many with works by the likes of Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Bernini et al.

From white-pebble beaches and cliff-backed Adriatic bays to medieval hill towns and snow-capped peaks, Le Marche is one of Italy's least-known treasures.

The main attraction of Sicily's Mediterranean Coast are the spectacular ruins of the Valley of the Temples, unparalleled across the island for their significance, expanse and beauty. Nearby, Agrigento has an elegant medieval old town with good restaurants and accommodation, in contrast to the tower blocks punctuating other parts of the city. West of Agrigento, the development subsides and the landscape takes on a wilder, more natural aspect.

Tumbling down to the Adriatic from a wild, karstic plateau and almost entirely surrounded by Slovenia, Trieste is physically and psychologically isolated from the rest of the Italian peninsula. As such, it preserves its own unique border-town culture and retains a fascinating air of fluidity encapsulated in the Triestini dialect, a strange melange of Italian, Austrian-German, Croatian and Greek.

There's far more to this green corner of Tuscany than Italy's iconic Leaning Tower. Usually hurtled through en route to Florence and Siena's grand-slam queue-for-hours sights, this is the place to take your foot off the accelerator and go slowly – on foot or by bicycle or car. Allow for long lunches of regional specialities to set the pace for the day, before meandering around a medieval hilltop village or along an ancient pilgrimage route.

Poetiska alptoppar, hemgjord ravioli och en och annan svettpärla. Följ med på en sagolik vandring mellan fjällstugor i dramatiska Dolomiterna.

This part of the city fuses a gutsy market precinct – a covered produce market and noisy street stalls surrounding the Basilica di San Lorenzo – with capacious Piazza San Marco, home to Florence University and a much-loved museum. Between the two is the world’s most famous sculpture, David. The result is a sensory experience jam-packed with urban grit, uplifting art and some fabulously authentic, local-loved addresses to eat, drink and shop.

Uppför dig och visa respekt för de som bor här. Eller riskera att bli bötfälld. Det är budet från Florens som infört nya regler för turister som besöker den historiska staden.

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.

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.