Country guide
Italy holds 62 World Heritage Sites, more than any other country, spread across 301,340 km2 of land that runs from the Alps down into the middle of the Mediterr...
Photograph · Timothy A. Gonsalves · CC BY-SA 4.0
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
Italy holds 62 World Heritage Sites, more than any other country, spread across 301,340 km2 of land that runs from the Alps down into the middle of the Mediterranean. The distances between its cities are short and the differences between them are not: Venice has no roads, Naples sits under a volcano on a bay, Florence fits inside a walkable Renaissance grid, and Milan keeps its art indoors and works for a living. Rome is the capital and the obvious first trip; the argument is always about what comes second. Nearly 800 islands hang off the coast, and Sicily and Sardinia are each large enough to be a trip of their own.
Checked 2026-08-25
Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.
Photograph · Bert Kaufmann from Roermond, Netherlands · CC BY-SA 2.0
Photograph · Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photograph · Wikibusters · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photograph · Martin Falbisoner · CC BY-SA 4.0
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
408 places match
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Typical visit duration
Interests
Piazza del Popolo is a large urban square in Rome, Italy. Its name derives from the poplar trees that once grew in the area, though some sources associate it with the Latin word populus meaning people.
Pirelli HangarBicocca is a non-profit contemporary art foundation in a former locomotive-manufacturing plant in Milan's Bicocca district. The institution opened in 2004 and occupies approximately 15,000 square metres on one ground-level floor.
Trastevere is a historic district on the west bank of the Tiber River in Rome, Italy. Its name derives from the Latin trans Tiberim, meaning beyond the Tiber.
Colosseo
The Colosseum is the Flavian Amphitheatre, the largest amphitheatre in the world, standing at the eastern end of the Roman Forum on Piazza del Colosseo.
The Imperial Fora are several ancient civic squares beside Rome's Via dei Fori Imperiali, not a single building or the same ticket as the Colosseum.
Basilica di San Pietro
St. Peter's Basilica, locally Basilica di San Pietro, stands as one of Rome's most prominent landmarks within Vatican City. This Renaissance church occupies a site of immense historical and religious significance in Christianity.
Duomo di Milano
Milan's cathedral was begun in 1386, on ground already occupied by the basilicas of Santa Maria Maggiore and Santa Tecla, whose remains still lie under the square.
Piazza Venezia is a major central square in Rome, Italy, located at the foot of the Capitoline Hill.
Palazzo Pitti is a single enormous palace on the south bank of the Arno that now holds five museums and a chapel under one ticket.
Piazza della Rotonda is a public square in the historic centre of Rome, Italy. The square takes its name from the Pantheon, the ancient Roman temple with its distinctive circular dome, which dominates the piazza.
Piazza Farnese is a historic square in Rome's Regola district, taking its name from the imposing Palazzo Farnese that dominates its northern flank. The square developed during the Renaissance as an expression of papal power and architectural ambition.
Basilica di Santa Croce
Santa Croce is the Franciscan mother church of Florence and the largest Franciscan church in the world.
Palazzo Vecchio is the fortified town hall on the north side of Piazza della Signoria, and it is still exactly that: the city's museum service calls it the monument that symbolises Florence and the seat of its government for more…
Piazza Mattei is a small square in Rome's historic Jewish Ghetto district, situated between Via della Reginella and Via dei Funari. The piazza takes its name from the Mattei family, a prominent Roman noble house.
Castello Sforzesco
Castello Sforzesco is a brick fortress in the middle of Milan that has been a ducal palace, a foreign garrison and, for the last century, the city's own museum complex.
Terme di Caracalla
The Baths of Caracalla, known locally as Terme di Caracalla, constitute one of Rome's most substantial surviving ancient bath complexes.
The Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana is a historic library in Venice, Italy, located in the Piazzetta San Marco near the Doge's Palace. Founded in the 16th century, it houses one of Italy's most important collections of classical manuscripts and texts.
The Fontana delle Tartarughe is a compact late-sixteenth-century fountain in Piazza Mattei, in Rome’s Sant’Angelo district. Four bronze youths lean over a marble basin, with dolphins and turtles creating the fountain’s lively silhouette.
Musei Capitolini
The Capitoline Museums occupy the two palaces that face each other across Michelangelo's piazza on the Capitoline Hill, at Piazza del Campidoglio 1.
The Galleria Borghese is a state museum of the Italian Ministry of Culture, housed in the villa that Cardinal Scipione Borghese built for himself in the park now called Villa Borghese.
Palazzo Ducale
The Doge's Palace, known locally as Palazzo Ducale, stands as a defining landmark of Venice. This Gothic palace served as the residence of the Doge, the elected leader of the former Venetian Republic, and housed the republic's main governing bodies.
Teatro alla Scala
Teatro alla Scala is Milan's opera house, and the block it occupies on Piazza della Scala is two visitable things at once: a working theatre with a season that sells out, and a museum inside the same walls that anyone…
Ponte Milvio is an ancient Roman bridge spanning the Tiber River in northern Rome. The structure carries significant historical weight as the site of the pivotal Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 CE, where Constantine defeated Maxentius.
The Gallerie dell'Accademia holds the state collection of Venetian painting from the fourteenth century to the early nineteenth, standing on the Dorsoduro bank of the Grand Canal at the foot of the Accademia bridge.
Santa Maria delle Grazie is a Dominican convent church in central Milan, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site jointly with Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper housed within its refectory.
Ten to fourteen days can combine Milan, Venice, Florence, and Rome by high-speed train. Give Venice more than a transfer night and Rome several separate sightseeing days; rural Tuscany needs different transport planning from the rail-linked cities.
Italy is in the Schengen Area, but visa and passport requirements vary by nationality and route. Use Italy's official visa portal to confirm the applicable rule before travel rather than relying on another Schengen trip.
High-speed trains connect Milan, Venice, Florence, and Rome, with regional rail and coaches serving smaller places. Drivers must check ZTL restrictions before entering historic centres because access controls are local and can generate fines.
April to June and September to October broadly suit the north-to-Rome rail route. Lagoon conditions in Venice, summer heat in Rome, and seasonal rural services in Tuscany should be checked independently.
Italy uses the euro (EUR). Carry a modest cash reserve for small purchases while using cards where accepted, and verify the euro amount at the terminal instead of accepting an unexamined conversion.
Italy routes emergency calls through 112. Travellers encounter a 230 V supply and Type C, F, or L receptacles. No tap-water assessment is recorded for Italy; obtain current local advice at the destination.
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