A photograph of Italy

Country guide

Museums in Italy — page 2

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

20,204 Places
4Cities

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

Cities

Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.

Practical information

Language spoken
Italian
National practical orientation; regional and minority languages may also be used
Dialling code
+39
International calling code; local area and mobile prefixes still apply
Currency
Euro (EUR)
Use the official local currency; card acceptance varies by place
Emergency number
112
Use only for an emergency; tourist assistance may use a separate number
Plug type
Type C, F and L · 230 V
Check that chargers support the recorded voltage before using an adapter
Tap water
Not recorded
No verified nationwide visitor statement was recorded

Top things to see

Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.

  1. Bagatti Valsecchi Museum Bagatti Valsecchi Museum
    26 1 hr 30 min

    Bagatti Valsecchi Museum

    Museo Bagatti Valsecchi

    The Bagatti Valsecchi Museum is a historic house museum in central Milan.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Milan
  2. Ca' d'Oro Ca' d'Oro
    27 1 hr 15 min

    Ca' d'Oro

    Ca' d'Oro is one of the great late Gothic palaces on the Grand Canal, and since 1927 it has been a state gallery rather than a house.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Venice
  3. Brancacci Chapel Brancacci Chapel
    28 1 hr 30 min

    Brancacci Chapel

    Cappella Brancacci

    The Brancacci Chapel, known locally as Cappella Brancacci, is a chapel within the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Florence
  4. Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano
    29 1 hr 30 min

    Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano

    Museo di Storia Naturale

    Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano is Milan’s natural history museum, commonly called Museo di Storia Naturale. It brings together zoology, botany, geology and paleontology in a historic museum setting near the city centre.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Milan
  5. Museo Horne Museo Horne
    30 1 hr 30 min

    Museo Horne

    Museo Horne is a museum in Florence, Italy, housed in a historic building. It is named after its founder, Herbert Percy Horne, an English art collector and historian who established the institution.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Florence
  6. Officina di Santa Maria Novella Officina di Santa Maria Novella
    31 1 hr 30 min

    Officina di Santa Maria Novella

    Museo dell'Officina Profumo - Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella

    Officina di Santa Maria Novella is a historic pharmacy and perfume workshop near Florence’s Santa Maria Novella church complex. Its story is connected with Dominican friars and traditional apothecary practice.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Florence
  7. Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea
    32 1 hr 30 min

    Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea

    Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea is a contemporary art exhibition space in Milan, Italy. Known locally by the same name, it serves as a venue for modern and contemporary artistic presentations.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Milan
  8. Università di Firenze Museo Zoologico "La Specola" Università di Firenze Museo Zoologico "La Specola"
    33 1 hr 30 min

    Università di Firenze Museo Zoologico "La Specola"

    La Specola

    La Specola is the zoological museum of the University of Florence. It brings together scientific heritage, natural-history collections and the history of university teaching in a historic Florentine setting.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Florence
  9. Archaeological Museum of Milan Archaeological Museum of Milan
    34 1 hr 30 min

    Archaeological Museum of Milan

    Civico museo archeologico di Milano

    The Archaeological Museum of Milan, locally named Civico museo archeologico di Milano, preserves and presents archaeological collections relevant to the city's ancient history. Housed within a historic monastic complex, the institution serves as a municipal museum under civic administration.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Milan
  10. Galleria d'arte moderna di Milano Galleria d'arte moderna di Milano
    35 1 hr 30 min

    Galleria d'arte moderna di Milano

    Galleria d'Arte Moderna

    Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Milano is a municipal art museum in Milan, Italy. It occupies the Villa Belgiojoso Bonaparte, a neoclassical palace dating to the late eighteenth century.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Milan
  11. Museo Teatrale alla Scala Museo Teatrale alla Scala
    36 1 hr 30 min

    Museo Teatrale alla Scala

    Museo Teatrale alla Scala is the museum devoted to the history of opera, ballet and theatre connected with Milan’s Teatro alla Scala.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Milan
  12. Palazzo Davanzati Palazzo Davanzati
    37 1 hr 30 min

    Palazzo Davanzati

    Palazzo Davanzati is a fourteenth-century Florentine palace and museum devoted to medieval and Renaissance domestic life.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Florence
  13. House Manzoni House Manzoni
    38 1 hr 30 min

    House Manzoni

    Casa Manzoni

    House Manzoni, also known as Casa Manzoni, is the historic Milan residence of Alessandro Manzoni. The novelist and poet is one of Italy's major nineteenth-century literary figures and the author of The Betrothed.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Milan
  14. Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Venice Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Venice
    39 1 hr 30 min

    Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Venice

    Museo archeologico nazionale di Venezia

    The Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Venezia is a national archaeological museum housed within the Procuratie Nuove in Piazza San Marco. It holds collections of Greek and Roman antiquities, sculptures, bronzes, gems, and coins.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Venice
  15. Salvatore Ferragamo Museum Salvatore Ferragamo Museum
    40 1 hr 30 min

    Salvatore Ferragamo Museum

    Museo Salvatore Ferragamo

    The Salvatore Ferragamo Museum, or Museo Salvatore Ferragamo, is a fashion museum in Florence devoted to the work and legacy of shoe designer Salvatore Ferragamo.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Florence
  16. Villa Necchi Campiglio Villa Necchi Campiglio
    41 1 hr 30 min

    Villa Necchi Campiglio

    Villa Necchi Campiglio is a Milan house museum designed by Piero Portaluppi between 1932 and 1935. Built for the Necchi Campiglio family, it preserves a refined example of Milanese rationalist architecture and twentieth-century domestic life.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Milan
  17. Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia "Leonardo da Vinci" Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia "Leonardo da Vinci"
    42 1 hr 30 min

    Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia "Leonardo da Vinci"

    Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia

    The Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia "Leonardo da Vinci" is Italy's largest science and technology museum. Housed in a former Olivetan monastery, the institution honors Leonardo da Vinci's legacy as both artist and inventor.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Milan
  18. Murano Glass Museum Murano Glass Museum
    43 1 hr 30 min

    Murano Glass Museum

    Museo del Vetro

    The Murano Glass Museum, known locally as Museo del Vetro, is a museum dedicated to the art and history of glassmaking on the island of Murano in the Venetian Lagoon.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Venice
  19. Armani/Silos Armani/Silos
    44 1 hr 30 min

    Armani/Silos

    Armani/Silos is a fashion museum in Milan dedicated to the work of Italian designer Giorgio Armani. Opened in 2015, it occupies a former industrial building in the Tortona district that was originally constructed in 1950 as a granary.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Milan
  20. House of Dante House of Dante
    45 1 hr 30 min

    House of Dante

    Casa di Dante

    The House of Dante, or Casa di Dante, stands in Florence as a museum dedicated to the life and work of Dante Alighieri, the medieval poet whose Divine Comedy shaped Italian literature.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Florence
  21. Scuola Grande di San Rocco Scuola Grande di San Rocco
    46 1 hr 30 min

    Scuola Grande di San Rocco

    The Scuola Grande di San Rocco is a historic confraternity building in Venice, founded in 1478 and dedicated to Saint Roch, patron saint of plague victims.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Venice
  22. Museo Stibbert Museo Stibbert
    47 1 hr 30 min

    Museo Stibbert

    Museo Stibbert is a museum in Florence, Italy. It was founded by Frederick Stibbert, a British-born collector who inherited substantial wealth and dedicated his life to amassing art, armour, and decorative objects from across the world.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Florence
  23. Museum of the Risorgimento Museum of the Risorgimento
    48 1 hr 30 min

    Museum of the Risorgimento

    Museo del Risorgimento

    The Museum of the Risorgimento in Milan documents Italy's unification movement from 1796 to 1870.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Milan
  24. Pinacoteca Ambrosiana Pinacoteca Ambrosiana
    49 1 hr 30 min

    Pinacoteca Ambrosiana

    The Pinacoteca Ambrosiana is a historic art gallery and library in central Milan, founded in the early seventeenth century by Cardinal Federico Borromeo. It houses the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, one of Italy's oldest public libraries, alongside its picture gallery.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Milan
  25. Museo di Storia Naturale di Venezia Museo di Storia Naturale di Venezia
    50 1 hr 30 min

    Museo di Storia Naturale di Venezia

    Museo di Storia Naturale di Venezia occupies the historic Fondaco dei Turchi beside the Grand Canal. The building gives the visit an architectural setting as distinctive as the collections inside, with Venetian-Byzantine details and a canal-side position.

    • Must see
    • Museum
    • Venice

Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·

Common questions

How long should a first trip to Italy be?

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.

What entry documents are needed for Italy?

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.

What is the best way to travel around Italy?

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.

When is a practical time to visit Italy?

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.

What money and payment basics apply in Italy?

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.

What practical safety details should I save for Italy?

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.