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.
226 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
Forte Batteria Treporti
Fort Treporti, also known as Forte Batteria Treporti, is a historic military fortification in the Venetian lagoon area. It belongs to the defensive landscape that protected Venice and its maritime approaches.
Forte Tron
Fort Tron is a Venetian military fortification and a quieter historical counterpoint to the city's churches, palaces, and canals. Known locally as Forte Tron, it represents the defensive side of Venice's past and the strategic importance of the lagoon.
Palazzo Litta Cusini Modignani
Litta Cusini Modignani Palace is a historic aristocratic palace in Milan. Its name connects the building with the Litta, Cusini, and Modignani families and places it within the city’s tradition of noble urban residences.
Palazzo Lurani Cernuschi
Lurani Cernuschi Palace, or Palazzo Lurani Cernuschi, is a historic palace in Milan. It represents the city’s noble residential architecture and belongs to the layered urban environment that makes Milan interesting beyond its headline attractions.
Palazzo Mapelli
Mapelli Palace, or Palazzo Mapelli, is a historic palace in Milan.
Villa Imperiale
The Ancient Roman imperial palace of Milan, known locally as Villa Imperiale, stands as a significant archaeological remnant of Milan's Roman past.
Giardini Reali di Venezia
Giardini Reali is a historic formal garden beside Piazza San Marco, where a small landscaped space interrupts Venice’s dense stone-and-water cityscape. Its position near the Royal Palace area makes it an easy addition to a walk through San Marco.
Monumento ai Caduti delle Guerre d'Indipendenza
The Obelisk of Piazza dell'Unità Italiana stands beside Florence's Santa Maria Novella railway station.
Palazzo Erizzo
Palazzo Erizzo a San Martino is a historic Venetian palace in Dorsoduro, identified with the Church of San Martino. It belongs to the architectural world of Venetian noble residences, where grand buildings shaped the city's canals, campos, and streets.
Palazzo Moro
Palazzo Moro a San Barnaba is a historic Venetian palace located in the Dorsoduro district, overlooking the Rio di San Barnaba canal.
Teatro stabile del Veneto Carlo Goldoni
Teatro Goldoni, formally Teatro Stabile del Veneto Carlo Goldoni, is a historic performing-arts venue in Venice. Named for the Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni, it continues the city's long tradition of theatre and live performance.
Chiesa di Santa Maria Formosa
Santa Maria Formosa is a historic church in the large and unusually shaped Campo Santa Maria Formosa in Venice’s Castello district.
Palazzo Arcivescovile
The Archbishop's Palace, known locally as Palazzo Arcivescovile, stands as the historic residence of the Archbishop of Florence. This significant ecclesiastical building occupies a prominent position near the Duomo cathedral complex in the heart of the city.
Ca' del Duca
Ca' del Duca is a historic palace in Venice, located in the San Marco district near the Grand Canal. The building represents Venetian Gothic architecture and holds significance in the city's noble residential heritage.
Campo dei Frari
Campo dei Frari is a public square in the San Polo district of Venice, Italy. The campo serves as the open space adjacent to the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, one of the city's most significant Franciscan churches.
Palazzo Bardi
Palazzo Busini Bardi, also known locally as Palazzo Bardi, is a historic palace in Florence, Tuscany. It belongs to the city’s dense Renaissance streetscape, where aristocratic residences stand close to churches, civic buildings, shops, and busy pedestrian routes.
Piazza di Santo Spirito
Piazza Santo Spirito is a lively public square in Florence's Oltrarno district, south of the Arno. The square takes its name from the Basilica di Santo Spirito, the Renaissance church designed by Filippo Brunelleschi on its eastern side.
San Michele in Isola is a Renaissance church on the island of San Michele in the Venetian Lagoon.
Castello di Bisarno
Bisarno Castle, also known as Castello di Bisarno, is a historic castle in the Florence area of Tuscany. It represents the region’s layered relationship with fortified architecture, noble residences, and changing patterns of settlement.
Castello di Montalbano
Montalbano Castle is a historic castle structure in the Florence area, identified in OpenStreetMap as way/305689918. It belongs to Tuscany’s wider landscape of medieval defensive architecture and carries the Montalbano name associated with the region.
Vittorio Emanuele II
The Monument to Victor Emmanuel II is an outdoor civic memorial honoring the first king of unified Italy. In Venice, it connects the city's streetscape with the nineteenth-century Risorgimento and the political transformation that followed Italian unification.
Palazzo Tornabuoni
Palazzo Corsi-Tornabuoni, also known as Palazzo Tornabuoni, is a historic palazzo in the centre of Florence. It belongs to the sequence of Renaissance and aristocratic buildings that shape the city’s historic streets.
Teatro Romano
The Roman Theatre of Milan, locally known as Teatro Romano, stands as a significant archaeological remnant of the city's ancient past under Roman rule. This open-air amphitheatre once accommodated theatrical performances and public gatherings during the imperial era.
Teatro Verdi is a historic theatre in Florence, part of the city’s living tradition of music, opera and drama.
Forte Sirtori
Fort Sirtori is a military fortification in Venice’s wider defensive landscape, shaped by the need to protect approaches to the lagoon and its settlements.
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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