Italy
Country: Italy
Highlights: Gastronomy ★★★★★, Art / Museums ★★★★, Historical sites ★★★★★, Natural Beauty★★★★★, Shopping ★★; Sports/Adventure★★, Geographic extremes★,Glamour★★★★★
When to go: All year long attractions.
Where to go: The city of Florence and Venice in mid-seasons, The Sardinia Island, Amafi Coast and Calabrian Coast during the summer, The Sicily Island, Tuscany region in September/October, The city of Rome, The north lakes, The Ligurian coast, Piedmont and Trentino regions during the winter. The Puglia Region (which still don´t know)
Downside: The south portion of the country is quite poor and a bit messy. May get too crowded and/or expensive in peak seasons.
Our Experiences: Italy is a lovely place we like to visit almost every year. A part of our Family came from the city of Lucca (Tuscany) leaving inside of us some traces of culture and language. Among our favourite attractions we quote: Revisiting the impressive landscape of Amalfi Coast and Capri Island; Enjoying the fantastic rich gastronomy of Emilia Romagna, including the voted world´s best restaurant, the Osteria Francescana (Check Restaurants for details ) ; Revisiting the historic sites in Rome; Going to Porto Cervo in Sardinia Island during the summer; Not getting enough of Florence and all Tuscany region; Exploring Cheese producers and wine makers; Relaxing by the north lakes, especially the Lago di Garda ( and stopping by the legendary Franciacorta wine producers for a bottle of amazing Ca´ del Bosco ); Appreciating the Venetian canals. We once visited Calabria (for the best Italian beach ever) and Sicily. We climbed up the Etna Volcano and some Greek ruins at Siracusa. That was also nice. There are some places we don´t like such as Napoli, the Umbria and Marche Regions. Puglia is yet to come.
Hotels we love and recommend: Villa Medici ( Florence ); Marriott Grand ( Rome ) ; The San Pietro (Sicily); Onda Verde (Praiano ) and Lido Palace (Garda lake)
