Italy

Urban travellers are spoilt for choice when exploring the country that has left a cultural and culinary legacy to the world, arguably greater than any other. From revelling in La Dolce Vita in Rome, to visiting venerable Venice and Verona, frolicking in Florence, mooching around Milan and boozing it up in Bologna, Italy’s cities are both stunning and stimulating.

Weekend away in Venice

Whilst many claim that mass tourism has turned the merchant city of Venice into little more than an European museum, our expert on Italy, Alice Mulhearn, has a different story to tell… Nowhere on earth is as still as Venice at night. No street vendors, no tourists, no sound – only…

Inspired by his many Florentine wanderings and wonderings, American travel writer and musician Thymn Chase introduces us to the city of David and Dante. Photos by Katarzyna Adamek. The world has been obsessed with this little Tuscan outpost ever since she was a blushing bambino. For more than two millennia…

Europe’s oldest university city has plenty of distinctive features, from Ferrari factories and epic arcades to great food, lively nightlife and even its own leaning towers. Marissa Tejada reveals the best things to do on a city break. Bologna is hardly high profile, keeping under the radar in northern Italy.…

The second largest of Venice’s six historic districts, Cannaregio is arguably the best place to search for the ancient soul of La Serenissima. Alice Mulhearn reveals the finest sights, cicchetti bars and things to do in the zone… Most visitors to Venice never get to see Cannaregio’s better side. For…

A hill of broken jugs, a misplaced pyramid and the bones of Shelley and Keats are just some of the reasons to drop by Rome's quirkiest district says Marta Nightingale-Styczen. Why not join her for an aperitivo?