Ten Italian Places Worth Planning a Trip Around

Italy makes planning difficult, and not because there is too little to see. Every region argues its own case. Rome has two thousand years of street life layered on top of itself; the coast has cliff roads and beaches; the north has mountains that turn white in winter; the islands keep a pace of their own. Then there is the food — pizza, pasta, risotto and plenty more, which has a guide of its own.

The ten places below are a starting point rather than a ranking. Some are famous, some are simply beautiful, and all of them have earned their reputation. You can put a trip together yourself or hand the logistics to a tour operator; either way, this is the shortlist I would work from.

1. Rome: the city that layers its history

No European capital has mattered for longer. Rome has been at the centre of things for two millennia, and you feel it simply by walking: the Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum, the ordinary streets in between. It is a sensory overload in the best sense, and the only sensible response is to slow down and let it happen.

When the ancient history has filled your head, turn to the art. The city's galleries run from the historic Basilica of Our Lady to MACRO on Via Nizza, which shows some of Italy's best contemporary work. Spending time in both will teach you something not just about Rome but about the country and, arguably, the wider world.

2. Vatican City: a country inside a city

The smallest country in the world by both area and population does not feel like a separate state at all. Vatican City has been independent since 1929, but the Pope has lived here since the 14th century, and it remains the centre of global Catholicism.

Enter through St Peter's Square and you are surrounded by some of the oldest, largest and most intricate religious architecture anywhere. St Peter's Basilica holds Michelangelo's Pietà and the Sistine Chapel; beneath the building lie the remains of a 4th-century church and St Peter's Tomb. Book a skip-the-line ticket if you can — the queues otherwise eat a morning. The state may be tiny, but the dome of the basilica is one of the fixed points of the Roman skyline.

3. Venice: built on water and stubbornly unchanged

Venice has been sparkling away at the top of the Adriatic for centuries. Strict rules on preserving the canals and the historic buildings have kept the city from being modernised into somewhere else, so a walk here feels like stepping into a period that most of Europe has moved on from.

Architecture lovers get 14th-century Venetian Gothic, and the sight of a Gothic façade rising straight out of a canal is the city's signature. Masks are the other great Venetian craft; the shops display local makers' best work, you can buy one of your own, and several tours explain how the masks are made. Then there is the water itself: a gondola, or any of the other boats, shows you the city at the pace it was designed for.

I have arrived in Venice by train more than once, and it remains the only city where the exit from the station leads straight to blue water. If you have days to spare, Lake Garda and the Prosecco vineyards are both within reach. For more, see rowing a boat in Venice and a foodie's guide to Venice.

4. Amalfi Coast: sixty kilometres of cliff road

Photographers and sun seekers have been arguing about the world's most picturesque coastline for decades, and the Amalfi Coast is always in the conversation. It runs along the Tyrrhenian Sea on Italy's west coast: a 60-kilometre UNESCO-listed road linking scenic towns, historic houses and ancient churches.

Walkers have the Il Sentiero degli Dei, the Path of the Gods, which runs from Positano to Agerola. Ravello has an 11th-century cathedral and a quieter atmosphere; Sorrento, at the western end, is busier. Driving yourself is hair-raising: Italian drivers are fast and the road has a reputation for being treacherous, but almost every bend pays you back with a view.

If the weather turns, or you have had enough of lying in the sun, there is Roman ruins along the coast and the ceramics of Vietri sul Mare — vases, tiles and urns worth admiring and, in my case, buying. May is a good month, before the heat and the crowds arrive. The coast has been on my own list for years.

5. Cinque Terre: five villages, one coastline

Some places are photographed constantly because they deserve it. Cinque Terre became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997 and has drawn visitors ever since.

The five villages — Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore — sit in a valley of the mountainous Italian Riviera between Genoa and Pisa. All date from medieval times, and each has its own character. The name simply means five villages, which is the most useful piece of Italian you will learn all week.

History fans will find the stories of the villages hard to resist, but this is walker's country above all: mountains to climb, vantage points at nearly every corner, and a coastline that makes the effort worthwhile. You can explore on foot, by rail or by boat. It is easy to reach from Florence, and although a day trip is possible, a few days of walking and looking is far better. For the city side of the region, see exploring Florence on foot and food in Florence.

6. Sicily: the island with the most UNESCO sites

Nowhere on earth has as many UNESCO World Heritage Sites as Sicily. The island lies off the coast of the Italian peninsula and holds Roman architecture, Greek ruins and some of the best food you will eat anywhere in the country.

A road trip suits it best: work around the island and finish in Palermo, or fold Sicily into a Southern Italy road trip. The Greek influence on southern Italy is easier to understand once you have seen the ruins here, and eaters will be happy for days. Life moves more slowly than on the mainland, which is precisely the point.

Europe Diaries tip: Wanderjack arranges private, customised experiences in Sicily. I had a wonderful time with them in Venice and would happily try them here.

7. The Dolomites: mountains for both seasons

Northern Italy is mountain country, and the Dolomites in the north-east, not far from the Austrian border, are the most dramatic part of it. In summer the air is clear and cooler than the lowlands, and the trails lead between Alpine villages you will not find anywhere else.

Hikers can take a single day walk or string together a whole walking holiday, stopping at villages along the way. The range is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a fossil archipelago, with a natural history that rewards a little reading before you arrive. In winter the same villages disappear under snow and turn into some of Italy's favourite skiing and snowboarding country, with hard pistes by day and lively bars at night.

8. Lake Maggiore: an alpine lake with islands

There is nothing quite like the air around an alpine lake, especially one as large as Maggiore. It straddles the Swiss-Italian border in the north-west and is Italy's second largest lake, though fewer people realise how spectacular it is.

Come in winter as part of a skiing trip, or in May and June for wildflowers and warmer weather. Walk the shoreline for the lookouts, or settle into one of the villages on the western shore. Stresa has ancient streets and a cable car up Monte Mottarone; Arona has a fine old castle. Out in the water sit the Borromean Islands, open to visitors and worth a boat trip.

9. Via Francigena: walking the old road to Rome

The Via Francigena was once part of the route linking Canterbury to Rome, and it has been rediscovered as a pilgrimage-style trail through some of Europe's best countryside. The Italian section runs through the Po Valley and Fidenza, across Tuscany and towards the Mediterranean, then south to Rome.

You can walk the whole thing or take it in sections, as a road trip or as hikes ranging from a day to a week. The appeal is the quiet: farmland, small towns, ancient buildings and good food. History lovers get the added pleasure of following paths that pilgrims used more than a thousand years ago. Finishing a stretch brings a real sense of achievement, and, fair warning, a strong urge to plan a longer one.

10. Sardinia: beaches, hikes and Bronze Age ruins

Mainland Italy is not short of beautiful bays, but Sardinia, an Italian island in the middle of the Mediterranean, has them around every corner, with water in improbable shades of blue. It has belonged to Italy since 1861 and has 2,000 kilometres of coastline.

It is the obvious place to go after the hectic cities: the whole island keeps a slower pace than the mainland. Adventure is still on the menu, though. The hinterland has trails climbing steep mountain paths, forests to wander and coastal views from high vantage points. And then there are the nuraghi, the Bronze Age stone ruins Sardinia is known for, some dating back to 1500 BC.

Food, wine, hiking and sun: the island offers all four, with a Mediterranean culture that feels entirely its own.

Choosing between them

Ten places is not the whole country, and the honest answer to which one you should choose is the one that matches the trip you want. Cities and art: Rome, with the Vatican attached. Water and slow movement: Venice, the Amalfi Coast, Cinque Terre, Maggiore. Space and exercise: the Dolomites, the Via Francigena, Sardinia. History with sun: Sicily.

Geography matters as much as taste. The lakes and the Dolomites sit close to the Swiss and Austrian borders; Tuscany, Florence and the Via Francigena belong together in the middle of the country; the south, Sicily included, deserves a week of its own. Attempting all ten in a fortnight would mean spending the holiday in transit, which is not the point of Italy at all.

Which of these would you consider for your next trip, and do you have a favourite Italian city or region already? I would like to know.

Written by Claire from Claire's Footsteps. Claire is a British travel blogger who tries to get to the heart of a place by travelling overland. She writes about eco-travel and travelling with purpose, and is currently back in the UK plotting her next adventure.