An espresso downed standing at a Milan bar, an afternoon with the Renaissance masters in Florence, dinner in the city that gave the world pizza. Italy changes accent every couple of hours by train, and every region feels like a different trip.
Turin gives you more than one way into Piedmontese food: a layered bicerin at a café, a cold veal starter at dinner, or foil-wrapped hazelnut chocolates for the journey home. Choose by the moment and your appetite, then look for the name on the menu or ask at the counter. Some traditional dishes contain meat, […]
The Egyptian Museum’s Gallery of the Kings, the Royal Armoury, Via Po and the view over the Po from Monte dei Cappuccini make a full day in Turin feel varied rather than hurried. It ends over dinner in Borgo Po. Starting at Porta Nuova, you cross the centre on foot, give two museum interiors real […]
Milan’s Pinacoteca di Brera puts Mantegna within a collection of Italian painting, while across the city, Pirelli HangarBicocca makes room for installations on an industrial scale. If you have time for only one museum, choose by the art you want to spend time with, then consider whether you can stay near the Duomo or make […]
Pisa gives families more to choose from than a photograph of the Leaning Tower. Around Cathedral Square, children can look at a tilted bell tower or listen for echoes inside the Baptistery, while elsewhere there are Roman boats, plant collections and a proper playground. Pick a couple that match your children’s energy and the weather, […]
A michetta sandwich suits lunch on the move, while saffron risotto calls for a seated meal. Milan’s food is easier to choose when you know which dishes are snacks, which are substantial mains and which belong to the Christmas season. Start with the seven foods below, then use their menu names and tell-tale textures to […]
Giovanni Pisano’s cathedral pulpit, the leaning Tower’s view and the Baptistery’s echo make a satisfying morning around Pisa’s cathedral square, and Via Santa Maria then leads you to lunch before the walk back to Pisa San Rossore. This half-day works best when your train calls at San Rossore and you have a Tower slot booked […]
Leonardo’s Last Supper, the Duomo’s stone pinnacles and Brera’s streets make a full day in Milan worth keeping in the city: this is a substantial walk with room for lunch and a waterside pause before dinner in Ticinese. Reserve the mural before building the rest of the day around it. In this guide The day’s […]
From Pisa Centrale, Lucca is the easiest choice for a walk through historic streets, while Viareggio gives you the beach and Florence needs a full day. Livorno rewards a slower look beyond its station; Monterosso takes you onto the Cinque Terre coast. These are five separate outings, not stops on one circuit. Choose by what […]
Keith Haring’s Tuttomondo, the Leaning Tower, Giovanni Pisano’s cathedral pulpit and the Arno give a full day in Pisa several different centres of gravity: art, medieval monuments, old-town streets and a riverside pause, ending with dinner and a look at the cathedral square after dark. You can see Pisa in one day if you reserve […]
Pisa’s Leaning Tower draws you to Piazza del Duomo, but the city rewards a look beyond its famous tilt. Start with the cathedral square, then follow the streets towards the Arno and Keith Haring’s Tuttomondo: these ten stops give you contrasting interiors, an elevated walk and outdoor places that need no monument ticket. In this […]
