Best Cities to Visit in Italy: Our Top Picks for an Italian City Break

Italian Cities to Visit — on a Map

To help you get a better sense of where everything is, we’ve marked all the cities below so you can plan your route at a glance.

Milan

Milan is the northernmost city on our list, sitting just about 60 kilometers from Switzerland.

It’s genuinely one of the most beautiful cities in Italy. Milan is famous for its fashion and nightlife scene, but also for its incredible range of things to see and do.

The Milan Cathedral is one of the largest churches in the world, and the Teatro alla Scala ranks among the most important opera houses on the planet.

Add to that the magnificent Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade, dozens of art and history museums, the medieval Castello Sforzesco, and the super hip Navigli nightlife district — and you’ve got a seriously packed itinerary.

How to Get to Milan

Milan has two airports: Malpensa and Linate. Malpensa is the larger of the two and is about 45 minutes by train from the city center, while Linate sits right on the edge of the city. There’s also Orio al Serio Airport near Bergamo, but from there you’ll need a 1.5-hour shuttle bus into Milan — worth knowing before you book.

Our Hotel Recommendation for Milan

The Unahotels Cusani Milano is ideally placed in the heart of Milan’s historic center. All the major highlights are within easy walking distance.

Turin

Turin is a true under-the-radar pick that holds its own against its better-known neighbor Milan. The city is surrounded by vineyards to the south and the Alps to the north, sitting about 100 kilometers from the French border.

Turin is packed with landmarks from the Roman era, the Middle Ages, and especially the Baroque period — royal palaces, grand city mansions, miles of covered arcades, and sweeping Baroque squares.

The museums here are seriously impressive too: the world-famous Egyptian Museum and the interactive National Cinema Museum are both must-sees.

And despite all that, Turin remains underrated. It’s never overrun with tourists, and hotel prices and entry fees are noticeably more affordable than in other Italian cities. That alone makes it worth the trip.

How to Get to Turin

Direct flights to Turin are available from several major European hubs including Frankfurt, Berlin, and Munich, with a flight time of about 1.5 hours. Turin’s airport is about 16 kilometers from the city, and a direct train from the airport gets you to the center quickly.

Our Hotel Recommendation for Turin

At the Corte Realdi Luxury Rooms Torino, you’ll wake up to a delicious Italian breakfast in genuinely luxurious surroundings.

Venice

Venice is truly one of a kind — one of the best cities to visit in Italy, full stop. Where else in the world will you find a city built almost entirely on water that’s this beautiful?

Venice was already a major hub in the Middle Ages, and during the Baroque period it became a magnet for scholars, artists, and musicians from across the globe.

Walk around any corner, down any narrow alleyway, and you can’t help but stop and stare.

Grand palaces, Baroque bridges and churches, leaning towers, charming little squares right on the water. The streets are canals and the public transport consists of boats.

Venice is absolutely incredible to explore — though yes, it’s correspondingly crowded. Even so, a city break here is always worth it, no matter when you go.

How to Get to Venice

Direct flights to Venice are available from several European cities including Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart, and Frankfurt. Flight time is about one to 1.5 hours. From the airport, you can reach Venice’s historic center by shuttle bus or by boat.

Our Hotel Recommendation for Venice

The Giudecca neighborhood is a great base if you want to escape the tourist crowds — you’ll find charming little bridges, a more relaxed vibe, and noticeably lower restaurant prices than in the center. A lovely place to stay there is the Hotel Giudecca Venezia.

Genoa

Genoa is still a genuinely overlooked destination for an Italian city break.

The city has a reputation for being an unattractive industrial port — and driving past it on the highway, you might actually agree. But step inside and you’ll find a genuinely beautiful old town and some outstanding Italian highlights that make it well worth a few days of your time.

How to Get to Genoa

Direct flights to Genoa are available from Frankfurt and Munich. You can also reach the city easily by train or car — from Milan, for example, the train journey takes just two hours.

Our Hotel Recommendation for Genoa

The Hotel Palazzo Grillo puts you right in the heart of Genoa, surrounded by narrow alleyways and the city’s best points of interest.

Bologna

Bologna is another of Italy’s most underrated cities to visit. Named a European Capital of Culture in 2000, it’s home to one of the world’s oldest universities and over 80,000 students — which makes it a seriously lively place, full of great bars, restaurants, and clubs.

But Bologna isn’t just about the nightlife. This is the city that gave the world tortellini, mortadella, Bolognese sauce, and lasagna. Food lovers, this is your place.

There are several art museums, a famous international music museum, and a wealth of medieval and Renaissance architecture to explore.

Standout landmarks include two towers rising over 90 meters, miles of arcades winding through the entire old quarter, and the grand Piazza Maggiore.

Bologna is ideal for a short trip to Italy — the airport sits right on the edge of the city, so you can hit the ground running.

How to Get to Bologna:
Bologna’s airport has good connections from across Europe, with direct flights from Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart, and Frankfurt, among others. The flight takes around 1.5 hours.

Our Hotel Recommendation for Bologna:

The Phi Hotel Bologna “Al Cappello Rosso” stands out for its stylish, individually designed rooms — some of them were even created by artists and set designers.

Florence

Florence is the capital of Tuscany and easily one of the most beautiful Italian cities you can visit.

The city on the Arno River is absolutely bursting with things to see: the enormous Florence Cathedral, world-famous museums like the Uffizi and the Palazzo Vecchio, upscale shopping streets, and some of the best food in Italy.

From the Cathedral — a Renaissance marvel of architecture — to the Ponte Vecchio and the Piazzale Michelangelo, Florence rewards you at every turn.

A long weekend is ideal — three days gives you enough time to really settle in. Keep in mind that most flights don’t go directly to Florence, but instead to Pisa or Bologna, each about an hour away.

Florence also works brilliantly as a stopover on a road trip through Tuscany.

How to Get to Florence

Florence’s airport is quite small and served by only a handful of airlines. Your better bet is to fly into Pisa or Bologna airport — both are about an hour from Florence and have much better connections from across Europe.

Our Hotel Recommendation for Florence

We love the area around the Santo Spirito church as a base — it’s quieter than the center, and via the Ponte Vecchio you can reach the main sights in minutes. For this neighborhood, we recommend the Palazzo Martellini Residenza d’epoca.

Rome

Rome, the Eternal City. This is another place everyone should see at least once — and honestly, once is never enough.

Thousands of years of history mean the city is packed with magnificent buildings from every era: temple ruins from pre-Christian times, medieval structures, grand Renaissance palaces. And of course, the Colosseum and St. Peter’s Basilica need no introduction.

Beyond sightseeing, Rome has excellent restaurants and a seriously lively nightlife scene. In the bars and on the squares of neighborhoods like Trastevere or Monti, the energy keeps going well into the night.

Rome really does deliver on every front — history, Italian food, art, fashion, nightlife. It’s one of the best cities to visit in Italy, full stop.

How to Get to Rome

Rome has two airports: Rome Ciampino and Rome Fiumicino. Direct flights are available from major European hubs, with a flight time of roughly 1.5 to two hours.

Our Hotel Recommendation for Rome

The Palazzo Lupardi Relais is set in a charming 16th-century building right in Rome’s historic center. It’s a fantastic base for first-timers — all the major attractions are within easy walking distance.

Naples

Naples is culture through and through. The city at the foot of Mount Vesuvius is probably the most quintessentially Italian city there is.

This is the home of wood-fired pizza, mozzarella, chaotic and colorful alleyways, and the Italian way of life at its most unfiltered.

Things work a little differently here: traffic rules are more of a suggestion, the concept of quiet hours is largely theoretical, and good food is the most important thing of all.

The entire old town of Naples is a UNESCO World Heritage Site — and honestly, almost every lively alley and ornate building facade feels like an attraction in itself.

Among the city’s standout sights is the magnificent Galleria Umberto, a 19th-century shopping arcade, and Napoli Sotterranea — Naples’ centuries-old underground labyrinth of tunnels and tuff stone caves.

A hike up to the crater of Vesuvius is also a must, as is a day trip to the ruins of Pompeii.

How to Get to Naples

Direct flights to Naples are available from several European airports including Hanover, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Stuttgart, and Hamburg. Flight time is approximately 1.5 to two hours.

Our Hotel Recommendation for Naples

The Domus Studio 25 in the old town offers a super warm welcome, and your host is a great source of insider tips about the city. It’s also right in the thick of Naples’ best pizzerias — which is exactly where you want to be.

Matera

Matera is located in the Basilicata region in the far south of Italy and was the European Capital of Culture in 2019.

What makes Matera so special is its extraordinary old town: it’s made up of cave dwellings that have been inhabited since the Stone Age and have today been converted into stylish apartments and restaurants.

Up until the 1990s, this area was little more than a slum — home to the city’s poorest residents — before it was rediscovered by the wider world.

The white facades of the cave dwellings are stacked along the edge of the Gravina gorge, forming one giant labyrinth of staircases and winding alleyways.

Matera is truly unlike anywhere else — and absolutely worth the journey.

How to Get to Matera

Matera has no airport of its own, so you’ll need to fly into Bari, about 60 kilometers away. Direct flights to Bari are available from several European cities including Cologne, Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, and Nuremberg, with a flight time of around two hours.

Our Hotel Recommendation for Matera

In Matera, you can actually stay in one of the famous cave dwellings — and you really shouldn’t pass up the chance. The Thymus Residence nei Sassi offers luxurious rooms with beautiful white vaulted ceilings.

Palermo

Palermo is the capital of Sicily and sits right on the sea. Thanks to its southern location, it’s never really cold — even in winter, temperatures rarely drop below 59°F (15°C). Perfect if you want a city break with some warmth.

The city is one of the oldest in Italy, shaped by wave after wave of different cultures: the Arabs, the Normans, and the Hohenstaufen dynasty all left their mark here.

The result is an astonishing number of things to see in Palermo: magnificent churches, royal palaces, and monumental squares that reflect centuries of layered history.

Those influences show up in the food too — Sicilian cuisine is famous throughout Italy for its diversity and its distinctly un-Italian ingredients like dates, couscous, and sesame.

Palermo is colorful, loud, and chaotic in the best possible way — wonderful for wandering and soaking up the southern Mediterranean atmosphere. It also has access to some of the most beautiful beaches in Italy.

How to Get to Palermo

Palermo’s Punta Raisi Airport is about 35 kilometers west of the city. Direct flights are available from several European airports including Berlin, Memmingen, Düsseldorf, Munich, and Cologne.

Our Hotel Recommendation for Palermo

There aren’t a huge number of hotels in Sicily’s capital yet, but there are some genuinely lovely options to suit every budget. Our top pick is the Hotel Palazzo Brunccini.