La Bella Vita is our regular look at the real culture of Italy – from language to cuisine, manners to art. This newsletter is published weekly and you can receive it directly to your inbox: go to newsletter preferences in ‘My Account’ or follow the instructions in the newsletter box below.
Italy is one of the world’s favourite holiday destinations and, although it’s a diverse country with countless sights to see, most visitors seem to flock to the same few hotspots. The crowds are becoming problematic once again at the peak of the summer season: Rome’s tourism councillor this week called for access to be restricted to the Trevi Fountain, while some Venice residents begged tourists: “don’t come”.
If you want to avoid the tourist crush and support a more sustainable sort of travel, there are plenty of places in Italy that would instead welcome more visitors. But where should you start when planning a trip off the beaten path?
We put together some suggestions in the article below of lesser-known places that we’ve enjoyed visiting. Though these aren’t all completely unknown, they’re the sort of places where we believe you can have an authentic Italian travel experience – without getting whacked in the head by a selfie stick, or shouted at by fed-up local residents.
Please leave a comment below the article to let us know what you think of these suggestions and to share any more tips of your own.
Nine alternative places to visit in Italy in 2023
Do Italians really have an aperitivo every evening before dinner? Clearly, most don’t, although Milan is one part of the country where the stereotype could almost be true.
While daytime life in the city is pretty hectic, time seems to slow down in the early evening as people head to their favourite bar and wind down over a spritz or negroni. It’s something like the tradition of the after-work pint in London, only it looks many times more sophisticated – especially so at one of the city’s rooftop bars. For those who enjoy the aperitivo ritual as much as we do, here are our suggestions for the best bars with a view.
Aperitivo with a view: Six of Milan’s best rooftop bars
Whatever time of the year you travel to Italy, you can be assured of good food. But in the warm summer months, visitors may not be in the mood for heavy plates of pasta and pizza – at least, not all the time.
Italians eat with the seasons, meaning most (good) restaurants will change their menus depending on which vegetables are freshest and tastiest that week. In summer, here are a few of the seasonal dishes to look out for – or prepare for yourself at home.
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