The insider's Italy travel guide for independent travelers
Sestri Levante is a delightful small town, mid way between Cinque Terre and Portofino, the most well known destinations of the Italian Riviera.
In my view it’s the perfect place to stay when visiting Cinque Terre and Portofino.
Let me explain you why.
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History and mysteries of the sacra di San Michele, one of the most important Northern Italy monuments, and how to get there from Turin and from Milan
The Sacra di San Michele is a very famous abbey and a symbol of Piedmont. It’s a religious monument of incomparable beauty and value, and one of the most mysterious in Italy.
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Discover the Bellano ravine, one of the most mysterious and fascinating places that lake of Como can offer, just a foot step away from Varenna and Bellagio
The Bellano ravine (orrido di Bellano) is a breathtaking natural wonder, just a footstep away from Varenna. Surprisingly, very few travelers visit it, which is another good reason to visit it. Starting from Varenna Station, you won’t need more than a couple of hours to complete your visit.
Continue reading “Como lake best kept secret: the Bellano ravine (Orrido di Bellano)”
Portofino is not as renowned as Cinque Terre outside Italy, but it’s a lovely and beautiful place you shouldn’t really miss when visiting the region.
Actually, Portofino is one of the most upscale destination you may find in Italy, and its name is a synonym of Jet Set, Luxury and high life. It is a place for the rich and the famous, and for ordinary people that enjoy contemplating upscale way of life.
Portofino delightful colored tiny harbor hides fashion boutiques, starred restaurants and luxurious hotels. It’s completely different from Cinque Terre, and will give you a different flavor of Italian taste for beautiful locations.
In this post I will tell you how to visit Portofino in one day, either from Cinque Terre or from Milan. I will also disclose a hidden jewell you may miss otherwise: secluded San Fruttuoso abbey and its amazing cove.
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A Garda lake 1 week itinerary to discover one of the most charming Italy destinations. Disclose Garda lake must sees such as Sirmione, Garda SPAs, Gardaland
Spending 1 week at Garda lake will give you enough time to visit this beautiful areas and the surrounding region, and to enjoy a number of local experiences.
Garda lake is the largest Italian lake and, in my view, the most beautiful and interesting one to spend one week. First, the sights: you are in the Dolomite region, and the light grey-pink cliffs plunging in the lake are just breathtaking. Second, the history: Garda lake was part of the Serenissima, and you can see everywhere in the ancient hamlets the influence of the Venetian beautiful architecture. Third, you are close to a number of great day trip destinations, such as Verona, Mantova and Trento. Fourth, food and wine are great, from Amarone to Prosecco, and wine tasting at a local estate is an unmissable experience. Fifth, the theme park, such as world known Gardaland. Sixth… well, you’ll need to read the post to know more…
Bergamo is a perfect one day trip from MIlan. Spending one day in Bergamo will allow you to discover its lovely city center and lots of art and culture, on top of its delicious food specialties. Here is a one day trip itinerary from Milan to Bergamo, including a Bergamo Alta walking map.
Why a day trip to Bergamo, Italy? Well, you have spent some days in Milan, enjoyed the bustling life, the glamorous atmosphere, fashion, design, and all the Milanese typical excitement. If you are now looking for something completely different, closer to the “Italian” cliché of history, art, nature and traditional food, then spending one day in Bergamo, Italy is the best option for you.
Bergamo is a delightful small town, perched on a steep hill side and surrounded by impressive walls. Actually, there are two Bergamo: Bergamo alta (“upper Bergamo”), the historical center, and Bergamo bassa (“lower Bergamo”), built in more recent times. In this Bergamo in one day post I will focus on Bergamo alta, but if you have time Bergamo bassa is worth a visit as well. If you plan to spend one full day in Bergamo you will have enough time to visit both.
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Como lake (actually we should call it Lario lake) is one of North Italy top destinations, and lovely Bellagio is its pearl. Despite being relatively close to Milan, getting there as independent travelers could be tricky. So here is a quick guideto go from Milan to Bellagio, for a day trip or for a longer period.
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A short video to share what to do and see in a day trip to Cinque Terre. Explore the Monterosso – Vernazza trail, the scenic Sentiero Azzurro.
The easy walk from Monterosso to Vernazza is arguably the most scenic and famous path in the Cinque Terre. You will walk among the renowned Cinque Terre vineyards (ever heard of Vermentino and Sciacchetrà?) and enjoy breathtaking views of the steep cliffs, blue sea and beautiful Monterosso and Vernazza sights.
Here is a quick video to anticipate what you will see when you get there.
Continue reading “Day trip to Cinque Terre”
Ideally, you would like to dedicate at least a couple of days to explore beautiful Cinque Terre, plus maybe two or three days more to visit Portovenere and the Golfo dei Poeti, Santa Margherita and Portofino, and beautiful Abbazia di San Fruttuoso. Unfortunately, not so many travellers have more than one day to visit Cinque Terre, and many want anyways to get a glimpse of the Cnque Terre while staying in Florence or in Pisa.
So this post if aimed at the rushy travellers, who want to see in just one day Cinque Terre key highlights: Monterosso, Vernazza and Riomaggiore. It is intended to give you the hints to visit Cinque terre on youself, which is not that difficult.. Alternatively, you can participate to an organized tour, which will probably alow you to see more. In case you are interested, click here for a very good Cinque Terre day tour.
The cinque Terre are five hamlets built on steep hills overlooking the Mediterranean sea., they are accessible from Florence via Pisa. Cars are not allowed, so only way to visit is by sea or by train or, of course, by walking the many trails. This is the cinque terre map, where you can see where the five hamlets are actually located and the main trails.
The cheapest way to organize the trip is to use train. You have many trains leaving from Florence and getting to Moterosso in as less as 2:10 hours, with a change in La Spezia to catch the Cinque Terre Express, the shuttle that connects the five hamlets.
Returning to Florecne will take the same amount of time, so check Trenitalia time table to select and to reserve the train best suited for you.
The most popular (and, unfortunately, crowded) trail is the so called “Sentiero Azzurro” (blue trail), which is the closer to the coast, and the only one that requires an entry ticket (7€). You can’t do it all in one day, so my suggestion would be to limit your walk to the Monterosso – Vernazza segment (roughly one hour), so that you can visit the first two hamlets and use the frequent local train to visit Riomaggiore and Manarola, if you still have time, or continue walking from Vernazza to Corniglia (another hour).
Unfortunately, the famous Via dell’Amore (a beatiful trail linking Riomaggiore to Manarola) is presently closed due to a land slide.
So here we go with your tour.
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Forget Pizza ans spaghetti Bolognaise: here we are talking about some of the best food you can taste in Italy, in posh locations and with a great service! This is my very personal selection of the restaurants in Milan with the best quality/price ratio, those where I usually have dinner with my friends and family.
I will not present the true Milan top dining places, such as Savini, Cracco, Joia, Aimo and Nadia, Armani Nobu and the similar (much too expensive for most travellers), but rather 10 excellent Milan restaurants when you can enjoy a a fantastic meal in a great location, spending around 50-60 € per person (the wine you will choose could be a major driver of your bill…).
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Why should you spend one day in Milan? You probably didn’t plan so far to visit the second town of Italy. Once an industrial pole, Milan was usually not included in mainstream tourist itineraries. However, things have changed. The universal exhibition Expo Milano 2015 has driven over 20 million visitors to Milan, and has made this town one of Europe key destinations in 2015 and beyond.
On top of this, Milan is a vibrant city, rich of cultural events, artistic masterpieces, design and fashion shopping and great food. One day in Milan would make absolute sense in your Italian itinerary, and you may actually consider spending a night in Milan and enjoy its restaurants and night life.
In case you are looking for a great place to stay, have a look at my page: where to stay in Milan: the best 3 and 4 stars hotels.
Even if you don’t have time to sleep there, you may likely pass through its airport or its station, so why not spending one day in Milan? In case you decide to do so, here is a (pretty extensive!) walking itinerary, designed to cover in one day Milan main highlights (click on the image to use the interactive Google map).
Continue reading “Milan in one day walking itinerary: best places to see and things to do”
Few places are as romantic as Lake Como, and even fewer resorts as beautiful as Bellagio, the delightful hamlet located at the tip of the long hilly promontory which divides the two southern branches of Lake Como.
Click here to discover Bellagio sights and attractions.
Mantua and Sabbioneta, both united by the inheritance left to them by Gonzaga, are the main centres of Italian and European Renaissance. Mantua has recently been accepted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It could be an easy day trip from Milan or Verona, but his territory and its food really deserves more than that!
Cremona, it is located on the border between Lombardy and Emilia Romagna and lies on the left bank of the Po. It’s a charming town rich of history and art, and the wonderful piazza del Duomo is a blend of Roman and Renaissance jewels.
But on top of its monuments, Cremona is home to the families of the world’s most famous luthiers: Amati, Stradivari, Guarneri. A visit to the Stradivari museum is an experience not to be missed (click here for more info).
Cremona is perfect for a day trip from Milan (roughly one hour by train)
Bergamo Alta is a fascinating medieval town perched on a hill, surrounded by 16th-century cyclopic defensive walls. Its old city center hides real treasures, such as the piazza vecchia, the Duomo and the cappella Corleoni, an amazing renaissance master piece.
Bergamo lies just 40 km east of Milan and is a perfect day trip destination. Click here to go to the complete post.
In this walking tour I’d like to introduce you to corso Como, Milan and the brand new Porta Nuova neighborhood. This is my favorite area in Milan for shopping, food and Aperitivo.
Milan may not have Rome or Florence classical beauty, but it is indeed a fascinating city, full of contrasts and always balancing between its historical roots and its aspiration to the future.
Nowhere else in Italy you will feel the same energy, and nowhere else you will find the same refinements in terms of food, fashion and design.
This corso Como walking itinerary will allow you to discover some of the most trendy places in Milan, included the brand new Eataly store, where you will be able to find, purchase and eat the quintessence of Italian food.
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A walking itinerary to discover Milan hidden renaissance jewels, beyond the Duomo and the Last Supper
Milan is universally recognized as the economic capital of Italy, but it is also a city of art. Historical buildings, villas, monuments, modern-architectural buildings, churches and abbeys all offer a variety of styles and striking details that are well worth getting to know.
Yes, there are the well known clichés: il Duomo, La Scala, La Galleria, Santa Maria delle Grazie (feturing Leonardo’s last supper…), Sant’Ambrogio, the Castello Sforzesco. But the truth is that there’s much more than that. Milan can reveal fabulous treasures from its twenty centuries history, if only you take your time to look for them carefully, since most of them are very well hidden. In this post I would like to walk you through fantastic renaissance churches, some of which date back from the end of the Roman empire: after all, Milan was the town where Constantine issued the edict legalizing Christian worship in 313.
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Few places are as romantic as Como lake, and even fewer have the elegant beauty of Bellagio. Called the “Pearl of the Lake”, Bellagio is one of the most famous travel icons in Italy, and is characterized by century-old buildings, stone lanes, picturesque cobbled stairways and gorgeous villas, on top of its fabulous views on the Como lake, the “Lario”.
A trip to Como lake and to Bellagio can be easily organized in one day from Milan. you can also find many organized tours, in case you are short of time. Here is a good one.
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Where to go to taste the iconic Milan aperitivo and the many appetizers and buffet included in the price.
Milan has a long lasting rivalry with Rome, and has often been nominated (likely by Milanesi themselves) the True Capital: the business capital, the moral capital, and so on and so forth.
We may endlessly argue about which town of the two could aspire to the title, but one thing cannot be denied: Milan is the capital of Aperitivo.
In no other city of Italy, not even in Venice (read my post on Cicchetti – , or in Bologna, post to come), aperitivo is such a widespread social habit and nowhere else it reaches the same level of locations, glamour and food.
Yes, food. In most Italian cities, the typical aperitivo consists of a drink accompanied by modest snacks such as potato chips and olives (if you are lucky enough not to receive only the drink…). In Milan, you can expect to be offered an endless variety of dishes such as pasta, risotto, salads, ham, cheeses, meat balls, sausages, bits of pizzas and even exotic food such as sushi or curry, often served as an “all you can eat” buffet.
For this reason, for many busy Milanese, as well as for the smart travelers, the aperitivo becomes a clever alternative to dinner at the price of a cocktail (from 5 to 15 Euro).
Top locations are usually poshy and trendy and, during the good season, they may give you the opportunity of discovering and enjoying carefully hidden gardens and courtyards.
There are literally hundreds of nice places to have aperitivo, and new ones pop up every day. I’m going to share with you my favorites, leaving to you the pleasure of working out your own selection.
Cheers!
Continue reading “Best Milan aperitivo – top 2018 places to enjoy posh cocktails and buffet”
