As the birthplace of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance, it is not surprising that Italy should be so rich in masterpieces of art and architecture or that it should have more UNESCO World Heritage Sites than any other country in the world.
But Italy’s top tourist attractions aren’t all art and architecture. The country is blessed with lakes, mountains, and a dramatic coastline that also give it outstanding natural attractions. You could plan an entire itinerary inspired by just one interest, from Renaissance art to hiking, but most first-time visitors want to sample the best Italy has to offer in many different kinds of experiences.
The following attractions highlight Italy’s art, architecture, stunning landscapes, and history and also provide opportunities for active exploration. To make sure you find the best places to see and things to do, plan your itinerary using this list of Italy’s top attractions.
1. The Colosseum
This massive amphitheater, the largest of its kind ever built by the Roman Empire and the largest of their surviving structures, remained a model for sports facilities until modern times. It was built by Vespasian in 72 AD and enlarged by the addition of a fourth story by his son Titus. It was a venue for public spectacles and performances, even mock sea battles.
A wooden floor that was 83 by 48 meters covered two additional underground floors with tunnels, rooms, cells, and passages that provided space for gladiators, workers, wild animals, and storage.
Today, the structure stands in stark contrast to the modern development that surrounds it and is a prominent reminder of Rome’s ancient times and extensive history.
2. Florence Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore
Considered one of the finest cathedrals in the world, the Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore, or Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, dominates the Florence skyline. The cathedral was built between the 13th and 15th centuries, with the most famous piece being the exquisite dome, completed by Filippo Brunelleschi in 1434.
The cathedral bell tower is located near the cathedral in Piazza del Duomo and is covered with the same marble pattern typical of Tuscan Romanesque architecture.
Designed by Giotto, the bell tower is 82 meters high, and you can climb the 414 steps to a viewing platform with a fantastic view of the city and the dome.
Opposite the Duomo is a magnificent baptistery, famous for its bronze doors by Lorenzo Ghiberti. To see the original, exquisitely crafted panels, which have been replaced by exact replicas to protect the originals from the weather, visit the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, the cathedral’s museum.
3. The Grand Canal in Venice
A gondola ride on the canals of Venice is a tradition that travelers have enjoyed for centuries. Venice is a city of islands, and the canals have long been the main streets of the city, connected by a maze of narrow passages.
The Grand Canal is the longest and most famous of these waterways, cutting a wide, S-shaped path through the city. Along its sides are the largest of the palaces that once belonged to the richest and most powerful families of the Venetian Republic. The best way to see many of the grand palaces, whose fronts face the water, is on a vaporetto ride along the Grand Canal.
Make sure your gondola ride—and sightseeing on foot—includes some of the most atmospheric smaller canals, lined with old buildings that have remained relatively unchanged for hundreds of years.
4. Pompeii and Vesuvius
The still-smoking Mount Vesuvius overlooks the ruins of the city it destroyed in 79 AD. But the same eruption also preserved many of the city’s art treasures: frescoes, mosaics, and sculptures that were encased in the lava as it cooled.
Several centuries of excavations have revealed the ruins of houses, markets, baths, temples, theaters, roads, and human remains. Visitors can tour the site, walk the old roads marked by chariot tracks, and see the machinery used by the Romans more than 2,000 years ago.
Near Pompeii is the excavated city of Herculaneum, destroyed by the same eruption in AD 79 but buried in lava and ash that solidified and froze the city exactly as it was. You can combine visits to the two sites in one day, but a longer stay allows time to climb the very rim of the still-active Vesuvius.
5. The Leaning Tower of Pisa
The Leaning Tower of Pisa (La Torre Pendente) is just one of the many attractions of the city of Pisa, whose worldwide fame comes not from the considerable elegance of its design but from a flaw. Work on the tower began in 1100, and the sinking, which led to the tilt, began when the tower reached the third floor.
Leaning more and more over the centuries, before restoration work in the 1990s, it was predicted to topple by the year 2000. Today, visitors can climb the tower’s stairs for a great view of the city.
The Leaning Tower is located in the Piazza dei Miracoli, a setting shared with the beautiful Romanesque Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and a round free-standing baptistery. Each of them features outstanding works of medieval stonework.
6. Lake Como
Lake Como is one of the most scenic areas of Italy, surrounded by mountains and dotted with small, picturesque towns. Home to the wealthy since Roman times, the lake has many luxurious villas and palaces along its wooded shores. Villa Balbianello and Villa Carlotta are the best known, both surrounded by gardens that are open to the public.
The mild climate that makes the lakeshore ideal for gardens is also a tourist attraction, with characteristics similar to those of the Mediterranean. Along with the resort towns around the lake, there is an 11th-century abbey.
At the foot of the lake, the small town of Como, important since Roman times, is a short train ride from Milan. From its waterfront, you can embark on tours around the lake with regularly scheduled steamboats that make it easy to visit the lakeside attractions.
7. Amalfi Coast
The Amalfi Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a stunning stretch of coastline along the Sorrento Peninsula, south of Naples and Sorrento. The hillside towns are built precariously along steep mountain slopes that drop down to the sea.
The main towns along this coast are Positano and Amalfi, with their colorful cathedrals. You can tour the coast by road or hop between towns by boat for different perspectives of the dramatic and nearly vertical coastline.
While hiking trails stretch all along the coast, the most exciting scenery for walkers is the Sentiero degli Dei, or Path of the Gods, at the western end of Positano.
8. Cinque Terre
The Cinque Terre is a wonderful seaside region with steep hills and craggy cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean. The five picturesque villages of Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore are accessible by many means, linked together by footpaths, a railway that crosses the headlands to exit each town, or a picturesque narrow road high up on the hillside above.
Trekking between the villages is one of the most popular things to do, as it gives travelers a chance to enjoy the scenery. The small towns have retained the feel of old-world fishing villages and offer a sense of remoteness even in the face of modern tourism.
If you are coming from Florence or Milan, there are many transportation options.
9. Vatican City: St. Peter’s Basilica, Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums
The Vatican is home to some of the most priceless art and craft collections in the world. The centerpiece is the grand St. Peter’s Basilica, with the tomb of St. Peter and one of Michelangelo’s most moving works, the Pieta.
Outside is St. Peter’s Square, where the Pope addresses his followers. The walls and ceilings of the Sistine Chapel are covered with frescoes by Michelangelo, and the Vatican Palace has works by Raphael and other important artists.
More art fills the Vatican Museums, a group of individual collections including sacred art, Etruscan antiquities, sculptures, maps, papal carriages, and even vintage cars.
10. The Uffizi Gallery in Florence
In addition to being one of the world’s leading art museums, the Uffizi has a unique history of Italian Renaissance art. Although it contains works by some of the great masters of Western art, its greatest treasure is the collection of paintings that show step by step the development in painting that took place here from the 14th to the 16th centuries.
Here, you will see the first experiments with perspective, as well as some of the early portraits as painters moved beyond religious art and some of the first uses of naturalistic and scenic backgrounds in religious art.
Be sure to see the Uffizi’s most famous work, Botticelli‘s Birth of Venus.