Italy unusual places to visit

Walking among stone walls, towers rising above the hills, and cobbled lanes that seem frozen in time is an experience Italy does particularly well. The most beautiful medieval villages in Italy tell the story of an era shaped by castles, Romanesque churches and communities perched high up for protection, places that have since become popular travel destinations.

The award-winning director Christopher Nolan has returned with a new cinematic adaptation of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, with Matt Damon in the star role. For a story so strongly rooted in a specific geographical and cultural imagination, which locations were chosen?

An uninhabited island, flat as a table and hidden among sandbanks and canals: one of the most surprising places in the Venetian Lagoon is about to be reopened. San Giacomo in Paludo, just over a hectare between Murano and the route to Burano and Torcello, is at the center of a project that combines environmental restoration, research, and contemporary art.

Just outside Parma, tucked into the Emilian countryside, there’s a place that quietly claims a world record. The world’s largest bamboo labyrinth is far more than a novelty maze.

There is only one place in the country that can claim the title of Italy’s only car-free town. No traffic lights, no engines idling, no delivery vans edging through narrow lanes.

Across Italy, there are dozens of places suited to naturism, with settings that range across sandy dunes and dramatic cliffs above the sea.

One Italian beach opens up between the rocks, sheltered by a natural arch around 50 metres long, and protects a lagoon barely 25 metres across that feels almost unreal. Located in San Nicola Arcella, it's one of the emblematic spots along the Riviera dei Cedri. Every year, thousands of people seek out this stretch of coastline shaped by marine erosion, yet few realise that access is regulated, paid, and time-limited.

Just outside Venice, hidden behind a grand villa and formal gardens, lies one of the most intricate historic mazes in Europe. At first glance, it looks orderly and symmetrical.

Tibetan bridges might sound like something you would only find in far‑off mountain ranges, yet there are dozens scattered across Italy. These suspended footbridges have become a real draw for anyone who enjoys a dose of adrenaline alongside sweeping views. Walking across one of the most beautiful Tibetan bridges in Italy is more than a simple hike. It is a chance to see dramatic gorges, alpine valleys and forested slopes from a completely different angle.

Italy's white cities are much more than postcards: they are the living story of how entire communities have transformed a practical need into a globally recognizable identity. From Ostuni to the three villages of the Itria Valley, to Sperlonga in Lazio, each destination offers a different balance of history, landscape, and flavor.

An archipelago town where sunsets set the Adriatic glowing, yet without the pressure of mass tourism.

If you’re after a slice of Italy that feels genuinely removed from the usual Rome–Florence–Venice circuit, an island in Sardinia has a certain quiet drama about it. This limestone and granite island rises sharply out of the sea, with a unique flat summit.

Grammichele, in the heart of the province of Catania, is well known for its mesmerizing geometric grid from above. The surprise is heightened when you discover it's not a contemporary whim, but the result of a 17th-century reconstruction guided by a rigorous urban planning vision. With just over twelve thousand inhabitants, the town center boasts baroque squares, scenic churches, and a museum that recounts the origins of this urban enterprise. Here, then, are what to see in Grammichele, the hexagonal city.

Between Burano and Sant’Erasmo sits a tiny island almost entirely occupied by a working Franciscan monastery.

Tucked away in the hills of southern Italy is a neo-Gothic sanctuary that looks like a fairytale castle rising from the mountains.

In southern Tuscany, a small hilltop village is built around 42 thermal springs that have flowed for millennia.

From the Piedmont hills to the shores of Lake Garda, to the Emilian Apennines, the heritage of medieval villages is rich and surprising. Northern Italy's medieval villages are among the most fascinating destinations for those seeking a weekend getaway immersed in history, art, and evocative landscapes.

There’s a stretch of central Italy where rust-red rock towers rise sharply above green woodland, with a deep blue lake sitting just below.

Italy has a knack for hiding its best cards. Beyond Rome, Florence and Venice, there are incredible places in Italy that feel lifted straight out of a historical novel: alpine lakes that once turned red, Moorish revival castles, lava-carved gorges and abandoned hilltop towns.

There are beaches you visit and others you remember for years. Cala Mariolu definitely falls into the second group. A natural amphitheatre of white rock and crystal-clear water, the sea here shifts colour throughout the day, from deep emerald to intense turquoise.

An Italian railway line, often called the Railway of Wonders, runs for just over 100 kilometres.

High above the Valtiberina in eastern Tuscany sits a hilltop town where history isn’t boxed away in a museum but written into the streets and skyline.

Tucked into the mountains of central Italy, Lago di Scanno is the famous heart-shaped lake in Abruzzo that tends to pop up in travel photos without much explanation. Where is the heart-shaped lake in Italy?Sitting at around 930 metres above sea level, the heart-shaped lake in Italy is located i

When people think of Northern Italy, they picture Lake Como, Venice canals and Milanese fashion week.

Condé Nast Traveler rounded up 20 of the most beautiful small towns in Italy, the sort of places that tempt you to swap big-ticket cities for something slower and more atmospheric. We've pulled out six of the best small towns in Italy that capture very different sides of the country: Riviera po