Italy unusual places to visit

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

Toledo is considered a masterpiece of contemporary design and public art. Located on Line 1, in the heart of the city, it represents one of the most successful examples of the integration of urban infrastructure and cultural projects. It is not just a transportation hub, but a true tourist attraction.

If you’re planning a short Italian escape and want somewhere atmospheric, walkable and packed with culture, these five destinations deliver.

On the eastern edge of Rome, a little-known route links a medieval village, a castle connected to the notorious Barberini family, and the ancient Latin city that once rivalled early Rome. Part of the Unexpected Itineraries project, it brings together history, nature and architecture within just a few kilometres, all of which are reachable by metro and bus.

You step off the boat and notice what isn’t there. No streetlights waiting for dusk, no glare once the sun drops. On this small Italian island, evenings still end with a torch in hand, and the darkness lifts the Milky Way into sharp focus. Away from the busier Aeolian routes, the island rewards those willing to explore on foot or by boat, through pebble coves, clear seabeds and conservation projects rooted in the Mediterranean itself.

A triangular island in the middle of Lake Bolsena, crowned by a white dome rising above holm oaks and hiding a subterranean chamber linked to Dante, has reopened to visitors. This privately owned island in Italy is not simply a scenic lake excursion. At its core lies an underground chamber once associated with eternal punishment and later used as a prison for clerics accused of heresy.

Picture an island just a few paddle strokes from the beach, with water that changes from turquoise to blue, and a "ghost town" perched on top. Dino Island, off Praia a Mare, is one of the most surprising features of the Calabrian Tyrrhenian Sea: dark cliffs, luminous caves, and a seabed that re

Those arriving in Orbetello find a lagoon town with the open sea only a few steps away. This corner of Tuscany pairs long sandy beaches with rocky coves, backed by shady pine forests and lapped by remarkably clear water.

It looks like Mars, but it's Italy. In a country known for its hills, villages, and picture-perfect beaches, there are places that astound: monumental dunes, clay hills carved by water, barren expanses where the wind dictates its rules. In Italy, there are deserts, not in the climatic sense, but desert landscapes shaped by time, erosion, and history.

Among the most fascinating and ancient underground funerary complexes in the capital are undoubtedly the Catacombs of Priscilla.

Italy’s village heritage feels almost endless. There are medieval hilltop settlements, rugged hamlets clinging to rocky slopes, and graceful lowland towns shaped by centuries of rural life. Among them, a handful stand out for a rather unexpected reason: their layout forms a heart when seen from above.

On 5 April, during the prime-time broadcast of Il Kilimangiaro, the winner of Borgo dei Borghi 2026 was officially announced.

Some twentieth‑century neighbourhoods in Italy have surprisingly rich backstories, and the Village of the Newlyweds, or Villaggio degli Sposi in Bergamo, is one of them. Born as a post‑war workers’ village, it has grown into a quieter residential area with decent transport links and everyday services.

Northern Italy isn’t short of military history. Roman forts, Venetian defences, Austro-Hungarian strongholds.

Italy’s northern edge tapers off in a small Alpine settlement at the head of a narrow valley on the Austrian border.

Italy is home to one of the most welcoming cities in 2026, according to the latest Booking.com Traveller Review Awards.