First Trip to Italy, 5 Best Places In Italy To Visit

First Trip to Italy Suggestions and Tips

What would you like to see and experience of Italy? You have a wide choice, so wide that not even Italians know it all: the coasts, history, art, metropolis, mountains, islands, valleys, good air, wine, and it’s not finished. This is only the beginning.    

So here is a guide full of tips and recommendations for your first trip to Italy, where to go, what to see, and what are the best itineraries!

To visit Italy, at least as a first time visitor, you need orientation, so it is good to value the suggestions and advice of the locals.

You will find yourself in a naive country, with often different ways of doing and living, depending on the area. And these differences are also evident with regard to the period of your visit: warm season or winter season. 

Those who like to travel to visit museums, cosmopolitan cities, and places of art will enjoy the summer, when Italians flock to the beaches, leaving the cities traffic-free and less congested. 

Same for those who love the sea or summer mountains, avoid July and August, taking advantage of June or September to experience Italy’s beautiful nature fully and without footfall. 

Historic villages, in every part of the Peninsula, are constant tourist destinations, so recommending one period better than the other becomes more complicated, but August is always risky.

One useful thing: if you don’t know the language, don’t worry, the important thing is to be able to “gesticulate,” and a solution will always be found, because you are in the land of “Commedia dell’Arte.” In fact, today more and more Italians speak good English that will allow you to never have problems.

Planning Your First Trip to Italy 

Planning your first trip to Italy is not too tricky. The destinations are diverse, just relate the time you have with the things to see. 

Art Cities, such as Florence, Rome, Venice, Bologna, Naples, Palermo, require more days to visit and explore. Also because they involve travel from North to South, train schedules, or airplane schedules to be met. 

Of course, much is related to the type of trip you want to plan: solo or with family, with friends or with tour operator and guide.

You need to be inspired to travel in Italy, you need imagination, because you find the rest on the spot. Do you prefer an on-the-road trip or a cultural vacation, do you want to immerse yourself in nature and practice sports, or perhaps a custom-made honeymoon in Italy or a love vacation at the spa.

onsider it before you leave, the fulfillment will be unforgettable.

First Trip to Italy: Where to Go?

First trip to Italy, the question is where to go? Italy is all worth visiting, true, but there are destinations that have priority. If it is your first time there, you must visit Rome. The Italian capital is an open-air museum: the Colosseum is worth its reputation; at every corner it speaks of the farthest back history. 

Rome by itself is worth a week’s trip, but if you can’t, stay at least three days and then go to Venice. The city on the water, slow and romantic, without equal in the world. Getting around on gondolas is one of those experiences you will be glad you did.

Then, in a ranking where it is hard to take anything off the podium, you have to go through Tuscany: Pisa, Florence and Siena. The Leaning Tower deserves to be seen in its Piazza dei Miracoli, and the Duomo in Florence enchants anyone who lays eyes on it. Siena then is a historic town almost unchanged by time, yet ascended to the role of a modern city.

That only leaves out the islands, the Alps, the beaches, and countless cities of art. But a choice must be made, and these destinations are undoubtedly to be included in your first trip.

Best Itineraries for your First Trip to Italy

The destinations listed above for your first trip to Italy are itineraries that represent a first tour, although logistically it is not so easy. If you do not want to move too much up and down the Peninsula, then focus on the areas. If you visit Rome, move as far as Naples and the Amalfi Coast.

If you are aiming for Venice, go to Verona to see the Arena and then admire the Dolomites; if it is winter, Trento and the Christmas markets are worth seeing.

If you have chosen Tuscany, the entire hinterland is among the most beautiful in Italy. You can visit the Chianti areas and have wine tasting.

Do you want to set your sights on the sea? Your destination is Sicily, with the Valley of the Temples and cities like Syracuse, in the midst of Magna Graecia.

Which part of Italy should I visit?

Many people ask us which part of Italy should I discover

Assuming that giving precise directions is difficult because it depends on tastes, preferences and because the whole country is beautiful, the advice for those who do not know how to orient themselves is to focus on central Italy.

Keep Rome as a landmark: you will also reach Tuscany and Umbria easily.

5 Best Places In Italy To Visit On A First Trip

Choosing the 5 best places to visit in Italy on your first trip is not easy. Or rather, there are so many that there is no such issue, but making a ranking gets difficult. 

So let’s put aside Rome and Venice, which we have mentioned already. If you have seen these cities, here are 5 suitable destinations for your first trip:

1. Florence, Siena, and the wine routes in Chianti, with the spa areas of Bagno Vignoni and the medieval villages of Val d’Orcia
2. Palermo, Catania, Syracuse and Ragusa, Sicily and its multifaceted contaminations
3. Genoa and the Cinque Terre, on the Ligurian coast with Unesco heritage villages
4. Assisi and Umbria, in the footsteps of St. Francis, among spirituality, villages and beautiful scenery
5. Naples, the Amalfi Coast, Capri, Ischia and Procida (Capital of Culture 2022): a journey between land and sea, art and mystery, sun and passion

What Gifts to Bring from the First Trip to Italy?

Choosing which gifts to bring from your first trip to Italy means entering a world of good food, great wine but also lots of handicrafts.

These range from DOC wine, typical desserts and pastries (Panettone, Pan pepato, Ricciarelli, Sfogliatelle, etc.), extra virgin DOP olive oil, Parmigiano, Limoncello, Prosecco, handcrafted fashion accessories, white truffles, handmade pasta, balsamic vinegar, and much more.

For the more romantic, a jar of pink sand from Sardinia.

Custom Luxury Trips To Italy: Customize Your Itinerary and Travel Tailor-Made

The most demanding guests who always pay attention to details and comfort choose Custom Luxury Trips To Italy.

For those who want a custom-made first trip to Italy, like a dress, and in full luxury style, there is no shortage of possibilities and offerings. 

We at True Luxury Travels are a tour operator specialized in organizing extraordinary trips between food and wine, art and culture, nature and luxury, escorted by expert guides for unforgettable and bespoke vacation experiences.