✦ Complete Italy Travel Guide 2026

Things to Do
in Italy

Ancient Rome to Renaissance Florence, cliffside Positano to Chianti vineyards — three complete destination guides for Australia's most popular European journey.

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67M+
Visitors to Italy per year
58
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
2,000+
Years of Roman history
20
Distinct regions to explore
5,000+
km of coastline
1h 40m
Rome to Florence by train
Explore by Destination

Three Unmissable Italian Regions

Rome, Florence, and the Amalfi Coast form Italy's classic grand tour — ancient history, Renaissance art, and Mediterranean splendour, each within a few hours of the next.

The ancient Colosseum illuminated at dusk against a Roman sky — the Eternal City, Italy Start Here

Rome — La Città Eterna

Ancient Ruins · Vatican Art · Baroque Piazzas · Roman Food

Two thousand years of emperors, popes, and Renaissance masters have conspired to make Rome the world's greatest open-air museum. The Colosseum (completed 80 AD), the Vatican's Sistine Chapel (Michelangelo, 1512), the Pantheon (the world's best-preserved ancient building), and the Trevi Fountain are each monumental in their own right — and they're all within walking distance of each other. In the evenings, cross the Tiber into Trastevere for the authentic Rome that remains when the tour groups return to their hotels. Add the Borghese Gallery, underground Rome, and Rome's extraordinary pasta culture — cacio e pepe, carbonara, amatriciana — and you have a city that rewards a week but could absorb a month.

🏟️ Colosseum & Roman Forum 🎨 Vatican Sistine Chapel 🏛️ Pantheon 💦 Trevi Fountain at Dawn 🏺 Borghese Gallery 🌃 Trastevere Evenings
Full Rome Guide →
Brunelleschi's terracotta dome and the Florence skyline at sunrise over the Arno River, Tuscany Renaissance Capital

Florence & Tuscany

Renaissance Art · Chianti Wine · Medici Legacy · Bistecca

The birthplace of the Renaissance holds the world's greatest concentration of 15th and 16th-century art and architecture — the Uffizi Gallery (Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo), Brunelleschi's impossible dome, Michelangelo's David, and the Ponte Vecchio, all within a walkable historic centre. Beyond the city, Tuscany's rolling Chianti hills, cypress avenues, and wine estates await — 30 minutes south by car. The Medici family's fingerprints are on every building; 500 years of the greatest artistic patronage in human history made Florence what it is today.

🎨 Uffizi Gallery ⛪ Brunelleschi's Dome 🗿 Michelangelo's David 🍷 Chianti Wine Drive
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Colourful houses of Positano cascading down the cliffside to the turquoise Mediterranean, Amalfi Coast UNESCO Coastline

Amalfi Coast

Positano · Capri · Path of Gods · Limoncello

Fifty kilometres of UNESCO-listed coastline where dramatic limestone cliffs plunge into turquoise Mediterranean water, pastel-painted villages cling to terraced hillsides, and the world's most celebrated lemons grow on cliffside groves. Positano is Italy's most photographed village; Ravello's Villa Cimbrone has the finest coastal view in Europe; Capri's Blue Grotto is one of the world's great natural spectacles. Add the Path of the Gods hike, a private boat day, and a day trip to Pompeii — and you have Italy's most scenically spectacular region.

🎨 Positano 🔵 Capri Blue Grotto ⛰️ Path of the Gods 🏛️ Pompeii Day Trip
Full Amalfi Guide →
A beautifully set table at a traditional Italian trattoria with pasta, wine, and bread — la vita italiana
Why Italy

Italy — The World's Greatest Travel Destination

No country concentrates as much history, art, architecture, and food excellence into such varied and beautiful landscapes. With 58 UNESCO World Heritage Sites — more than any other nation on earth — Italy is simultaneously a living museum and one of the world's most deeply pleasurable places to eat, drink, and simply exist.

For Australian travellers making the long journey to Europe, Italy rewards the flight many times over. The classic grand tour — Rome (ancient civilisation), Florence (Renaissance), Amalfi Coast (Mediterranean dolce vita) — can be completed comfortably in 10–14 days and covers more cultural ground than most countries offer in a lifetime. The train network connects all three in hours; the food at every stop is extraordinary.

Planning Tip: The classic Australian Italy itinerary flies into Rome (3–4 nights), takes the Frecciarossa to Florence (3–4 nights with Chianti day trip), then transfers south to the Amalfi Coast (4–5 nights). Fly home from Naples. This single loop covers the headline sites, the best food, and the most beautiful scenery Italy has to offer — all in under two weeks.
  • Best months — April–June & September–October for ideal weather and manageable crowds
  • Getting around — Frecciarossa high-speed trains between cities; hire car for Amalfi & Tuscany
  • Book ahead — Vatican, Colosseum, Uffizi, Borghese Gallery all sell out weeks in advance
  • Food — each city has its own distinct cuisine; always order the local speciality
  • Language — Italian phrases earn instant warmth; English is widely spoken in tourist areas
Top Experiences

Best Things to Do in Italy

Our editors' selection of the finest experiences across Rome, Florence, and the Amalfi Coast.

Rome

Colosseum at Opening

Book the first timed entry (9 am) and walk the arena floor where gladiators stood 2,000 years ago — before the tour groups arrive. The underground hypogeum tour reveals the tunnels and mechanisms beneath the arena floor.

Rome

Vatican Private After-Hours

An after-hours private tour of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel — when the crowds have gone and the ceiling belongs to you — is the most extraordinary cultural experience Rome offers. Book through a specialist tour operator months ahead.

Rome

Cacio e Pepe in Testaccio

Rome's most beloved pasta — pecorino romano, black pepper, and tonnarelli — at Da Remo or Felice a Testaccio in the city's most authentic food neighbourhood. No cream. No parmesan. No substitutes. Order it, eat it, repeat for the rest of the trip.

Florence

Uffizi at Opening, Weekday

Book the 8 am Thursday slot at the Uffizi and arrive to Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera with barely another person in the room. The world's greatest Renaissance collection deserves this quiet reverence.

Florence

Chianti Private Vineyard Lunch

A half-day drive through Chianti Classico country — stopping at two estate wineries for guided cellar tours — ending with a long, wine-accompanied lunch at a hilltop estate. The via Chiantigiana between Florence and Siena is one of Italy's greatest drives.

Florence

Vasari Corridor Private Tour

Cosimo I's secret elevated walkway — built in 1565 over the Ponte Vecchio from the Palazzo Vecchio to the Pitti Palace — has reopened after restoration. One of Florence's most exclusive experiences, available only via private guided tour.

Amalfi Coast

Private Boat Day

Charter a traditional wooden gozzo with a local skipper — swimming in sea caves accessible only by water, stopping at Capri's Blue Grotto, anchoring for fresh seafood at a coastal restaurant. The definitive Amalfi experience.

Amalfi Coast

Path of the Gods Hike

Europe's most spectacular coastal walking trail — 8 km from Agerola to Nocelle, with breathtaking aerial views of Positano and the coast 600 m below. Start at 7:30 am, finish with a swim at Positano. One of Italy's truly great days out.

Amalfi Coast

Pompeii at Opening

Take the Circumvesuviana train from Sorrento and arrive at Pompeii gates at 9 am — the ancient city frozen in 79 AD, best seen in the quiet before tour buses flood the streets at 10. A guided tour transforms what you see from rubble into a living Roman city.

Rome

Underground Rome Tour

Beneath the visible city — the catacombs of the Appian Way, the four-layered Basilica di San Clemente (from a 1st-century Mithraic temple at the base to a medieval church at the top), and the Vatican Necropolis to St Peter's actual tomb. Book all in advance.

Florence

Borghese Gallery

Strictly 360 visitors per 2-hour session — Bernini's Apollo and Daphne and The Rape of Proserpina, plus a magnificent Caravaggio collection. Rome's most intimate and extraordinary museum. Book months ahead; it sells out weeks in advance.

Amalfi Coast

Ravello's Terrace of Infinity

Walk through Villa Cimbrone's extraordinary gardens to the Terrace of Infinity — a clifftop belvedere 350 m above the sea with a panorama across the entire Amalfi coastline. Wagner, Greta Garbo, and Winston Churchill all came for this view.

Suggested Itineraries

Italy Itinerary Ideas for Australian Travellers

From a first-time grand tour to a deep-dive food and art itinerary — every journey is built around the same high-speed train network.

4 Days

Rome in Depth

1
Colosseum + Roman Forum + Palatine Hill (morning)
2
Vatican Museums + Sistine Chapel + St Peter's Basilica
3
Pantheon + Trevi + Piazza Navona + Castel Sant'Angelo
4
Borghese Gallery (am) + Trastevere evening

Base: Historic centre or Trastevere. Fly in/out Rome Fiumicino (FCO). Book Borghese 3+ months ahead.

5 Days

Florence & Tuscany

1
Uffizi Gallery (early) + Ponte Vecchio + Oltrarno eve
2
Duomo dome climb + Accademia (David) + Medici Chapels
3
Chianti Classico drive + vineyard lunch + Siena
4
San Gimignano + Volterra + truffle lunch (autumn)
5
Vasari Corridor + Piazzale Michelangelo sunset

Base: Oltrarno or Centro Storico. Hire car for Day 3–4. TGV to Rome (1h 40m) or Amalfi Coast.

5 Days

Amalfi Coast & Capri

1
Arrive Sorrento — SS163 coastal drive to Positano
2
Amalfi Cathedral + Ravello Villa Cimbrone
3
Capri full day — Blue Grotto + Faraglioni + Monte Solaro
4
Path of the Gods hike (Agerola → Positano)
5
Pompeii + Herculaneum (Circumvesuviana from Sorrento)

Base: Positano or Sorrento. Fly out Naples (NAP). Book Blue Grotto + Path of Gods tickets in advance.

10 Days

The Classic Italy Grand Tour

1
Rome — 3 nights (Colosseum, Vatican, Pantheon, Trastevere)
2
Frecciarossa to Florence — 3 nights (Uffizi, Duomo, Chianti)
3
Train to Naples → transfer to Sorrento — 4 nights
4
Positano, Ravello, Capri, Path of the Gods, Pompeii
5
Fly home from Naples (NAP)

Fly in Rome CDG, fly out Naples NCE. Australia's most popular Italy itinerary. Book all attractions immediately.

14 Days

The Ultimate Italy Journey

1
Rome — 4 nights (full programme + Borghese + underground)
2
Florence — 4 nights (Uffizi, Accademia, Chianti, Vasari)
3
Siena + San Gimignano overnight (between cities)
4
Amalfi Coast — 5 nights (Positano base, Capri, Ravello, Pompeii)
5
Fly home Naples — the trip of a lifetime completed

Two weeks to experience Rome, Tuscany, and the Amalfi Coast with depth and leisure. The definitive Australia-to-Italy itinerary.

12 Days

Italy for Food & Art Lovers

1
Rome — 3 nights (Vatican + private food tour Testaccio)
2
Florence — 4 nights (Uffizi + Vasari + Chianti wine estate)
3
Amalfi — 4 nights (cooking class, lemon grove, Capri)
4
Naples 1 night — Mercato di Porta Nolana, pizza at Da Michele

Built around private museum access, cooking classes, and market visits. Best with a Cooee Tours specialist designing each experience.

Essential Italy Travel Information

🚆 Getting Around Italy

Italy's Frecciarossa high-speed trains are outstanding — Rome to Florence takes 1h 40 min; Rome to Naples 1h 10 min. Book Trenitalia in advance online for the best prices. For the Amalfi Coast and Tuscan countryside, hire a car from the nearest major station. The SITA bus and ferries serve the Amalfi Coast.

✈️ Flying from Australia

Most Australian flights connect through Dubai, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, or Doha to Rome Fiumicino (FCO). Total travel time is 22–24 hours. Consider flying into Rome and out of Naples (or vice versa) for a one-way loop that avoids backtracking. Direct-ish options via Etihad, Emirates, Qatar, Singapore Airlines.

📅 Best Time to Visit

April–June (spring) and September–October (autumn) are Italy's finest months — warm, manageable crowds, and full cultural programmes. Easter is spectacular in Rome but extremely crowded. August is peak heat (35°C+) and peak crowds. November–February is quiet and rewarding for art lovers with the lowest hotel rates of the year.

🎫 Book Everything in Advance

The Vatican Museums, Colosseum, Uffizi Gallery, Borghese Gallery, and Brunelleschi Dome climb all require advance timed-entry booking — and can sell out weeks ahead in peak season. Book as soon as your dates are confirmed. Same-day tickets for these sites are essentially unavailable from April to October.

💶 Budget & Money

Italy uses the Euro (€). Credit cards are accepted nearly universally in cities. Budget travellers can manage on €80–120/day (market lunches, pizza al taglio, budget accommodation). Mid-range is €150–250/day. Eating lunch rather than dinner at proper restaurants saves significantly — most offer a set lunch (menù del giorno) at a fraction of dinner prices.

🗣️ Language & Culture

Even basic Italian phrases (buongiorno, grazie, per favore) earn immediate warmth. English is widely spoken in Rome, Florence, and tourist areas. In smaller towns and trattorias, a translation app helps with menus. Dress modestly for churches (cover shoulders and knees) — this is observed everywhere and strictly enforced at the Vatican.

Cooee Tours

Ready to Experience Bella Italia?

Our Italy specialists design fully bespoke itineraries for Australian travellers — private Colosseum access at dawn, Uffizi tours before opening, Chianti vineyard lunches with winemakers, private boat charters on the Amalfi Coast, and seamless high-speed train connections between cities. Every detail handled. Every meal magnificent. Every moment yours.

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