Siena with its high walls and large Piazza is a favorite of many travelers to Italy. If Rome is associated with the Roman Empire and Florence with the Renaissance with Siena it is the Middle Ages.

Free of all the famous art you find in Florence, Siena is a place where you can relax and not feel guilty about doing nothing but enjoying the atmosphere.  Traffic is not allowed inside the walls of Siena so pedestrians rule. You can walk aimlessly through the streets and around the Piazza without having to dodge cars and Vespa's.

Siena is famous for the Palio an event straight out of the Middle Ages. Every year on July 2 and August 16 Siena hosts a horse race that takes place in the Piazza del Campo. Dressed in the brightly colored silks of the different neighborhoods, jockeys riding bareback race horses in circles around the Piazza. The Palio is a celebration full of pageantry that takes place over several days. The competition is intense and emotions run high creating an air of excitement throughout the area.

What to see in Siena:

Most places you visit in Italy transport you back in time to Ancient Rome or the Renaissance. In Portofino, you will feel like you have gone back to the 1950’s and 60’s. That is when Portofino became popular with jet setting celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Ingrid Bergman, Ernest Hemingway, Frank Sinatra, Brigitte Bardot and on and on. The rich and famous would arrive by yacht and spend their time lounging around luxury hotels and private villas. It was a place to see and be seen.

It is no wonder Portofino attracts masses of wealthy people it is beautiful and there are a lot of people there with cameras. Sitting on a small promontory, surrounded by water Portofino is irresistibly photogenic. The small, colorful harbor is crowded with yachts and sailboats, large and small.

The things to do in Portofino are walk and people watch. The best walk is up the steps that lead from the port to the church of San Giorgio. From San Giorgio you will get a beautiful view of the harbor and bay. If you are up to it, you can continue up the path to the Portofino Lighthouse where you will get an even better view.

Lucca, Italy is a town of narrow streets, small shops, family owned restaurants and friendly people. In other words it is like most of the small towns you find in Tuscany. What makes Lucca unique is that it is surrounded by walls that have paths you can walk on and it has a tower with trees growing on top. It can be almost as confusing to find your way through the winding streets of Lucca as it is in Venice. In Lucca, rather than heading toward a canal you go towards the walls.

Most of the streets in Lucca are now open only to pedestrian traffic. You can stroll the streets and window shop in the many stores some with names you know while others are small family owned shops.

If you are looking for a day trip from Florence, Lucca is a great option. Since Lucca is on the way to Pisa if you are pressed for time you could spend the morning in Pisa and the afternoon in Lucca. If you prefer to stay in Lucca, there are a number of nice hotels both inside the walls and out.

Bella Bellagio! Every time to you tell someone who has been to Bellagio that you are planning a trip there they will sigh and say ahhhh, bella Bellagio. And it is true. Bellagio is beautiful.

Lake Como is dotted with small towns that sit right at the base of the mountains on the lake. All are worth a visit but none are more beautiful than Bellagio. Bellagio sits at the fork in the lake where the western and eastern arms of the lake split giving the town views of both sides of the lake.

It is tempting to spend your time on the busier side of Bellagio that has the stores and restaurants overlooking the docks and boats. But you should wander up to the top of the town and take one of the paths that lead over to the back arm of the lake which is a little quieter and more peaceful. You can sit on one of the benches and enjoy the view of the lake and small harbor that is full of pleasure boats. The Hotel Belvedere has a restaurant where you can sit outside and look over this side of the lake without having to do much hiking (though you do have to hike up to the hotel).

Umbria is fast becoming a tourist destination for travelers wary of the crowds in Tuscany. Umbria is populated with many small medieval hill towns as well as the lively university town of Perugia, the capital of the region. Known as the “Green Heart of Italy” because of its green, rolling hills Umbria is one of the most pleasant places to visit in Italy. In Umbria you can enjoy both the exciting nightlife of Perugia and the quiet of an agritourism vacation.

Here are the best places to visit on your trip to Umbria:

Perugia – With a population of about 150,000 Perugia is the largest city in Umbria. Perugia was settled by the Etruscans in the 5th century which qualifies it as old. Today Perugia is young, cosmopolitan and artsy. It is home to both the University for Foreigners and the Umbria Jazz festival.  Piazza IV Novembre is the heart and soul of Perugia. This large open piazza is where locals and tourists congregate at all hours of the day and night. The Piazza is home to both the impressive Palazzo dei Priori and the beautiful Fontana Maggiore. Perugia is also home to the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria, considered the most important art museum in Umbria and a beautiful Duomo dedicated to San Lorenzo.

Beautiful and wild Sardinia is unlike anywhere else in Italy. In Sardinia you can stay in 5 star resorts complete with golf courses and tennis courts as well as rustic accommodations on a rural farm. Want to party the night away with the jet set crowd? Then head to Flavio Briatore’s Billionare or the Lord Nelson Pub. Not all the wildlife is in the clubs, if seeing soaring eagles is more your thing then go to Gennargentu National Park.

Sardinia has more outdoor opportunities than just about anywhere else in Italy. Whether your preference is hiking, boating, surfing, kayaking or horseback riding you will find it here. Sardinia is home to parks, nature preserves and UNESCO Heritage Sites all with their own unique fauna, birds, animal’s, and marine life.

Here are just some of the areas highlights:

The Amalfi Coast (Costiera Amalfitana) is a stretch of coastline that goes from Sorrento to Salerno. Packed with wealthy tourists in the summer it becomes an affordable and relaxing retreat in the spring and fall. Blessed with the natural beauty of mountains, cliffs and the sea, the Amalfi Coast is one of the most beautiful places in Europe. The Amalfi Coast is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site.

The Towns of the Amalfi Coast:

Sorrento – Sorrento sits high on the cliffs overlooking the bays of Naples and Salerno. Walking the streets in the summer you will feel like you have walked in the summer version of carnevale. Don’t even think about driving here in the summer, traffic is horrendous. Making matters worse there are no traffic lights in the center of the city.

Positano – Positano is considered the most picturesque of all the towns and is the one most of us are familiar with from pictures and posters. The brightly colored houses of Positano cling to cliffs looking like they are going to tumble into the brilliant turquoise sea at any moment. Positano is known for its beautiful beaches (composed of both sand and pebbles), expensive shops, chic tourists and the number of steps you are likely to have to climb to get anywhere.

Why go to the Lake District of Italy? First and foremost the lakes are beautiful, second they are relaxing and after touring around Italy you will need a rest and third George Clooney could live anywhere in the world and has settled on Lake Como which says something about the place.

The largest and most popular lakes of the northern Italian Lake District are Como, Maggiore and Garda. Lakes Como and Maggiore are close to each other and close to Milan. Garda is further east on the border of Lombardy and the Veneto. Personally, like George, I prefer Lake Como. It is beautiful, peaceful and easy to get to from Milan.

Whether you make one of the lakes your first stop in Italy to recover from a long flight, in the middle of your trip as a break from your touring or at the end so you can go home with one of the most beautiful views in the world etched in your brain, just make sure you make one of them a stop on your trip.

How to choose which lake to visit? If you can’t visit them all, then look at what they offer, where they are and make your decision.

The Cinque Terre, the five villages on the Ligurian coast in western Italy, is a hikers paradise. The five villages of the Cinque Terre are linked together by a series of hiking trails all. The main trails range from very easy to very difficult. Additional hiking trails veer off from the main trails wandering up steep hills and through vineyards. The villages, trails and beaches are all beautiful, not just a hikers paradise but a photographers as well.

All of the main trails offer spectacular views of the Mediterranean Sea. With the exception of the trail linking Vernazza and Corneglia which leads away from the water the paths take you along cliffs high above the Sea.On a sunny day the colors are mesmerizing

On the trail from Monterossa al Mare to Vernazza you will hike through vineyards, over stone walls and along the Mediterranean Sea. The trails that run from Monterossa to Vernazza and Vernazza to Corniglia are the most difficult of the four trails. You will need a light weight hiking boot or hiking tennis shoe to make the trip comfortably. There are few handrails and the trail can be narrow in places so you need to bring a walking stick if you have balance problems. If you do not feel that you can walk the whole trail you can walk part of it and enjoy the view. You may encounter bees, bugs and birds so be prepared with an antihistamine (like Benadryl), bug spray and your binoculars.

Tourists visiting Italy often fly into and out of Milan. The big question is do you stay in Milan overnight or do you head straight for the train to Venice?

Milan gets a lot of bad press and not without reason – the traffic and pollution can be terrible, there is no historic center like you find in Florence and Rome and the city does not have the unique appeal of Venice. Milan is where money is made and most people do not want to think about that while they are on vacation.

Still…….there are a few reasons to spend at least a day in Milan at one end of your trip or the other.

1.Walk the Roof of the Duomo: Every city and many small towns in Italy have beautiful cathedrals and Milan is no exception. What is unique about the Duomo in Milan is that you can walk along the roof. The cathedral brings to mind a sandcastle so you walk among spires and around statues. You can also sit and look out over the city.

You will want to take a digital camera on your vacation to Italy. Digital cameras let you take as many pictures as you want, providing you have the memory. The great thing is you only have to keep the pictures you like. No more waiting until you get home to learn which pictures are worth saving.

Most of the pictures on this site were taken with a Canon PowerShot S410 Digital Elph with 4.0 mega pixels. I have been very happy with this camera. My camera has been thrown in suitcases, backpacks and pockets and still keeps working. I keep it in a camera case to try and lessen the wear and tear that comes with traveling.

Most people visit Pisa Italy to see the Leaning Tower. If that is your only reason for going to Pisa there is no need to stay in the city, you can make it a day trip from Florence.

In Pisa Italy, you will be in awe of the beauty of the three medieval buildings that make up the Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles): the Baptistery, Duomo and Tower (the campanile). The tower was begun in 1173 on a sandy silt soil and started to lean before the third level was finished in 1274. The Baptistery is the largest in Italy and is known for its incredible acoustics.

Galileo studied at the University of Pisa where he was a student of motion and gravity. Legend has it that he conducted experiments on gravity by dropping items from the Leaning Tower. The University is still there and is the center of activity in the city. Today, the University is known for its computer science department.

Everyone who goes to Italy wants to visit Florence and they should. It is a beautiful city full of art, history and great food.

Most travelers allow several days for a visit to Florence Italy. But there is no need to spend all of your time in one city. There are a number of places that are an easy day trip from Florence. By using Florence as your home base you don't have to keep repacking your bags and moving to different hotels in order to see more of Italy.

The Italian trains go just about everywhere so with a little planning you can see Florence and one or two typical towns in Tuscany and Umbria.

Lucca Italy is an easy day trip from Florence Italy. It is an old city founded a couple of hundred years BC. The Piazza dell'Antifeatro is what survives of the ancient Roman amphitheater. Imagine what the city was like when amphitheaters were still used for sport and gladiators walked through the arches to meet their fate. Today the amphitheater has a number of cute shops and reasonably priced outdoor cafe's.