48 Hours in Milan

Galleria Milan Italy

This is a city full of iconic must-sees, but there are also hidden gems and lesser-known spots just waiting to be discovered, says Amanda Robinson Photos by Amanda Robinson unless otherwise stated   Like all large metropolitan cities, Milan sets a busy pace. A centre for international business and at the cutting edge of haute […]

Making Tracks, Part 1: To Bologna

Train

Twenty years ago Rachael Martin arrived in Italy, exploring the country by rail and dreaming of rooms with a view. Twenty years, one Italian husband and two kids later, she still has the memories of those first voyages of discovery… Photos by Rachael Martin It started early one morning with a train, a train that […]

Matera travel guide

Matera landscape Basilicata

Sara Scarpa explores some of the best things to see and do – plus top places to eat and stay – in the atmospheric southern city of Matera in Basilicata Photos by Iain Reid What to see and do Discover Matera Underground at Ipogeo Materasum Book a guided tour at Ipogeo Materasum, an underground environment […]

48 Hours in Matera

Matera, Basilicata, Italy (sassi di Matera)

Sara Scarpa flies south to visit a unique town in Basilicata that lives in the imagination of all Italians… Photos by Iain Reid unless otherwise stated   Lots has been written about this mystical and historic town in the otherwise little-known and rarely visited region of Basilicata. Part grotto, part subterranean wonderland (it is known […]

Gastronomy in the Mountains

Speck in Dolomites Italy

Amanda Robinson on why the Alta Badia area of the Italian Dolomites is gaining a global reputation for its fine food and drink… Photos by Amanda Robinson Over the past few years, Alta Badia has been growing its culinary reputation and, in an area of just 15 square kilometres, there are now six sparkling Michelin […]

Walking the Dolomites

Trekking, Alta Badia, Dolomites

With wonderful locations, a warm welcome and delicious food, the Alta Badia mountains aren’t just for the winter, says Amanda Robinson Photos by Amanda Robinson unless otherwise stated Think of the Dolomites and what do you see? It usually conjures up a picture of snow-capped peaks twinkling in the sunlight, rustic mountain lodges, bustling cable […]

Exploring Italy’s Past

Piazza Duomo, Syracuse

Paul Beston, an experienced guide from Peter Sommer Travels, explains how an appreciation of the layers of Italy’s history adds an extra dimension to any Italian holiday Photos by iStock     There’s no such thing as an Italian tour. You can’t do justice to this magnificent country by reducing it to that homogenised prospect. […]

Florence: Home of Poets

casa guidi florence

Jane Keightley stays at atmospheric Casa Guidi, the Florence apartment that Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett called home Photos by Jane Keightley Ever since my first trip to Florence I had always wanted to look around Casa Guidi, the home of the poets Elizabeth Barrett Browning and her husband Robert. I was now getting the chance […]

Learning to Row in Venice

Venice rowing lesson Italy

Mark Nicholls visits Venice, where he goes beyond the usual tourist sites to take lessons in rowing like a real gondolier… Photos by Sharon Nicholls unless otherwise stated Nan McElroy is patiently attempting to teach me the technique. The words grip, twist, lunge, push and return are in the instructions, chanted like a coded mantra, but […]

Back to Life in Umbria

Trevi

We join Penny Wainwright to explore the tourist initiatives that are encouraging visitors back to Umbria, after the devastating earthquakes of 2016… Photos by Penny Wainwright and iStock After the serious earthquakes that hit central Italy in 2016, I was keen to see how the region was recovering from the devastation, so I jumped at the […]