Best Cities to Visit in Italy
I recently visited Italy and had the privilege of visiting 5 cities! In my last blog post, I talked about my favorite restaurants from my trip but in this blog post I want to talk more about the cities and what I loved about each one! I will do this in the form of giving "awards" to each city, so pretty much awarding some broad travel categories to each place I visited. Keep reading to discover my personal city awards from my trip to Italy and reasons to visit all of the amazing cities that I did!
Best Sites - Rome
Italy is one of the most culturally rich countries in the world today with an unbelievable number of historical sites dating back thousands of years. While Florence has some unbelievable art sites and Naples has many underground city tours and nearby Pompeii, I think Rome undoubtedly has the best sites in Italy!
Rome, also known as The Eternal City, has existed for approximately 28 centuries. As such, it is no surprise that the capital of Italy is the country's richest city of sites, specifically historic sites. I had the pleasure of visiting the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and the Roman forum during my stay and this combination of sites alone makes Rome such a special city. The Colosseum is shockingly grand and exploring this area while learning about the history is an absolute must when you visit Rome. Honestly, I may have enjoyed the Palatine Hill and Roman forum even more than the Colosseum though! Seeing the remains of the palace on Palatine Hill and reading about it really helps you picture what this palace might have looked like and even then it is impossible to wrap your head around how massive and impressive these structure were. The Roman Forum is also so amazing because you really feel immersed in the ruins of ancient Rome.
The center of Rome is also scattered with many different sites. I got to see the iconic Trevi Fountain which is honestly far more impressive in person, the size and detail of the sculptures is truly incredible. There is also the Pantheon which isn't the most impressive in regards to the artwork on the inside but is one of the most impressive structures in existence architecturally, being the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world after almost 2000 years and having an open top. I also loved exploring the Spanish Steps, Porticus Octaviae and Tridente.
Rome also contains the Vatican City which is the smallest country in the world, home to the Pope and home to the largest church in the world, Saint Peter's Basilica. Going into Vatican City is a great experience but I didn't go into the museums or Saint Peter's Basilica because although I arrived at opening the lines seemed to be at least 6 hours long! This personally wasn't worth it for me but Rome in home to all four of the churches given the status of "major basilica" and I did get to visit one of them!
The major basilica that I visited is called Saint Paul Outside the Walls and while I am sure it doesn't compare to Saint Peter's Basilica I really enjoyed my visit! This is the tenth largest church in the world so it was very big and the artwork inside was very impressive. There is also some remnants and information about the original church, which was built over 1500 years ago, and the redevelopment which happened after a fire in the 1800s. Although this church isn't in the city center I highly recommend making the metro and bus ride down if you want to visit one of the largest churches in the world but don't want to wait for hours in line! In fact, when I visited there were virtually no tourists!
Most Walkable - Bologna
Bologna is a city that wasn't originally on my itinerary but I ended up spending two nights in this city and I am so happy that I did! This city is so beautiful and while I can't say that it was my favorite city in Italy I can say that I highly recommend everyone to visit this city, at least for one day!
Bologna is mostly famous for two things, both of which are things that I absolutely love, food and walking. Starting off with the food, I had heard prior to visiting Italy that Bologna is perhaps Italy's best food city. The region that Bologna is located in, Emilia Romagna, is home to parmigiano reggiano, balsamic vinegar, and famous cold cut meats like mortadella and prosciutto. This definitely made for some amazing food but I personally don't eat pork products and am not the biggest parmesan cheese lover so it wasn't my favorite food city but I completely understand why it is for others!
While Bologna didn't win the best food award it absolutely wins the award for most walkable city I visited during my trip. Every city I visited in Italy was quite walkable but there is a specific reason why Bologna wins this award and it is because of the famous porticoes of Bologna. These porticoes are so famous in fact that they are considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
For those of you who are not familiar with the term portico, it is pretty much a walkway in front of a building that is covered by a roof. The reason that the porticoes in Bologna are so famous is because they pretty much extend throughout the entire city, making Bologna the city with the longest stretch of porticoes in the world, totaling 38 kilometers in the medieval center alone! This is such an amazing concept to me and is reminiscent of my time in Japan where it is also quite common for walking streets to be covered. Even if it is raining or snowing the city remains incredibly walkable and for tourists who are worried about wheeling their luggage over cobblestone paths, the floors of the porticoes are very smooth.
There are also particularly iconic porticoes that extend through building complexes. This city planning concept alone makes Bologna worth visiting and makes exploring this city a truly captivating experience. Come to Bologna for the food but stay to explore the city through the beautiful network of porticoes!
Most Beautiful - Florence
After reading what I have to say about Bologna you may assume that it is also the most beautiful city I visited in Italy but it definitely gets slightly edged out by Florence. Florence was definitely the most beautiful city I visited during my trip, due to its combination of cute streets, stunning sites and unbelievable artwork.
Although the streets alone may not have been as beautiful as Bologna it is definitely a close second. Every street I turned on was lined with cute shops and amazing looking restaurants, many of which were independent and locally-owned. This continues both through the iconic Ponte Vecchio bridge, which is lined with jewellery stores, and across where you can find even more shops and restaurants including my favorite gelato shop from my time in Florence. These streets, in combination with the remarkable sites like the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, make for unparalleled beauty when exploring the city.
The aforementioned facts alone could already make this the most beautiful city I visited but another factor is definitely the artwork. Not only can you see shocking artwork while exploring the city like the statues in the Piazza della Signoria, but Florence is also home to two of the most famous art galleries in Italy, the Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia Gallery. I personally didn't have time to visit both galleries so I opted for the Accademia Gallery because I assumed the wait times would be shorter and I wanted to see the famous statue of David. I am honestly not the biggest fan of art galleries but the statue of David is undoubtedly the most amazing work of art that I have ever seen! The detail on something so grand is ridiculous and while the rest of the statues and artwork showcased in the museum are amazing I think just seeing David alone would make visiting the museum worth it!
If you love art and picturesque cities then Florence should be at the top of your bucket list. Not only is it the most beautiful city I visited in Italy, but it may be the most beautiful city I have visited in the world!
Best Food - Naples
I decided to save the best for last but it will probably come to no surprise that Naples was my favorite city for food in Italy. I have to assume that any Italian readers seeing this are rolling their eyes, thinking that the only reason I chose Naples is because of the pizza... and they are absolutely justified in their eye rolling. The pizza in Naples is just too darn good! There are other amazing foods though so let me try to defend my choice a bit more.
One of the first things that stood out to me was the presence of street food in Naples. I am a huge fan of street food so seeing an elevated presence of it in Naples was already a good sign for me. The two main things I really enjoyed snacking on while exploring the narrow alleyways of Naples were mini pizzas and fried seafood. Many vendors sell small pastries including these mini pizzas that I found to be the perfect snack between meals. Fried seafood is also quite common and I ended up having some of the best calamari I have ever had! Aside from calamari vendors also sell small fried fish, shellfish, and assorted fried seafood. I highly recommend this as a ridiculously good snack that comes in a generous portion!
In regards to the cafe and dessert culture in Naples, I really enjoyed everything except for the fact that Naples doesn't have the best gelato! I think this is because other desserts are more popular and the gelato scene seems to be dominated by three major gelato chains of which I tried two and both were pretty average. Otherwise, the best cappuccinos I had in Italy were undoubtedly in Naples and the famous sfogliatella is a delicious dessert that shouldn't be missed!
The star of the food show during my time in Naples was obviously the pizza though. In my previous blog post, I highlighted my three favorite pizza spots that I tried in Naples because they were pretty much all equally amazing. While those three spots stood out, the rest of the pizza I had was also great, it generally seems pretty hard to find anything below great pizza in Naples. Prior to visiting Naples I wasn't sure if Neapolitan-style pizza was my favorite in the world but after trying it at the source it just might be. Don't miss classic margherita, margherita with mushrooms, margherita with mushrooms and olives, and vegetarian pizzas while you are in Naples. Also make sure to try white sauce pizza, it is very common and although I personally like red sauce pizzas more these were also amazing! Overall, although the historic area of Naples isn't the prettiest area in Italy, it is undoubtedly one of the most lively, and the food is incredible!
Honorable Mention - Prato
I wanted to briefly mention a cute city I had the opportunity to visit as well that wasn't part of my main itinerary, Prato. This city is right beside Florence and is actually where I was staying while I was visiting Florence. The reason for this is that accommodation is significantly cheaper and it is only a 30 minute train ride away! For this reason alone I highly recommend staying in Prato while visiting Florence if you are a budget traveler and don't tend to stay out past ~11pm when the trains stop running.
I also took the chance to explore Prato one evening and I am so glad that I did! This small city has town vibes with a quaint center surrounding the local church that has a bunch of local restaurants. The whole city is nice to walk in and, to my shock, Prato has the largest Chinatown in Italy! Walking through the Chinatown was so cool because it was similar Italian architecture to the rest of the city but everything was written using Chinese characters. There also seems to be very little mixing between the Chinatown and the rest of the city socially, when I went I genuinely think I didn't see a single Italian person. Considering how distinctly Chinese this Chinatown felt, I would assume the food is amazing but sadly I didn't get to try any of the many restaurants. In general, although Prato obviously doesn't compare in touristic appeal to the other cities I have mentioned I still think it is a great base for visiting Florence and worth checking out if you have some extra time!
Best Cities to Visit in Italy
Italy is such an amazing destination for travelers and there are so many incredible cities to visit. I had the opportunity to go to four of the most famous cities, each of which I loved, and I can't wait to go back and visit Venice, Turin, Sicily, the Amalfi Coast, etc. I think for a first visit to Italy I am very satisfied with my itinerary and would highly recommend visiting the same cities I did for anyone who is going to Italy for the first time!
I hope you all gained some insight into some of the amazing aspects of these cities and enjoyed this post! Even though I picked favorites for each of these categories no decision was easy, each of these cities truly excels in every category! If you are looking for more Italy content make sure to checkout my food tours on YouTube and my other social media. Also make sure to checkout my other blog posts for more foodie content!
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