7 Amazing Things I Loved About Italy

If you haven’t been to Italy, it’s probably on your Bucket List.  For my 15^th wedding anniversary last year, my husband and I finally booked a trip.  We went in April during early pre-tourist season, and it was cold and a bit dreary.  Nevertheless, it was absolutely fantastic.  Here are my first timer guide to Italy tips and highlights.

Booking an Italy Vacation Package

We booked an online package deal with TripMasters, which included 3 cities – Rome, Florence, and Venice.  It included flights, airport transfers, train transportation between cities, hotels, and breakfast.  It was a heckuva deal, and one I’d do again in a heartbeat.  No hiccups, and I trust them enough to book another trip with them next time.

Here are some highlights I loved about Italy, and some things I recommend including if you are considering a trip.

Oh my, Venice

I was so pleased with the variety we experienced at each of the three Italian cities we saw.  But Venice truly stole my heart.  There are no cars in Venice.  Only bicycles, pedestrians, and boats.

This results in what I felt was a strangely peaceful atmosphere, even in areas with crowds, and hustle and bustle.  Maybe it was just in contrast to the nerve-wracking, albeit fascinating scene of zooming cars in Rome, racing down impossibly narrow “roads”. (They seem more like paths, to me.)

And also, Venice is just so incredibly beautiful.

The architecture here is a little different than other parts of Italy.  It’s called “Venetian Gothic”, and it’s a mix of Byzantine and Islamic.  Being the Disney geek that I am, I loved seeing the REAL Doge’s Palace (the inspiration for part of Epcot’s Italy).

That water, though.  Breathtaking!  Please don’t go to Italy without seeing Venice.

Italian Breakfasts

Hooo-boy.  If you’re a coffee fan, Europe will ruin you.  Once you get back home, you’ll never be coffee-content again.  (Unless you get online immediately, and order a Nespresso machine like I did… it helps ease the pain.)

Now I don’t think of myself as a huge sausage and salami fan.  But the salamis and cured meats in Italy were so phenomenal, I had to adjust my policy on this.  Cold meat and cheese plates are often featured at breakfast, and were so delicious.

I never knew how savory a croissant could truly be.

It’s common in Italy for your hotel stay to include a continental breakfast.  It probably stands to reason, but the more you splurge on your hotel, the higher quality the offerings at breakfast are.  I noticed a difference, Rome by far being our most expensive stay but with the tastiest breakfast.  I will be more mindful of this when booking my next trip.

Hop On, Hop Off Tours

The “hop on, hop off” bus tours are a genius way to cover more ground, and save your walking legs.  There are multiple companies to choose from.  Each provide a map with similar routes, looping through all the most famous sights.

We did this in Rome and loved it.  It’s affordable, easy to navigate, and informative.  Headsets play tour narratives while you ride on the bus.

Tuscany and San Gimignano Village

We didn’t have our own transportation, and I couldn’t be in Florence without seeing Tuscany!  So I booked a group day tour to get us into the rolling hills and wine country.  It included a stop at a working farm for lunch.

But perhaps my favorite part was our visit to a small Tuscan village – San Gimignano.

Although they accommodate tourists and had a few kitschy gelato, leather, and painted ceramic shops for this purpose.… I highly enjoyed this glimpse into Italian village life.

Leaning Tower of Pisa

A bit of a cliché, right?  This was part of our Tuscany day trip out of Florence, or else I wouldn’t have bothered to see it.  But I’m so glad we did.

Plus, for an extra 3 Euros you can climb the winding (slanted!) interior stairs to the top.  You MUST do this at Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Never fear, claustrophobes.  There are windows all along the way, and natural light, so it does not feel scary or cramped in any way.  The views at the top were so fun.  And timing this at sunset made it even more spectacular.

Ancient Structures

One of the coolest parts about traveling to Europe is getting to see ancient structures which have survived for hundreds of years.  The architecture itself reflects so many fascinating stages in the history of the world.  For this, Rome is a must see.

Although we didn’t pay to tour the inside of the Colosseum, just walking around the exterior was an awesome experience.   At the time, I was taking an Art History course at a local university.  Much of the architecture and art of Italy was discussed, and it had impressed upon me what a stunning feat the building of the Colosseum was.  The arches used in it’s structure, the capacity, the durability (it’s still standing!), and the ability to allow 80,000 spectators to easily disperse within 10 minutes.  Amazing.

It was wasn’t my favorite, though…. you’ll have to check out My Favorite Thing in Rome for that.

Mind Blowing Renaissance Art

Behold, Michelangelo’s sculpture of David.

I’ve seen replicas of the statue of David in my lifetime.  But the actual masterpiece that Michelangelo worked on himself is stunning.  You have to buy tickets, and select a time just to get in to this small museum in Florence, the Accademia Gallery.  However, I highly recommend it.

I was torn on whether or not to go to the famous Uffizi Gallery.  It turned out that a rainy day helped make the decision for us.

Although I confess on our whirlwind tour of Florence, all the Renaissance Art started to blur together a bit in my mind, it was still a wonderful experience.

 

And if you only have time for one art museum in Florence, I recommend Pitti Palace.  I adored Pitti Palace because it combined seeing art, with touring extravagantly decorated palace rooms.  The grounds in back were closed due to the rains, but they looked just as majestic as the inside.

Italy is a Dream Destination

Yes, it’s true.  Italy is just as wonderful as the hype, people.  Try and go.  I want to go back and take my kids someday.

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