Italy
A land of contrast and diverse experiences
Italy is a destination of contrasts and a moveable feast of diverse experiences. Just about everyone who travels to Italy falls in love with it. It offers a diversity that would suit every visitor from incredible cuisine, astonishing art and the latest in fashion.
Italy is located on the southern part of the European continent with the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italian travel conjures up cities that remain in anyone’s memory from Rome with its Imperial past, Milan a fashion capital and a commercial centre, to Florence and Venice which are virtual outdoor museums, Italy has something for everyone.
Travelling to Italy is not just about visiting cities, it is also about discovering its incredible regions. Tuscany with its hilly terrain and outstanding natural scenery, where one can hire a villa and experience semi rural Italian lifestyle shopping in the local markets and sipping wine in a beautiful sunny vineyard. Campania has its stunning coastline of the Amalfi coast featuring the city of Naples and the enchanting islands of Capri and Ischia and to its mountainous terrain of the hinterland.
Italy has so much to offer travellers, think of pizza, pasta, Chianti, Parmegiano, romantic cities, sunshine, mountains, misty lakes, roman ruins and renaissance palaces, one can spend weeks at this destination and it will never cease to stimulate your senses.
We at Concierge Traveller know Italian travel like no other with tens of years of experience of booking Italy travel. From Italian villas in Tuscany and other regions, driving tours throughout Italy, small group tours to culinary experiences sure to meet the taste of every discerning traveller.
Florence
Travelling to Florence the capital of Tuscany is a must for any art lover. Florence is the Renaissance capital of the world, Europe's richest cultural period, began in Florence when the artist Brunelleschi finished the Duomo, with the huge dome.
When you travel to Florence, it demands a visit to its most famous museum, the Uffizi which houses works by Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Titian and Rubens. Other great art museums include the Pitti Palace, Galleria dell'Accademia and famous churches including the Duomo of Florence, San Lorenzo and Santa Maria Novella.
The Chianti area, between Florence and Siena, certainly one of the most beautiful destinations to travel to in Italy, is famous for its wine production. Tuscany is also famous for its crafts including jewellery, embroidery, footwear, leatherwear, ceramics and wrought-iron. Shopping in Florence would delight any shopaholic but would also appeal to most with its meandering markets and grand designer shops.
A Villa in Tuscany is an ideal base for touring Florence and the surrounding region. Concierge Traveller has a range of Tuscany Villas available to suit any budget.
WHEN TO TRAVEL to Florence
Early autumn, September/October when the countryside glows with mellow fruitfulness, is the best time to visit, avoiding the heat and the queues and capitalising on the soft light, empty streets and the abundance of wild mushrooms and just-pressed olive oil.
Low season is April to June when prices are lower and there are fewer tourists and early winter (December) is also less busy.
Peak and busiest season is July-August.
Rome
Modern and ancient, the city of Rome encapsulates the essence of Italy. Once known as Caput Mundi – the Capital of the World – travel to Rome, is like an epic with its architectural wonders, outside cafes, people buzzing around on Vespas, whilst others are enjoying shots of espresso.
Centro Storico (Historic Centre) is a labyrinth of narrow, winding, cobbled side streets that opens out onto magnificent piazzas presided over by baroque churches, regal palaces and exquisite fountains. Rome is also famous for the romantic Piazza Navona with Berninis Fountain of the Four Rivers, Piazza di Spagna and its sweeping Spanish Steps, and the Trevi Fountain immortalised by Fellini’s La Dolce Vita (1959), all lie within walking distance of each other.
Travelling to Rome one must journey across the river, to the west, to visit the Vatican State - home to the Pope and spiritual centre of the Roman Catholic Church with its incredible Cathedral. South of the Vatican, one finds the bohemian quarter of Trastevere, packed with trattorie and small wine bars. Further south still is the Testaccio district, renowned for nightclubs and live music.
WHEN TO TRAVEL to Rome
The best time to visit this destination is in autumn (September/October) or spring (April/May) when the city is blessed with a warm Mediterranean climate.
In August, it is hot and sticky and most of the locals head for the coast - many shops and bars close for the summer break and the streets are strangely empty save for visitors.
Special Package - Rome Accommodation
Venice
One of the world’s most thoroughly unique destinations, quite simply, La Serenissima (The Divine Republic)-Venice, is unlike anywhere else on the planet, with attractions that include a collage of 116 islands connected by 409 bridges, where everyone, including postmen and the police, go by boat.
When travelling to Venice one finds themselves immersed in history and when visitors ease through the morning mists, on empty canals with grandiose buildings rising up on all sides, it is easy to slip back through the centuries, to the time of the Doges – the omnipotent rulers, whose influence spread well beyond the Venetian Lagoon.
Away from the main tourist crowd, another Venice appears, with narrow canals, women hanging out their washing and small osterias (bars) where locals, outnumber tourists.
The beauty of this unique destination emerges through quintessential Venice attractions, such as getting off a vaporetto at a random stop and ambling down a deserted canal, looking for a trattoria, or bouncing across the Venetian Lagoon after a freshly mixed Bellini at Harry’s Bar, en route to dinner at the Hotel Cipriani.
WHEN TO TRAVEL to Venice
It’s high season for most of the year and busiest in spring (March-June) and Autumn (Sept-Oct). Accommodation can be hard to find during this time, and at Christmas, New Year and Carnevale (February).
The most pleasant time of year to visit is late March into May, with clear spring days and comparatively fewer crowds.
