When asked where I most want to go on holiday my first answer is always ‘Italy’ and, really, I’d just like to live there all year round. To me, Italy is the most majestic country in the world and there isn’t one area of it that I’m not completely in love with, and I haven’t even seen everything it has to offer yet! I’ve been to Italy four times already and have a fifth visit lined up for the summer – you really do need that many trips if you want to take everything in at your own pace. If you want to see a range of sights in one or two visits though, here are five of Italy’s best sightseeing attractions, in my opinion:
1) The Colosseum
I love history, especially anything to do with the Roman’s, so I guess that explains why I love Rome so much. Roman architecture is out of this world and there’s no better example of it than the Colosseum, which is the largest amphitheatre ever constructed by the Romans. It’s in the centre of Rome and dates from 80 AD and, although it’s in ruins nowadays, it still makes for an astonishing sight that should be first on your list of things to do in Italy.
2) The Amalfi Coast
While technically not an attraction, I think this tourist hotspot is one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in the entire world. It’s located on the southern shores of the Sorrentine Peninsula and if you really want to see why it’s so popular you should go down the Amalfi Drive, a road that runs between the towns of Sorrento and Amalfi. Its views stretch right across the deep blue Tyrrhenian Sea and are absolutely breath-taking.
3) Pompeii
Most people will remember Pompeii from history and geography lessons in school – it’s the town that was partially buried when the mighty Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. The town was left undiscovered for almost 1,700 years – it was accidentally stumbled upon in 1749. Nowadays Pompeii is a huge tourist destination, with tourists being able to walk up ann down the rediscovered Roman streets and step into the ruined Roman houses.
4) The Leaning Tower of Pisa
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a bell tower that’s located behind Pisa’s cathedral and is one of the city’s biggest attractions. The reason for its lean is that, when it was started in 1173, the foundations were weaker on one side than the other. Because Pisa was constantly in battle it took nearly 200 years for the bell tower to be completed, by which time the weak soil it had been originally built on had settled, so despite the fact that it has a substantial tilt to it the tower is completely secure.
5) Lake Garda
This one’s a personal favourite of mine – I’ll be visiting this beautiful Italian location this summer. Lake Garda is the biggest lake in the whole of Italy and is surrounded by stunning scenery. It’s got an excellent climate, making it nice and warm throughout the year, and there’s more than enough to do. I’m classing it as a sightseeing attraction just because it’s so beautiful that you could easily spend your entire holiday sitting by the lake and enjoying the glorious views.
What do you think the best sightseeing attractions in Italy are?
Liz is a travel representative, specialising in escorted tours. In her spare time she enjoys writing about her travel experiences and contributes to various sites across the web.