Irresistible Italy

Do you know that Italy has 58 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, more than any other country in the world?! In simple terms, I translate this as: “Italy is a brilliant country to visit with a long list of impressive things to see and do.” I can personally confirm this to be the case; having holidayed in Italy six times, I 1) absolutely love the country and 2) feel like I have barely scratched the surface. There are still so many flavours of gelato to try! Which is why, if you were to ask me ‘what are the highlights of Italy?’, I would suggest you have a large glass of chianti to hand and are sitting comfortably. A highlight is defined as: “the best or most exciting, entertaining, or interesting part of something” by the Cambridge Dictionary. The conundrum is, that when there are so many highlights to choose from, and great variety in what they offer, where do you start? The answer of course is subjective; the place that I find the most exciting in Italy may not interest the person sitting next to me quite as much. As a Travel Counsellor it is my (very enjoyable) responsibility to ask the right questions and work out what interests my customers the most, so I can send them to visit what will be their highlights of Italy. What I recommend will depend on their interests, and how long they have to explore. A long weekend for example allows for a fabulous city break. You could: - Snuggle up in a gondola on a Venetian canal, - admire the works of the great Renaissance artists in the galleries of Florence, - or gorge yourself senseless on local delights in the Food Capital of Italy, Bologna. My favourite city break is Rome; here the phrase ‘you cannot escape the past’ takes on a completely different meaning! I find it jaw-dropping – crumbling columns next to stylish shops, trendy bars in ancient piazzas, timeless iconic monuments such as the Colosseum, St Peter’s Basilica and the Pantheon. It is an immersive 4D history lesson ready to transport you back in time, and you don’t have to be a historian to appreciate it. There are also many areas of natural beauty that you could reach on a short break in Italy: - Hike along a coastal path between the colourful and charming fishing villages of the Cinque Terre, - breathe in the fresh mountain air on the ski slopes of the Italian Alps, - or breathe in the sulphurous air under the shadow of oft-angry volcano Mount Etna. My favourite area for stunning scenery (in fact, my favourite destination in Italy full stop), is the Amalfi Coast. When I travel, I want to be wowed by the natural beauty of our world, if only for a few moments while my children are silenced by ice cream. That is my motivation to travel. The breathtaking panoramic views from Villa Cimbrone in Ravello are extremely hard to beat. It is a magical setting with staggering cliff tops overlooking sparkling azure waters, the mighty peak of Vesuvius looming in the distance. Of course, with a longer period of time to explore, the world is your lobster! Italy lends itself perfectly to a touring holiday, with so much to see and relatively short journeys in between. Train travel in Italy is wonderfully easy and reliable, and I love using this method of travel to create two or three centre holidays. Still, this only scratches the surface and limits you somewhat to those destinations with good rail networks. What if you want to experience even more in one visit?! How can you do this? Luckily Travel Counsellors’ trusted travel partners Travelsphere and Just You have the perfect solution to this rather pleasant-to-have dilemma. With Italy as their top-selling destination, they have a lovely selection of eight-to-fifteen-day group tours, some exploring a region in detail, such as the ‘Secret Lakes of Italy’, others packing in a variety of bucket-list sights, such as the ‘Grand Tour of Italy’. The latter takes you all the way from Venice down the toe of the boot and over to Sicily; you would visit more destinations in that one tour than I have in all of my holidays to Italy! Travelsphere (couples, friends, groups and solo travellers) and Just You (solo travellers) cater to those seeking the camaraderie of like-minded travellers wishing to see the highlights of a destination, with authentic experiences and local flavours added to enhance the experience. A ‘Holiday Director’ greets guests at their UK departure airport and introduces them to the rest of the group, keeping everyone well-informed and organised throughout the entirety of their trip. Included excursions feature local specialist guides (to help you make sense of all that history, architecture and art!), but free time and optional activities are built in to give guests choices according to their own preferences. Accommodation is selected with local charm and character in mind, so that you never lose the sense of where you are. It’s a low effort/high reward kind of holiday! Choose an area you want to explore, meet up with a group of soon-to-be friends that share the same interest, and let someone else take care of the rest. Before you know it, you’ll be raising a limoncello and toasting… “what have the Romans ever done for us?!” I’m here to help find the perfect holiday for you – if you’d like to hear more about Italy, or the escorted touring holidays that Travelsphere and Just You can provide, please do get in touch. And have that chianti ready!