Venice

Venice is one of the premier destinations in the world but is also known for a lot of mediocre restaurants, especially in the touristy areas. But there are a few exceptional gems and most are hidden in out of the way side alleys.

Good family run restaurant away from the tourist crowds (recommended by person on Vienna wine tour in 2025): Restaurante al Covo, Campiello de la Pescaria, 3968.

Among the best is Ostaria Alle Testiere. A very small restaurant with a small staff. Head chef Bruno Gavangnin changes the menu every day! He goes to the market in the morning to select the freshest ingredients with which to create that day's menu. (Reservation are accepted only online via DishCult and requires a Prenota Ora account. Also only reservations of 2 or more people are accepted.)

There is a great video from the BBC series Remarkable Places to Eat hosted by chef Fred Sirieix.

But one of the most touristy places (right on St. Mark's Square) is also one of the best places to eat. Caffè Florian has been serving great coffee and desserts since 1720. Their pastries are considered to be among the best in Europe. You will pay a ridiculously high price, but as a special treat you will relish the atmosphere of the old world elegant service and the million dollar view. 

Food & Drink

Look at Fred Plotkin's Italy for the Gourmet Traveler as heard on Rick Steve's podcast.

The best ice cream in the world is found in Noto, Sicily.

Roman Museums

Galleria Borghese - many works by Bernini, Caravaggio, Rubins, Raphael & Titian. (Wikipedia)

Villa Farnesina - an exquisite mansion of a wealthy Roman. View the house interior (including frescos by Raphael), the extensive painting collection, and the formal gardens. Via della Lungara 230. Open M-S 9:00-14:00. Second Sunday of the month 9:00-17:00.

Vatican Museum - Pieta, Laocoön, Bernini, Raphael (especially, the School of Athens), Sistine Chapel, mosaic painting, Greek & Roman statuary, and much, much more. (Wikipedia)

From a good article on when to visit the Vatican Museum:

"As the most popular tourist site in Rome, there’s never really a quiet time to visit the Vatican. To bypass the heaviest crowds, avoid weekends and school holidays and choose the winter months over summer (though do stay away over Christmas). Unless you’re here to see the Pope, steer clear of Wednesdays, when he gives a papal audience. Tour buses tend to descend in the mornings, so pick an afternoon for an independent visit. A great option if you’re here between April and October is to book a guided after-hours tour — it’s more expensive than visiting during the day, but tickets are limited and thinner crowds are therefore guaranteed.

It’s deliberately poorly advertised, but the Vatican Museums also welcome locals — Roman residents like to visit on uncrowded Friday evenings, when live music, drinks and nibbles accompany the stunning artworks. Between May and October (except August when it’s high season) the most popular galleries in the Museums — the Raphael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel — open for limited numbers who pre-book entry tickets. These nights are also the only time you can get into the normally shut St Pius V rooms — filled with medieval and Renaissance ceramics and miniature mosaics — unless you take a private tour. Looking for a freebie? The museums are closed on Sundays, but the last Sunday of every month from 9am to 12.30pm has free entrance."

Designed by Michaelangelo, the Capitoline Museum is superb. The location of the famous equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, and dozens of antiquarian statuary. (Wikipedia)

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Villa Farnesina, Via della Lungara 230

Rome

One of the greatest cities in the world demands great attention.

Must sees are: the Pantheon, St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City and the Vatican Museum, the Forum, the Colosseum, Trajan's Column, the Trevi Fountain, the Victor Emmanuel II monument, and the Spanish Steps.
Also worth seeing are the Piazza Navona, the great public park Galleria & Villa Borghese, the Priorato di Malta (Aventine Keyhole) and the neighbourhood of Trastevere.
It would also be interesting to visit the Via Appia (or Appian Way), the great ancient road leading out of the city.

Restaurants:
A great restaurant recommended by Jonathan Myles-Lea (architectural painter) called La Campana, Vicolo della Campana 18 (also noted as the oldest restaurant in Rome). He particularly recommended the fried artichoke as the "best ever". (It is a 7 minute walk from the Pantheon.)

A great view, and good food and drinks at Terrazza Les Étoiles in the Atlante Star Hotel, Via dei Bastioni, 1, Rome

Accommodations:

In 2025, I stayed at the Hotel Villa San Pio, Via Santa Melania 19 in the Aventine district. Such a quiet stay away from central Rome yet near a metro stop (Piramide). They have a good breakfast buffet, and there are good restaurants nearby and not touristy. Also, a 10 minute walk to Circo Massimo (Circus Maximus) metro station, Line B (blue). (€200 per night. I booked well in advance.)

Hotel Villa San Pio

Spectacular Apartments, Rome (recommended by Sam of Australia, whom I met in Ypres)

From a Youtube video, an interesting hotel is a converted convent is the quieter Trastevere neighbourhood of Rome. Donna Camilla Savelli Luxury Hotel which has a cloister garden and exquisite chapel inside. Approximately $630 per night. 

Recommendations by contributors to Rick Steves' blog:

For stays in the heart of Rome try Hotel Smeraldo, Via dei Chiavari 20, near the Pantheon, though one guest recommended ear plugs for the street noise. (€170)

Also recommended are Hotel Palazzo Navona, Largo della Sapienza 8 (€140); and Hotel Golden, Via Marche 84, a family run B&B (€120).

Also check out Hotel Lancelot, Via Capo D'Africa 47 (€120); and Hotel Raffello, Via Urbana 3 (€110).

Partial public transportation map with attractions indicated:

Metro, Tram and Regional Railway maps (source):

Metro map - simplified

Central Rome Metro & Trams

Rome Tram map

Individual Metro Line Stops

Line A

Line B

Line C

Rick Steves has a good video on the highlights and some tourist tips. He also has lots of audio walking tours of different areas of Rome (and many places throughout Europe). Just load the app on your phone or tablet and download. Play the audio through earbuds and walk away! The app even includes maps. Rick recommends Francesca Caruso as a private guide for anywhere in Rome.

Pantheon audio tour showing map

More information on touring Rome can be found here.

Rick Steves off the beaten track

In one of Rick's videos he looked at a few great small towns in Itally.

He suggests visiting the area around Volterra, south-west of Florence—one of his favorite towns in Italy. You'll find there a great museum of Etruscan artefacts and jewellery. And wild boar is a speciality in this area! There are also many alabaster carvers and a museum featuring alabaster carvings.

A great place to stay when outside the big cities of Italy are agrotourismos—working farms that hire out rooms for travellers, akin to B&Bs.

Another beautiful and interesting city to visit is Chiusure, which holds an artichoke festival each year.

Pienza ia another beautiful small town worth visiting.

Montepulciano, noted for its wines, is a great area to visit for the wine enthusiast.

Rick Steves audio tours

I have followed Rick Steves since buying his Europe Through the Back Door for my first trip to Europe in 1983.

Over the years, I have bought many of his travel guides and, more recently, listened to his many podcasts.

Rick also has an extensive collection of free audio tours that can be downloaded onto your phone for use as an audio guide on tours in and around cities all over Europe. For Italy he has 26 audio tours available (10 for Rome; 5 for Florence; 4 for Venice; 3 for Assisi and Siena; 2 for Naples; 1 for Milan and 1 for Pompeii). These are best used by downloading the free Rick Steves Audio Tour app and downloading the audio tours you would like to use.

He has spent over 30 years touring Europe and provides so much useful information on European travel to get the most out of your vacation time.

Amalfi Coast

Just south of Naples on the west coast of Italy, the marvellous collection of seaside towns that comprise the Amalfi Coast are one of the marvels of Italy.

Rick Steves has a great video on touring the Amalfi Coast.

Here is a beautiful hi-def video of the Amalfi Coast. And another video here.