Italy

If we had to name our favorite European destination, we would definitely say Italy! We don't always make particularly queer-friendly experiences, but still: we love Italy, its people, and will always come back to this beautiful place on our planet.

TUSCANY: Can It Get Any Better?

Tuscany, known as Toscana in Italian, is located in central Italy and has its own coastline in the west, on the Ligurian and the Tyrrhenian Sea.

2 Unique Stays

During our Tuscany road trip in 2024, we were invited to two wonderful accommodations:

1) Casa Palmira in Borgo San Lorenzo, near Florence. This is the place for a peaceful stay, but still close enough to visit the city!

2) Torre del Fuggisole in the heart of Siena. You'll have to climb a lot of stairs (depending on your room), but the view from the top is worth it!

If you don't know where to stay: these are perfect. Highly recommended!

Florence: Paradise on Earth

Truth be told: we have many favorite cities in Italy. And Florence is one of them.

Duomo di Firenze

The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, often shortened to Duomo (or Duomo di Firenze), is the dominant cathedral in Florence—you’ll almost always see it. And seeing it always made us happy! It reminded us that we were in Italy, doing what we love: traveling! We felt the same way about the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

How to enjoy the view of the Duomo:

From the side streets around the cathedral. You won’t see the whole structure, but seeing only parts of it somehow made it more special.
From Piazzale Michelangelo—it’s a bit of a climb up the hill, but the views are worth it! But: it's also very crowded and taking pictures can be difficult. We certainly struggled at times!
From the Giardino delle Rose. If you want to take beautiful pictures, go to this park where you can take fabulous pictures of the Duomo.

Ponte Vecchio

The Ponte Vecchio, or Old Bridge, is one of the top sights in Florence. And while it's interesting to visit it and walk past the shops, there are two better places to see the architecture:

You'll get the best view from Ponte Santa Trinita, about 300 meters (1000 feet) northwest of the bridge. This bridge is used by cars, so be careful if you want to take pictures of yourself!
If you go up to Piazzale Michelangelo to see the Duomo, you can also see the river, the Arno, and the bridges over the Arno.

We don't think the bridge is very beautiful in a common sense, especially the sides facing the river, but architecturally we find it so fascinating!

Piazza della Signoria & Palazzo Vecchio

This square has a lot of beautiful architecture, like the Palazzo Vecchio, and sculptures!

Basilica di Santa Croce di Firenze

If you didn't get enough church vibes from the Duomo, the Basilica is a good option! It's very beautiful and much less crowded!

Siena: A Southern Gem

Everyone kept telling us: Siena is the place to visit in Tuscany. And we have to say: they were right!

Terzo di Camollìa

Siena is divided into three terzi (~parts): Terzo di Camollìa, Terzo di Città, and Terzo di San Martino, all centered around the Campo.

We explored Terzo di Camollìa more closely, so here are our top places to see and visit. If you follow them in this order, it's a small tour!

Porta Camollìa: this is the perfect starting point for a tour of the terzo.
Via Camollìa for all the beautiful buildings, including the Chiesa di San Pietro alla Magione, a former Templar hospice.
Fortezza Medicea for some leisure in the amphitheater and with a beautiful view of Siena.
Basilica Cateriniana di San Domenico where you'll find the head and a finger of Santa Caterina.
Take the stairs of Via Camporegio, an almost hidden alley with more beautiful views of Siena.
Fontebranda is an old well with incredibly blue water and fish!
Santa Caterina was born at Santuario Casa di Santa Caterina.
End your day at Insigne Collegiata di Santa Maria in Provenzano. Here, a Spanish soldier
was killed in the 16th century when he tried to hit a statue—the lower part exploded and ended his life.

Piazza del Campo

The Campo is a cute, shell-shaped square with lots of cafes and restaurants (very touristy, of course) in the center of Siena. It's considered neutral ground.

Palazzo Pubblico is the main sight with a gorgeous courtyard.
Part of the palazzo is Torre del Mangia. You can climb the tower—unfortunately we didn’t find the time.
Fonte Gaia is, like Fontebranda, incredibly blue.

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This square has a lot of beautiful architecture, like the Palazzo Vecchio, and sculptures!

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If you didn't get enough church vibes from the Duomo, the Basilica is a good option! It's very beautiful and much less crowded!

VENETO: It's All About Romance

Veneto, also known as Venetia, is located in the northeastern part of Italy and has its own coastline on the Adriatic Sea.

Verona: Where Romeo Met Juliet

The city of Romeo & Juliet! Is there a more romantic place in Italy? Probably many—Venice for example! Verona was Carina's very first Italian city. And she fell in love with Italy.

Casa di Giulietta (Juliet's House)

If you are in Verona, you should visit Juliet’s house! Touch her breasts for good luck and maybe even add a love lock to the others—we certainly did! And cry for your Romeo from her balcony.

Alleys & Streets

Verona's streets and alleys are so beautiful! Many of the buildings and pavements are made of Verona Red, a stone that may or may not be marble (depending on the perspective) that gives Verona it's characteristic look!

Arena di Verona

If you visit in the summer, get a ticket for the open-air opera. We assumed it would be impossible to pay and didn't even ask, but it's actually really affordable and tickets start at 11€!

Venice: The City of Canals and Bridges

Venice is the capital of the Veneto region. And it’s so easy to live la dolce vita here—and spend hundreds of euros a day. Gondola rides for 100€, Aperol Spritz on the Canal Grande, guided tours, tickets to museums and churches, fancy dinners (again: on the Canal Grande). But we have some tips for a budget friendly visit!

Vaporetto Ticket

Buy a vaporetto ticket for the water buses in Venice. The vaporetto ticket gets you around Venice and the surrounding islands. And while you can basically go anywhere with your ticket, it's wonderful to just float up and down the canal.

San Michele

San Michele is a small cemetery island (no pictures allowed) and so interesting! We hadn't really thought about it before, but Venice has no place for its dead. Of course they have to be somewhere!

Walk Around

Get your Aperol Spritz in the cute alleys for sometimes a third of what the places on the Canal Grande charge. And these places aren't as crowded! Explore the city on your own—there are so many beautiful smaller canals and bridges. Just sit and enjoy life. Have a pizza. But also enjoy the more famous sights like the Rialto Bridge, Piazza San Marco with St. Mark's Basilica, the Doge's Palace, and the Bridge of Sighs.

EMILIA-ROMAGNA: A Hidden Gem

Emilia-Romagna is located in the northeastern part of Italy, between Lombardy and Veneto to the north and Tuscany to the south. It has its own coastline on the Adriatic Sea and is apparently one of the wealthiest regions in Europe!

Bologna: The City of Porticoes & Excellent Food

We hadn't planned on visiting Bologna, but when our flight from Pisa was canceled and the airline decided to send us home from Bologna, we were pleasantly surprised! Plus, because of its size, you can easily see all the top sights in a day and then spend the rest of the time eating and living la dolce vita! And get yourself a Lambrusco—it's not sweet here!

Piazza Maggiore

Piazza Maggiore has many attractions: medieval and renaissance buildings, the Basilica di San Petrino, the Palazzos Re Enzo and d'Accursio, and much more!

Teatro Anatomico

The Teatro Anatomico is located near Piazza Maggiore. It was used for dissections—since the 16th century! The lecture hall gives a small glimpse of the beautiful library (unfortunately, but wisely, not open to tourists).

The Porticoes

Bologna is full of porticoes. You’ll find smaller ones and more extravagant ones all over the city—38 km/24 mi in total for the porticoes inside the medieval walls. Since 2021, the colonnades have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s hard to name the most beautiful ones, but we found a good spot for pictures on Via Farini 7, next to Piazza Cavour (that's where we took the picture on our home page). And it wasn’t very crowded!

Le Due Torri

You can climb the 498 steps of the taller tower of the Due Torri and discuss whether the smaller one is leaning more than the Tower of Pisa.

2 Areas to Explore

La Strada del Jazz, also near Piazza Maggiore. Stars on the ground honor jazz musicians.
The graffiti in the western part of the city. They are so diverse!

A Road Trip through the Region

After falling in love with Bologna in 2022, we returned to Emilia-Romagna in 2023 to explore more of the region. So we went on a road trip that started and ended in Bologna.

The Countryside around Cesena

We started our road trip at Agriturismo Agricampeggio La Stadera, a campground in Cesena. Our campground was small, with only seven or eight campsites, and our host was incredibly sweet. And while it was a bit of an adventure to get here, the views from here and on every single drive were worth it!

San Marino

If you're in Emilia-Romagna, it's easy to visit San Marino for a day. Find out more here!

Cesenatico

About 40 kilometers from San Marino, northwest of Rimini, is a little gem: Cesenatico.

One of our highlights was the Museo della Marineria, an open-air maritime museum that is quite unique! There are different boats and ships from different eras on the canal, and it's beautiful! Not far from the museum you'll also find a nice, albeit crowded, beach!

Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi

This national park is huge! And while we wish we could have explored more, it was a treat to see Cascata della Sega and Cascata Urlante a Premilcuore, two beautiful waterfalls, and hike around the area. But don't trust GoogleMaps to get you to the waterfalls! Use Parcheggio Cascata Urlante, a free parking lot, to get there.

Fontanelice

When you're in Italy, you have to see a vineyard! And we decided to spend a night in a vineyard cottage. And although the insects were not for the faint-hearted, it was so beautiful!

LOMBARDY: The North

Lombardy, or Lombardia in Italian, borders Switzerland to the north and is home to Milan, Lake Como (Lago di Como), and Mantua, where Romeo was exiled!

Milan: The Capital of Lombardy—and Fashion

Milan wasn't our favorite destination in Italy, but we nevertheless tried to make the best of it when we visited on our short trip in 2021.

Duomo di Milano

The Duomo di Milano, the Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary, is probably the most iconic place in Milan. And if you saw our vlog (ugh, sorry for the wind noise!), you know we never went inside!

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Next to the Duomo is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II—probably the most beautiful shopping mall we ever visited. Even the (very delicious) gelato was quite expensive, but it's nice to walk around and take in the architecture!