Italy: Lake Como: 2023

Lake Como, in Northern Italy’s Lombardy region, is an upscale resort area known for its dramatic scenery, set against the foothills of the Alps. The lake is shaped like an upside-down Y, with three slender branches that meet at the resort town of Bellagio. Menaggio and Varenna are popular ferry stops and areas to explore. Hiring a boat is the best way to make use of a sunny day. At the bottom of the southwest branch lies the city of Como, home to Renaissance architecture and a funicular that travels up to the mountain town of Brunate.

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Italy: Amalfi -2021

Amalfi is a town in a dramatic natural setting below steep cliffs on Italy’s southwest coast. Between the 9th and 11th centuries, it was the seat of a powerful maritime republic. The Arab-Norman Sant'Andrea cathedral at the heart of town, with its striped Byzantine facade, survives from this era. The Museo Arsenale Amalfi is a medieval shipyard-turned-exhibition space.

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Italy: Ravello -2021

Ravello, a resort town set 365 meters above the Tyrrhenian Sea by Italy’s Amalfi Coast, is home to iconic cliffside gardens. The 13th-century, Moorish-style Villa Rufolo offers far-reaching views from its terraced gardens, and hosts indoor and outdoor concerts during the popular summertime Ravello Festival. Villa Cimbrone, a medieval-style estate perched on a steep outcrop, is surrounded by another celebrated garden.

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Italy: Positano – 2021

Positano is a cliffside village on southern Italy's Amalfi Coast. It's a well-known holiday destination with a pebble beachfront and steep, narrow streets lined with boutiques and cafes. Its Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta features a majolica-tiled dome and a 13th-century Byzantine icon of the Virgin Mary. The Sentiero degli Dei hiking trail links Positano to other coastal towns.

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Italy: Pompeii & Herculaneum – 2021

Pompeii is a vast archaeological site in southern Italy’s Campania region, near the coast of the Bay of Naples. Once a thriving and sophisticated Roman city, Pompeii was buried under meters of ash and pumice after the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The preserved site features excavated ruins of streets and houses that visitors can freely explore. Herculaneum was an ancient town, located in the modern-day comune of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.

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Italy: Capri – 2021

Capri, an island in Italy’s Bay of Naples, is famed for its rugged landscape, upscale hotels and shopping, from designer fashions to limoncello and handmade leather sandals. One of its best-known natural sites is the Blue Grotto, a dark cavern where the sea glows electric blue, the result of sunlight passing through an underwater cave. In summer, Capri's dramatic, cove-studded coastline draws many yachts.

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Italy: Sorrento – 2021

Sorrento is a coastal town in southwestern Italy, facing the Bay of Naples on the Sorrentine Peninsula. Perched atop cliffs that separate the town from its busy marinas, it’s known for sweeping water views and Piazza Tasso, a cafe-lined square. The historic center is a warren of narrow alleys that's home to the Chiesa di San Francesco, a 14th-century church with a tranquil cloister.

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Vatican City -2021

Vatican City, a city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy, is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. It's home to the Pope and a trove of iconic art and architecture. Its Vatican Museums house ancient Roman sculptures such as the famed “Laocoön and His Sons” as well as Renaissance frescoes in the Raphael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel, famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling. Vatican City is the world's smallest independent state. The Vatican Palace is the residence of the Pope within the City walls. It has its own telephone system and post office.

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Italy: Cinque Terre – 2021

The Cinque Terre are famous for their amazing natural landscape and colourful fishing villages perched on dramatic cliffs. UNESCO added the Cinque Terre to its list of World Heritage Sites because of their cultural landscape of great scenic and cultural value. The five towns that make up the Cinque Terre - Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso - began life as medieval fortified settlements, each protected by a castle overlooking the sea guarding against Saracen raiders. You can walk the entire route in about six hours, if you take short breaks—although many hikers prefer to spread the route out over a few days at a strolling pace, stopping to enjoy the towns along the way. You can start from either direction (Monterosso, heading south, or Riomaggiore, heading north).

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