Itineraries measured on the timetable, not on the map

Updated September 3, 2026

Every itinerary here uses the journey time published in the timetable, so a leg that looks short on the map but takes four hours by train is shown as four hours.

20/20

3 daysThree days in Rome, built on ticket releasesRomeColosseum tickets open 30 days ahead and the Galleria Borghese runs 2 hour shifts. Three nights in one base, ordered by what has to be booked first.1 stops
3 daysThree days in Venice: what the boats costVeniceA single vaporetto ride is €9.50 and a 72 hour pass €45. Three nights planned around the fares, the 30 day Palazzo Ducale discount and the airport gap.1 stops
5 daysFive days in Emilia, measured by the wheelBologna · Parma · Modena4.19 million wheels of Parmigiano and 6,750,000 hams in 2025. Five days across Bologna, Parma and Modena, planned on output and a 48 hour pass.3 stops
5 daysFive days in Tuscany by train, no carFlorenceFlorence is 1 hour 35 minutes from Rome and its whole center is a ZTL. Five days, one base, four day trips and the real ticket rules.1 stops
5 daysFive days in Umbria and Le MarcheAssisi · Genga · UrbinoFrasassi is €20 and 14 degrees, the Marmore falls €12 on a water calendar. Five days over two regions, with the shuttle up to Assisi.3 stops
5 daysFive days: Rome and the Bay of NaplesRome · NaplesFour sites here refuse walk ups: Pompeii, Vesuvius, Herculaneum and the Colosseum. Five days, two bases, and the order to make the bookings in.2 stops
7 daysSeven days in Calabria and BasilicataTropea · Reggio Calabria · Pollino · MateraTropea logged 109,552 declared overnight stays in July 2026 and 1,619 in January. Seven days built on that gap and on the Matera rail link.4 stops
7 daysSeven days in eastern Sicily, from CataniaCatania · Taormina · SyracuseAlibus is €4 for 90 minutes, Taormina buses leave every 30 minutes and the Etna cable car tops out at 2,500 m. A week on one 120 km axis, without a car.3 stops
7 daysSeven days in Puglia and Matera, by trainBari · Matera · LecceRome to Bari takes 4 hours 14 minutes with only 6 direct trains, and Matera runs on a narrow gauge line. A week without a car, on three links.3 stops
7 daysSeven days in Puglia by car, from BariAndria · Alberobello · SalentoCastel del Monte admits 120 people per slot for 45 minutes and Castellana runs 3 km underground. A week by road from an airport of 7,977,881.3 stops
7 daysSeven days in Sardinia, beaches booked firstOlbia · Ogliastra · CagliariCala Goloritze takes 250 people a day, La Pelosa 1,500, Tuerredda 1,100. A week planned around caps that open days ahead, not on the morning you turn up.3 stops
7 daysSeven days in the Dolomites, gate by gateVal Gardena · Val Pusteria · Val di FassaBraies parking is €44 and bookable, the Alpe di Siusi road shuts to cars 9 to 5. Seven days across nine listed massifs, gate by gate.3 stops
7 daysSeven days: Milan, the lakes, the DolomitesMilan · Lake Como · Alpe di SiusiThe Last Supper releases tickets quarterly and 215 more each Wednesday at noon. Seven days north, around the booking made before the flights.3 stops
7 daysSeven days: Rome, Florence, Venice by trainRome · Florence · VeniceRome to Florence is 1 hour 35, Florence to Venice 2 hours 14. Three bases in seven nights, with the four booking rules that decide the order of the days.3 stops
7 daysSeven days: Rome, Naples, PompeiiRome · NaplesPompeii sells 15,000 morning slots and 5,000 afternoon ones in summer. Three nights in Rome, four in Naples, on a train that runs 45 direct services a day.2 stops
10 daysTen days in Sicily, Palermo to Catania, by the clockPalermo · Agrigento · Piazza Armerina · CataniaTen nights, Palermo to Catania, with each archaeological site on the day and hour it opens, and the Valley of the Temples open to 11:00 pm in summer 2026.4 stops
10 daysTen days: Milan, Lake Como, Lake Garda, Verona, VeniceMilan · Lake Como · Lake Garda · Verona · VeniceTen nights on five bases, from the Last Supper to Venice, planned around a quarterly ticket release and lake boat seasons that end on October 4, 2026.5 stops
10 daysTen days: Rome, Abruzzo, Molise, your townRome · L'Aquila · Isernia · TermoliA bus reaches L'Aquila from Rome in 1 hour 25 for €13, and 5 trains a day reach Isernia. Ten days that fit the family town inside an ordinary Italian trip.4 stops
10 daysTen winter days in the south, built around familyNaples · The family town in Calabria · Reggio Calabria442,000 Americans came to Italy to see family in 2025 and stayed 11.9 nights. Ten days from Naples to Calabria, planned for December and January.3 stops
14 daysFourteen days: the Grand Tour on real train timesNaples · Rome · Florence · Venice · MilanTwo weeks, five cities, direct trains: Rome to Florence is 1 hour 35, Florence to Venice 2 hours 14. The Grand Tour measured on the timetable, not a map.5 stops

Foto

Parmigiano Reggiano in stagionatura: Gilles Desjardins · CC BY-SA 4.0
Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, Lucca: Zairon · CC BY 4.0
Marche: gaspa · CC BY 2.0
Campania: Martuna.22 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Napoli: Nemo bis · CC BY-SA 3.0
Scilla: Benjamin Smith · CC BY-SA 4.0
Catania: Luca Aless · CC BY-SA 4.0
Polignano a Mare: Enric · CC BY-SA 4.0
Puglia: acediscovery · CC BY 4.0
Sardegna: Marcello Seddaiu · CC BY-SA 4.0
Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano: Einaz80 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Canal Grande, Venezia: Wolfgang Moroder · CC BY-SA 3.0
Sicilia: Patrick1977 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Milano: Steffen Schmitz · CC BY-SA 4.0
Molise: AntoRoadlover · CC BY-SA 4.0
Roma: Till Niermann · CC BY-SA 3.0
Venezia: kallerna · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sources (2)

19.04 · 2.92 · 1.19Banca d'Italia, Indagine sul turismo internazionale · recheck by 2027-07-31
239.7% · 25.1% · 16.8%Banca d'Italia, Indagine sul turismo internazionale · recheck by 2027-07-31