Learn from the best
Italy

Of all the countries in Europe, Italy is perhaps the hardest to classify. It is a modern, industrialized nation; it is a world leader of style, its fashion designers are famous the world over. Agricultural land covers much of south of the country. In towns and villages all over the country, as in most of the Mediteranean countries, life stops during the middle of the day for a siesta. There are numerous local festivals taking place on any given day, a local tourist information office will have these. There is also, of course, the country's enormous cultural legacy, Tuscany alone has more classified historical monuments than any country in the world and every region retains its own relics of an artistic tradition generally acknowledged to be the world's richest. Venice, home of Harrys Bar, the gondollas and the Guggenhiem Museum, is just overwhelmed with culture.

Hostels and Student Accomodation

There are around sixty youth hostels in Italy, charging between L12,000 and L25,000 for a dorm bed for HI members, and if you're two people travelling together, they don't represent a massive saving on the cheapest double hotel room. Whether or not you're a member, you'll need to book ahead in the summer months. You can get a full list of Italian youth hostels from the Associazione Italiana Alberghi per la Gioventù, Via Cavour 44, 00184 Roma (06/487.1152). In some cities it's also possible to stay in student accommodation vacated by Italian students for the summer. Accommodation is generally in individual rooms and can work out cheaper than a straight hotel room. Again, you'll need to book in advance.
Use our Hostel Booking form to book your hostel.

Places to See

To see the art of the Renaissance there is probably no better place than Florence , its Uffizi galleries give an overview of every major artist of the period, do not miss Michelangelo's statue of David. The city itself is crowded with handsome buildings, all of them overlooked by the amazing dome of the S Maria del Fiore cathederal. Cross the river Arno on the Ponte Vecchio, rebuilt in 1345, an amazing bridge full of goldsmiths and jeweller's shops. Angies Pub is the place to meet other young people, for the best ice cream in Italy try Vivoli's.

The great city of the Italian south, Naples is like no other place in the country - chaotic, edgy, shabby and ultimately irresistible. It has the best pizzas in all of Italy, and Pompeii is right on the doorstep.

Perugia, in Umbria, has got an urban excitement that's not typical of this rural region, thanks largely to a vibrant student population. This being Italy, it's also got a stack of great monuments as well, of course.

Pisa, the home of the leaning tower, has many other architectural delights.

Ravenna was the capital of the Roman Empire in the west 1600 years ago, and it has the buildings to prove it, an amazing array of churches, decorated with mosaics as subtle as paintings.

You could spend a month in Rome and even then only barely scratch the surface. the Forum, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, Michelangelo's paintings and sculptures, Bernini's fountains - The Vatican, all this and a host of great bars and restaurants. La Dolce Vita indeed.

If the pressure-cooker atmosphere of Florence gets too much, decamp to Siena, the most perfect medieval city in Europe. Visit on July 2 or August 16 for the Palio, the centuries-old horserace round the main square.

Home of one of Europe's great cultural festivals, Spoleto is also extremely seductive. A classic hill town, it has a scattering of superb Romanesque churches and a medieval bridge that'll make your jaw drop.

Venice is the most expensive spot in Italy, but is there a more beautiful city on the planet? See the amazing Basilica of Saint Mark then wander off in whatever direction you like to get away from the crowds, whichever way you go, the cityscape will be stupendous and it is almost impossible to get lost. Don't miss Harrys Bar on the waterfront.

On the island of Sicily, Pallermo has a mixed cultural brew, with Arab and Norman influences in its buildings, and an attitude to life that's a world away from the elegance of the Italian north, but then living in the shadow of Entna creates a different outlook on life I guess.

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Italynetguide is a good site for Info on Italy