antastic food, holidays to Italy serve up pinch-yourself scenery, impossibly pretty towns and no end of ancient sights.

The good life

Postcard-perfect scenery, café-backed beaches and cities stacked with big-name sights – long-legged Italy manages to pack a lot into its borders. And no matter which part of the boot you plump for, you’ll find top-drawer food, fine wines and a healthy dose of la dolce vita.

Explore the boot

In the north, romantic Venice reigns supreme, while nearby Lido di Jesolo supplies the sands – and just inland, storybook Verona dishes up Roman ruins, riverside strolls, and Shakespearean charm. Further south lies Campania, home to the dramatic Amalfi Coast and cliff-hugging towns like Sorrento, Ravello and Positano.

Dramatic landscapes

When it comes to Italian lakes, Garda, Como and Maggiore are the big names. Their glass-clear shores are fringed with forested slopes, tree-lined promenades and lavish villas. This spectacular scenery’s ramped up by the Dolomites – a cloud-tickling mountain range, where snow-crowned peaks mingle with village-lined valleys.

Italian islands

Holidays to Italy aren’t just confined to the mainland, though. At the toe of Italy’s boot is Sicily, which ticks off gorgeous beaches, ancient ruins and friendly resorts. And then there’s Sardinia, with its wild interior and sun-bleached beaches. Olbia’s your gateway to the island’s most famous stretch of coastline – the 34-mile-long Costa Smeralda.