Italy

This port on Italy’s southern coast overlooking the Bay of Naples is a popular starting place to see all of the pretty towns along the famous Amalfi Coast, but don’t miss the charms of Sorrento itself. The town is perched on cliffs high above the marinas and port below. Visit the 8th-century Cloisters of San Francesco and the Sorrento Cathedral, started in the 15th century with many additions made over time. Relax at a café in Piazza Tasso, the hub of the town. From Sorrento it is also possible to take an excursion to the UNESCO-listed ruins of Pompeii and the mighty volcano Vesuvius.

Nestled on the beautiful Sicilian coast, Taormina is most famous for the 3rd-century Teatro Antico di Taormina, the world's most dramatically situated Greek theater. Nearby cliffs drop to the sea forming coves with sandy beaches. The city center is filled with 15th-century stone palaces and churches, and pedestrian-only Corso Umberto is the spot for people watching, shopping, fine dining or a gelato. Strung along the bay below Taormina is Giardini Naxos, a picturesque seaside resort on the site of the most ancient Greek colony in Sicily.

One of the most enchanting cities in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site, Venice rises from a lagoon on more than a hundred tiny islands linked by the iconic network of canals. A romantic gondola ride provides the perfect introduction to the city, gliding underneath the Ponte di Rialto – the oldest and most famous of Venice’s hundreds of bridges – and past the ornate palaces lining the Grand Canal. The power and wealth of the Venetian empire are on display at Piazza San Marco, the city’s most splendid square, where stands the grand St.

An amazing amalgam of sights and sounds, Rome is a kinetic tapestry stimulating every sense. The ring of church bells and honks of early morning traffic echo off the weathered stone of ancient buildings. Office workers dash past fruit stands and sidewalk cafés in the shadows of elegant palace façades. Meanwhile, tourists make their way from piazza to piazza, monument to monument, church to church: the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Vatican Museums, St. Peter’s Basilica.