From Roaming Rome to Sicilian Serenity: Ranking My First Semester’s Travels

By Georgia Reid, Università Bocconi, Italy

During my first semester in Milan, the hot weather and cheap public transport meant that I developed a serious case of the travel bug. So, I have rated and ranked my favourite places to travel to in Italy to help you decide where to travel to.

10. Monza

Going to the Italian Grand Prix 2023 was an amazing experience, and I highly recommend to anyone who can attend to go. The atmosphere was incredible (especially after a Ferrari pole position). However, there was not much to do in the city of Monza, with us even struggling to find somewhere to have dinner. The only benefit was the walk through Parco di Monza was beautiful.

Rating: 4/10 (but the Formula 1 was 100/10!)

9. Bologna

Personally, I wasn’t a fan of Bologna. To me, there wasn’t much to do, with us sitting in a bar having an aperitivo for two hours waiting for our train back home again. One place I can recommend is Ragū, a little restaurant that does incredible ragù inside a soft bun.

Rating: 4.5/10

8. Verona

Verona was pretty, and the first place we went to was Juliet’s House. Around this area was extremely busy, especially because there was a market. The architecture was beautiful, and the food was delicious at Ristorante Nastro Azzurro. A walk along the river (and a takeaway cocktail) finished off our afternoon there. We did leave earlier than we had planned to though, therefore influencing my rating.

Rating: 5.5/10

7. Bergamo

Bergamo is a city that very few people I know have actually been to. For most people, it’s just the airport that Ryanair flies into. However, I am a big advocate for a day trip there, bringing all of my family there (numerous times). The city is split into two parts: the lower city and the upper city. The lower city contains high street shops, most of the hotels, and the restaurants. One of my favourite restaurants in Italy, Bella Napoli, is located here, and it is incredible! I haven’t been to Bergamo without visiting this restaurant. This city is very walkable, including getting to Città Alta, however, there are buses and a funicular that can take you up to the top. The views are amazing, and at the top there are lots of small, independent shops and restaurants, as well as churches and lots of history. You would not need any longer than a day in this city, so it’s perfect if you are flying in or out of Bergamo Orio al Serio.

Rating: 6.5/10

6. Lake Como

Lake Como is only one hour from Milan, and easily accessible by train. Como and Lecco are lovely, however, I found that there was not much to see or do here. Bellagio is a beautiful village that can only be accessed by boat, which is where my issue began to arise. The boats are not extremely frequent, meaning that for the most part, Bellagio was extremely busy, and we were unable to find a restaurant to have lunch in for over an hour. We then decided to move on to Varenna, which is my favourite part of Lake Como. However, it was incredibly difficult to board the boat to get to Varenna, with them limiting the number of people allowed to board and people cutting the queue. We had to wait almost three hours just to leave, which limited our time in Varenna, but thankfully it was so pretty that it made up for it. This was in September, so it was understandably busy, however, if you are planning to go, peak travel time may not be best, so consider this when travelling.

Rating: 7/10

5. Lake Maggiore

A shocking opinion is that I prefer Lake Maggiore over Lake Como, but I believe it’s because it was significantly quieter than Lake Como. Similarly, it is one hour from Milan, and we immediately went to Stresa, which was an incredible choice. We spent the day going to the three islands: Isola Bella, Isola Madre, and Isola dei Pescatori (Isola Superiori). Despite being reasonably expensive to get a boat to these islands and pay entry to the gardens, it was the most breathtaking scenery ever – beautiful flowers and plants, wildlife, views across the lake, and interesting museums and buildings. After a long few hours of exploring these islands, we went to Arona, where we had an apertivo.

Rating: 7.5/10

4. Cinque Terre and La Spezia

This could potentially be rated highly because of the abundance of pesto, but besides that, Cinque Terre is absolutely incredible. My favourites were Vernazza and Manarola, particularly because you could view all of it from a distance, which really showed how spectacular it was! They are quite small, however, they are so nice to wander round for a few hours. We stayed in La Spezia, which was cheaper, but we were slightly out of the centre which was inconvenient, therefore I would recommend staying closer to the train station.

Rating: 8/10

3. Taormina

Sicily is such a beautiful part of Italy, with a completely different architectural style and a delicious cuisine (which I did an entire blog post about). We flew into Catania, but headed on to Taormina, a hilltop town with incredible scenery. It was the perfect place to go for our midterm break, with temperatures in the high twenties in the final few days of October. We spent our time wandering round the town, with one day being spent on the gorgeous beach. I loved Sicily, and would definitely recommend to anyone to go there!

Rating: 8.5/10

2. Florence

It was a tough choice between the top spot and this one. The Duomo di Firenze was an amazing sight to see, with its intricate detailing and sheer size. The most incredible part was going to Piazzale Michelangelo to watch the sunset, where the atmosphere was incredible – vendors selling wine, live music, and the public dancing along!

Rating: 9/10

1. Rome and Vatican City

Rome and Vatican City are the perfect places to be a tourist. Cheap entry to the museums, free museum entry on the first Sunday of the month, and so much to see and do, it is amazing! There is always something to do or see in Rome, which is why I loved it so much as someone who has never been before. The Vatican is astounding, with the level of detail that has gone into the creation of the Basilica di San Pietro being a favourite of mine.

Rating: 9.5/10

I hope this won’t conclude my travels for the year, however, my bank account has taken a large hit. Despite that, I would never have gotten to travel around Italy as much had I not being lucky enough to do this year abroad, and I am so thankful for the experiences everyday!