Beach,  Europe,  Hiking,  Italy

Few Hidden Gems of Italy

April 22, 2021 / 45 Comments

Everyone loves Italy. It’s probably one of the most popular European destinations for world travelers. Because I live in nearby Switzerland, I’ve been to Italy numerous times to explore the corners of this fascinating country.

Most people visiting Italy target the famous cities of Rome, Florence, Milan, or Venice. These are all great places to experience, but I’d like to share in this post what I think are the few hidden gems of Italy.

These areas of Italy are a bit off the beaten path but are well worth the detour!

Cinque Terre

You may have heard of Cinque Terre (pronounced cheen-kweh teh-rreh) or the ‘5 Lands’ along the northwest coast of Italy. I’ve been twice to this area to walk the hiking trail that leads you from one town to the next along jaw-dropping beautiful cliffsides.

Views along the Cinque Terre coastline

The five towns of Cinque Terre in the Italian Riveria region of Liguria are Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. These were once known as small fishing villages but the area is now recognized as a UNESCO site and protected by national parks.

Location of Cinque Terre
My photo of Vernazza village from the hiking path

My favorite village of the five is Vernazza. It is very colorful and well situated for scenic views. If you choose not to do the hiking path to reach each town, you can take a train along the route that stops in each village. We took the train from the larger town of La Spezia where we stayed a few nights to base ourselves. We walked half of the path one day and the other half the second day.

Typical scenes in the five villages in Cinque Terre

The best time to visit this area is in Spring or Fall to avoid the mass of tourists and intense heat. Although I haven’t done it, you could consider staying in one of the villages. The towns are extremely small and there is not a lot to do in each town other than visiting a few tourist shops and have a meal. If you’re up for a real adventure, you can check out the Guvano nudist beach near the town of Corniglia. We actually spent an afternoon there and loved the crazy experience!

Sestri Levante from one of the hiking paths above

The other time I went to the Cinque Terre region, we stayed in a town called Sestri Levante, halfway between Genoa and La Spezia, and on the northwest side of Cinque Terre. Sestri Levante is a quaint town situated on a peninsula and less crowded than more popular towns like Portofino.

Monterosso

From Sestri Levante, we took the train to the first town of Monterosso and then walked toward Vernazza. Sestri Levante has its own beautiful hiking paths along the rock cliff coastline. If you plan to visit Cinque Terre and do the footpath, be sure to check the conditions of the path to be sure it is open to the public. The last time we went, they had closed parts of the path due to landslides.

Tuscany

I have been to different towns in the Tuscany region over the years, including Florence, Pisa, and Siena. Although these popular tourist towns are worth seeing, the best part of Tuscany was the spanning countryside and tiny villages perched on hillsides.

Location of the Tuscany region

My most memorable visit was in 2019 where I saw the ‘real Tuscany region’ during a weekend photography course. Our instructor knew the best places to be to get the best photographs. We had to get up as early as 4 am to capture the misty morning fog and stay up past midnight to do special effects night photography.

One of the smaller towns to base yourself is called San Quirico d’Orcia. It has approximately 2,500 inhabitants and is located 80 km southeast of Florence and 35 km southeast of Siena. This is where you will find the typical scenes of farmhouses and cypress trees lining the paths.

My early morning photo of the famous Podere Belvedere

One of the most famous sites to see is the iconic Podere Belvedere. The Podere Belvedere is actually the name of an old stone farmhouse, but when people talk about going to see the Podere Belvedere, they really mean the view and not just the house. This spot is lovely at any time of the day but most people try to see it at dawn with the misty fog surrounding it.

Standing in one of many poppy fields in Tuscany

One of the highlights of my trip to Tuscany in May was the endless fields of red poppy flowers. This was a true photographer’s delight to capture the green hillsides and flowers as far as you could see.

Loved the poppies!

Another village we visited was called Monticchiello. This tiny village, like many in the Tuscany region, was situated on a high hill overlooking the lush green fields. What I found most intriguing about these tiny villages was the lack of tourists. I felt like I was one of the locals and could enjoy it in privacy.

Typical Tuscany View

I strongly recommend a trip to Tuscany to take in first-hand the beauty that many of us have only seen in movies and paintings.

Amalfi Coast

Ok, so this one may not be a hidden gem as most people have heard about the Amalfi Coast of Italy. For this reason, I would like to highlight the true gems of this region based on my visit there a few years ago.

First of all, I suggest starting your trip in Naples as it has a major airport and there are many ferries to the Amalfi Coast and nearby islands. This is what I did during my week-long visit to this area. I flew into and out of Naples and took boats, trains, and taxis to get around. If you’re adventurous, you can rent a car but I didn’t want to be scared driving the cliffy, small roads along the coast.

I stayed at different hotels in Naples, Capri Island, Positano, and Amalfi. While in Naples, you can take a tour to Pompeii and the Mount Vesuvius volcano. This is very touristic but something to see for sure.

Pompeii

One of the days while in Naples, we took a ferry to the island of Ischia where we did a hike and looked around. We passed the colorful island of Procida on the way. I would have liked to stop there and walk around.

Island of Procida from our ferry ride to Ischia
View from our hotel room in Naples

After a few days in Naples, we took the ferry from there to the island of Capri to spend two nights. This island is a must-see in my opinion! We walked around the harbor area and the cute town perched up high.

Port of Capri Island with the town up above

You should plan to spend at least one night on Capri Island to take in the daytime and nighttime ambiance. It’s a magical place that I would very much like to return to.

North coast of Capri Island

We also did some hikes but the most fun we had on Capri was renting a small boat and driving it around the island to see the dramatic Faraglioni, three towering rock formations off the island’s coast. You can even ride through the opening of these rocks!

At the helm of this small boat!

Next on our agenda was to take the ferry from Capri over to the Amalfi Coast, namely the most scenic town of Positano. It did not disappoint either. It was so picturesque with all the bright colored buildings built into the cliffside.

Positano cliffside buildings

If you like hiking as much as we do, one of the hidden gems near Positano is the ‘Walk of the Gods’ path. I had done my research about this hike and definitely wanted to fit it into our schedule. It offered amazing views of the coastline!

On the ‘Walk of the Gods’ path near Positano

Another touristy but interesting thing to do on Capri is to visit the Blue Grotto. This is a cave inside the island that appears sapphire blue due to the sunlight passing through an underwater cavity. The downside of this excursion is the long wait that you may have due to the many people that want to experience it. We took a small boat and a short ride from the harbor, but we had to wait 1-2 hours outside the cave due to the long queue. Lessons learned… plan to do this outside of peak tourist hours.

Entrance to Blue Grotto on Capri Island

As with all places in Italy, the best time to visit the Amalfi Coast is outside of the peak summer season.

Dolomites

Ah, the Dolomites, one of my favorite places I’ve been to. When I first saw pictures of these jagged limestone mountains, I knew I had to plan a trip to visit this area!

View near St. Magdalena in Dolomites

We drove to this northeastern Italian region from our home in Switzerland, approximately 8 hours away. Here is the video of our vacation!

Tre Cime hike

I did my research by looking up organized tours in the area, and then I simply replicated the itinerary to know where to go and what to see. I also saved tons of money by doing it ourselves. I planned our week-long Dolomites trip to stay at three different hotels in the area. Moving around to different hotels made it easier to do the nearby day trips.

Fanes-Senes-Braies natural park

A priority for this trip was to see the different parks and do some scenic hikes. You can find some of the popular hikes on this website. The most spectacular hike was the ‘Tre Cime de Lavaredo Loop’ where you find the three pinnacle mountains that give Tre Cime its name. The Tre Cime Loop is 10 km (6 miles) and relatively easy. We stopped at the big restaurant at the top to enjoy the surroundings and admire the view.

Another beautiful location was Lake Braies (Lago di Braies in Italian), a turquoise-colored small lake sitting at 1500 meters in the region of Pragser Wildsee. We spent a few hours at this location walking all around the lake. It is the largest natural lake in the Dolomites. This place reminded me of lakes in the Canadian Rockies. Don’t miss this highlight of the Dolomites!

Lake Braies

My most favorite spot in this region was a valley called St. Magdalena, where you will see views like the one below. The weather was perfect and the lighting with the late afternoon sun was ideal for photographs of the majestic mountain range and the green fields and forest.

Posing by the road above St. Magdalena

There is a small picturesque church in the tiny village of St. Magdalena. We had to drive out of our way to get to this area, but it was totally worth it for one of the best views in the Dolomites.

Summary

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about what I call the Hidden Gems of Italy. There are many more awesome places to visit in Italy, but this will give you a taste of some off-the-beaten-path destinations! Check out my dedicated page on Italy to learn more and see my personal videos of different Italy trips. If you are looking for another great country to discover, check out this post on 18 Things to Do in Slovenia: Planning the Ultimate Trip! Leave a comment below to share your hidden gems of Italy! And don’t forget to PIN the below for future reference!

If you are looking for assistance to plan your next trip, I am here for YOU! I love to plan travel itineraries for myself and others. For more details on how I provide this service, please check out my Itinerary Planning page and drop me a quick email at jan@janadventures.com to get started!

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