I frequently get asked for recommendations on things to do and places to eat in various towns in Italy. So here are a few personal guides of the towns I have spent time in over the years and things I have enjoyed doing whilst there. They are by no means comprehensive guides and represent my personal views.
Before travelling to these towns (or other towns in Italy), I also check out what bloggers and foodies are doing. Here is a list of my favourites:
Anna Scrigni – Trieste and Rome
Maria Pasquale (Heart Rome) – Rome
Valeria Necchio – Venice
Emiko Davies and Girl in Florence – Tuscany
When searching for restaurants I always have my Osterie d’Italia (Slow Food) guide handy (or use an internet search tool with the words “slow food + name of town”).
TRIESTE
I love Trieste. I feel so at home there, chatting to shop vendors in the dialect I grew up speaking. I visit it more than any other town in Italy. Here are a couple of my favourites:
Coffee and cake:
Antico Caffè San Marco, via Cesare Battisti 18
Aperitivo:
Gran Malabar, Piazza San Giovanni 6
Bar Barbacan, via San Michele 2
Antico Caffè Torinese, Corso Italia 2
Restaurants:
Osteria ai Maestri, via della Sorgente 6
Osteria alla Valle, via Madonna del Mare 18
Buffet Marascutti, via Cesare Battisti 2
Places to see:
La Revoltella Museum, via Armando Diaz 27
Posts about Trieste on my blog:
We were in Trieste for a food tour; From Trieste with love;
ROME
Rome is eternally fascinating. I stay in different parts of the city each time I go – Trastevere, Monti, Pigneto, Ostiense, Campo de’ Fiori. My current favourite is Monti as it is conveniently wedged between the Termini train station and the Colosseum.
Wine bars:
L’Angolo Divino, via dei Balestrari 12
Fafiuché, via della Madonna dei Monti 28
Restaurants:
Sora Margherita, Piazza delle Cinque Scole 30
Pianostrada, via delle Zoccolette 22
Galleries and museums:
Palazzo Merluana, via Merluana 121
Centrale Montemartini, via Ostiense 106
Posts about Rome on my blog:
48-hours in Rome; Food tour of Testaccio, Rome; The holiday began in Rome
OTHER PARTS OF ITALY
Here are links to blog posts of my travel through Italy that may be useful for prospective travellers.
ABRUZZO: (1) Abruzzo – traditions at Casale Centurione;(2) Welcome to Sulmona! ; (3) In the hills of Abruzzo there are bears, snow and wonderful food
FRIULI – VENEZIA GIULIA: (1) Prosciutto San Daniele (DOP); prosciuttificio Prolongo; (2) Traditional Friulian cooking at Mulino Ferrant; (3) Pordenone; port on the Noncello
NORTHERN ITALY: Italy North by Northwest
PUGLIA: (1) On tour in Southern Puglia; (2) A week in Puglia; (3) Two weeks in Puglia – part 1, the Salento; (4)Two weeks in Puglia – part 2, the Gargano
SICILY: (1) Masseria Mandrascate – Sicily’s beautiful and unspoilt centre; (2) The market in Ortigia, Sicily; (3) Palermo in December; (4) Salina; the sea, the capers and “il Postino”
UMBRIA: Umbria – the green heart of Italy
BOLOGNA: Bologna – la grassa
NAPLES: Napoli – the streets, the people, the food and the music
