With more than 43.7 million tourists a year, Italy is the fourth highest tourist earner, and fifth most visited country in the world, behind France , Spain , United States , and China . People mainly come to Italy for its rich art, cuisine, history, fashion and culture, its beautiful coastline and beaches, its mountains, and priceless ancient monuments, especially those from the Greek civilization and Roman civilization. Tourism is one of Italy's fastest growing and most profitable industrial sectors, with an estimated revenue of $42.7 billion.
Italy may not take up much space geographically on the globe, but it consistently ranks among the top vacation destinations on the planet. When last I checked a couple years ago, there were just under 40 million people spending some of their hard earned vacation money in Italy. And while you might suspect that all of those 40 million people are in the country at the same time you are, as you fight the crowds at the biggest attractions in Italy, in reality there’s a steady stream of visitors all year long and throughout the country.
Because of this constant influx of tourists, tourism in Italy is one of the country’s biggest income sources. But because it’s Italy we’re talking about, things don’t always work the way you’d like them to You might think, for instance, that the official Italian tourism website would be a wealth of information and staffed by attentive and responsive people eager to answer your every question. But you’d be wrong. Yes, there’s some good information there, but if you manage to get a reply from anyone in the tourism department you’re doing better than I am.So, toward that end, I’m going to put some links here to articles I’ve written that assist you in planning the perfect Italian vacation. I could write about Italy travel for the rest of my life , so this list isn’t comprehensive, but I think it’s a good place to start. If you have a question that isn’t answered by one of the articles on this list, please send me a message and let me know it’s possible I’ve already covered the topic but forgot to link it up here, and it’s also possible your question will make a great topic for a new article.
Tourism in Rome
Rome is one of the most visited cities in the world, with an average of 7-10 million tourists a year. The Colosseum and the Vatican Museums are the 39th and 37th most visited places in the world, according to a recent study. Other main sights in the city include the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, St Peter's Basilica, the Roman Forum, Castel Sant'Angelo, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Spanish Steps, Villa Borghese park, Piazza del Popolo, the Trastevere and the Janiculum.
Top Rated Hotels
1. Al Ponte Antico Hotel
2. Hotel Vecchio Asilo
3. Hotel Davanzati
4. AD Place Venice
5. Floridiana Hotel
Travel Tips for Italian Cities
There is some information on this site that’s applicable to the entire country, but I’ve also written city-specific articles for many of Italy’s top destinations. From each of the destination articles linked below, you’ll be able to find many more articles about that destination either on the menu on the right hand side or linked from within the article.
* Rome Travel Guide
* Venice Travel Guide
* Florence Travel Guide
* Cinque Terre Travel Guide
* Pisa Travel Guide
* Milan Travel Guide
* Naples Travel Guide
* Siena Travel Guide
Getting Around in Italy
Most of the time I recommend traveling through Italy by train, but there are all manner of transportation options for the country - and good reasons for choosing one over the other, or combining a few of them during one trip.
* Italy Transportation Guide
* Flights into Rome
* Flights into Milan
* Flights into Venice
* Italy Train Guide
* Italy Bus Guide
* Italy Driving Guide
Eating in Italy
The food in Italy is such a big reason why many people make the trip in the first place that I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that eating out in Italy is responsible for a huge part of that tourist income the country enjoys. I’m a big fan of eating in Italy, which is why I end up writing about it so often.
* Guide to Italian Food
* Menu Tips for Italy
* Should you tip in Italy.
* Italian Gelato Guide
* Italian Coffee Guide
* Italian Vineyards Guide
* Cooking Schools in Italy
* Italian Market Guide
* Italian Pasta Guide
* Italian Restaurant Guide
