Italy Guide

A magical land of gelato, pasta, and pizza.

The perfect place to fall in love with Europe.

My biggest piece of advice is to get tickets to the Colosseum and Vatican Museum beforehand. You can still get tickets to both attractions on the day of your visit, but you’re looking at multiple hours of waiting in line, and the Colosseum can sell out of full-access tickets, including the option to go underneath the floor of the arena if that’s something you’re interested in.

Tip: The Vatican, the second most visited museum in the world, offers free admission on the last Sunday of the month.

Rome

Eats:

Michelangelo Ice Cream – INCREDIBLE ice cream. Even the one scoop size has three flavors, which was awesome, and they serve it with whipped cream on top.
La Montecarlo – Everything here was incredible: prosciutto, fried cheese bites, etc. Best gnocchi I’ve ever had… ever. Their starters were great as well.
La Fiorentina – High-quality bakery. I tried their baba, lemon cream-filled pastry, cheesecake, tiramisu, and sacher torte cake (although Austrian).
Contorno Self Bistrot – Good for a cheap bite to eat. Incredible lasagna and a spread of baked goods. Wasn’t impressed with their vegetables or potatoes.
Hedera – Incredible ice cream, hazelnut FTW.
Il Colibrì – Okay, very hyped up, but I didn’t find their food incredible. The carbonara wasn’t very good IMO.

Sights

St. Peter’s Basilica – Ornate doesn’t even begin to describe this basilica. There’s gold everywhere, and the art is incredibly detailed. Seeing Peter’s tomb and the remains of Jude and Simeon was surreal. It’s free to get in, but you’ll likely end up waiting about two hours before you can get inside.
Spanish Steps – Great spot for sunset. You can walk up to the church near the top, and there’s also a park (Passeggiata del Pincio) that’s a five-minute walk away that leads down to a square, Piazza del Popolo.
Castel Sant’Angelo – Great area to walk around, and a cool statue of Julius Caesar outside.
Piazza Navona – There’s a church in the square, street performers, and a fountain. Tons of restaurants and really incredible shops around, including one that exclusively sells rubber ducks (Rome Duck Store).
ICF Rome – International Christian Fellowship. Awesome congregation and energy. Also, I’ve never been to a church that had a dance for tithes and offerings, which was interesting.
The Vatican Museum – I’ve never been in an area with such a high concentration of stunning ceilings. Incredible collection from the Catholic Church, spanning across Greek, Roman, and Catholic history. There’s also quite a large collection from the Egyptians, which surprised me.
Colosseum – Incredible structure to walk within. I also could not get over how such a small portion of the Colosseum still has the marble seating of old preserved. About a two-hour wait, and depending on ticket availability, you may get access to below the arena floor.
MACRO – Worst museum I’ve ever been to. They should have paid me for my time there.
Santa Maria Maggiore – Beautiful church with awesome details.
Circus Maximus – If there wasn’t a marker on the map, I wouldn’t know that this used to be a chariot race area. Today, it looks like a normal park.
Rose Garden – It’s amazing, but unfortunately only open in May.
Pantheon – I didn’t go inside because a friend said it wasn’t worth it, but it looked cool from the outside!
Monument to Victor Emmanuel II – Huge monument, but you can’t really do much besides look at it.
Trevi Fountain – So insanely crowded but beautiful! There’s also a light show when it gets dark.

Florence

Eats

SBRINO – The gelato here was absolutely insane. The line was a bit long, but worth it in my opinion.
La Gelatiera – Really good gelato.
La Bottega del Pizzaiolo – Pizzeria – Incredible pizza. It’s a chain, so you can find some spots in Rome as well!
All’Antico Vinaio – An inordinate amount of meat was put on my sandwich, and I’m someone who usually likes a lot of meat.

Sights

Leonardo Interactive Museum – This is a small three-room museum but so, so well done and incredible to see so many of Leonardo’s inventions brought to life.
Uffizi – The largest collection of art I’ve ever seen. This museum goes on and on. Very impressive.
Central Market – Get their fried zucchini flower on the first floor. I’ve never had anything like it.
San Miniato al Monte – Cool church with a cemetery and larger grounds than you’d expect. Also, an available restroom.
Piazzale Michelangelo & the Rose Garden – Great spots where there’s typically live music to lounge about and enjoy.
Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore – You couldn’t miss this building if you tried.
Centro Storico / Ponte Santa Trinita – Cute bridges and areas to walk around.
Basilica di San Miniato – A nice basilica with larger grounds and a great uncrowded view for sunset.
Italian Opera – Okay, so hear me out. I found this Airbnb experience of an Italian opera. Supposedly it happens every night and is free? I arrived late, so the door was already closed, but I listened from outside, and it was incredible. A bit tricky to find, but it’s in the Chiesa di Santa Monaca church.Sights