ItalyThe Colosseum, Neapolitan pizza and a gondola on the Grand Canal

Built 72–80 AD with seating for 50,000 — the largest amphitheatre of the ancient world, and still. Arrive exactly at 9:00 opening: the first 40–60 minutes the arena is nearly empty, the light is soft, the photos extraordinary. One ticket (18–22 EUR) covers the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill — allow a full day. Book online at least a week ahead: queues on-site stretch to 2–3 hours.

Naples is the birthplace of pizza, and here it is fundamentally different: thin dough, a soft, blistered centre from a wood-fired 485°C oven, San Marzano tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella. L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele — open since 1870, two types: Margherita and Marinara, price around 5 EUR. Queue 30–40 minutes, but it's part of the experience. Skip the queue at Sorbillo on Via dei Tribunali — equally good.

Fixed rate — 80 EUR for 30 minutes during the day, 100 EUR after 19:00. Haggling is not accepted: rates are regulated by the city tariff. Ask your gondolier to avoid the Grand Canal with its crowds of vaporetti and instead thread the narrow canals of Dorsoduro or Cannaregio — quiet, buildings hanging over the water, no other tourists. Best time — early evening: golden light, fewer crowds.

One of the greatest art museums in the world — 45 rooms of Renaissance painting in the former Medici administrative building. Here hangs Botticelli's original 'Birth of Venus', Leonardo's 'Annunciation' and Raphael's 'Madonna of the Goldfinch'. Book tickets online in advance: the on-site queue stretches 3–4 hours even on a weekday. Allow at least 3 hours for viewing.

50 kilometres of serpentine road on sheer cliffs above the Tyrrhenian Sea — one of the most beautiful drives in Europe. Three mandatory stops: Positano with multi-coloured houses cascading down hillsides, medieval Amalfi with its cathedral, Ravello with the gardens of Villa Rufolo above the clouds. Depart before 9:00: by noon the narrow road is paralysed by tourist buses. SITA bus — 2–3 EUR, a rental car — freedom of route.

Barolo is called 'the king of Italian wines' — minimum 3 years' ageing in oak barrels, terroir of the Langhe hills in Piedmont. The best way to experience it — visit the village of La Morra or Barolo and call directly on a small producer: tasting of 4–6 wines costs 15–25 EUR, often with vineyard views. Book ahead at Vietti, Elvio Cogno or Roberto Voerzio — it's another level.

Five villages — Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore — strung along cliffs above the Ligurian Sea. The Via dell'Amore hiking trail links all five — about 12 km, takes a full day. Best sunset view — from Corniglia. Arrive on a weekday morning: summer weekends become a scrum. Park pass (7.5 EUR) grants access to trails; village entry is free.

Six centuries in the making — from 1386 to 1965 — and now the third-largest Gothic cathedral in the world. The main attraction — the rooftop with 135 marble spires: lift ascent 13 EUR, stairs 9 EUR. On a clear day you can see the Alps. Inside — 14th-century stained glass and a wooden choir from Leonardo da Vinci's era. The square before the cathedral — Milan's finest spot for an Aperol at sunset.

White truffle from San Miniato — one of the world's most expensive ingredients: up to 3,000 EUR per kilogram at peak season. A tour with a truffle hunter and his dog lasts 2–3 hours: walk through oak forest, searching, unearthing, cleaning and a final tasting with fresh pasta and local wine. Season: white truffle — September–December, black truffle — January–March. Book with local agriturismi at least a week ahead.