Local Insights
Skip the algorithms and the tourist traps. Discover authentic itineraries, hidden gems, and honest reviews written directly by our network of local experts.
Sara makes the case for Lake Maggiore over Lake Como, explains why visitors to Lombardia keep making the same booking mistake, and recommends the one dish you cannot leave without trying.
Manuela believes the island's most beautiful experiences are inland. Costa Smeralda is real. So is the rest of Sardinia. Her honest guide to the part of the island most visitors never reach.
Eleonora has walked the Via Appia Antica many times. She finds it remarkable that most visitors to Rome never find it. Her honest guide to the road, the Trevi Fountain, and what 48 hours in Rome are actually worth.
Simone makes the case for the Roero, the wine region across the Tanaro river from the Langhe. UNESCO-listed, almost no queues, the Big Benches project, white truffle season, and a glass of Arneis at the source.
Francesca believes Rome is one of the greatest cities in the world. She also believes most people see very little of it. A practical guide to walking the historic centre properly, with the queues avoided.
Daniela makes the case for Vicenza: a UNESCO city of Palladian architecture, the world's oldest surviving indoor theatre, and almost no queues. Plus the best way to structure 48 hours across both cities.
Elena grew up hearing Vivaldi in Venice. Her honest guide to the city after summer ends, the Jewish Ghetto, and what to drink at a cicchetti bar that is not Aperol.
Heaven has lived in Piemonte long enough to know what visitors miss. Valle Maira, a balloon flight at first light, tajarin with truffle, and the one rule she would impose on every itinerary.
Massimo, a Rome local, reveals the city's most extraordinary hidden church, maps out a Caravaggio painting tour through the streets, and explains why the Colosseum is the wrong starting point for understanding Rome.
Maritozzo at the bar, pizza alla pala at lunch, aperitivo at sunset, dinner at 8:30, gelato on foot. A Rome local walks you through how to eat in the city the way Romans actually do it.
Alessia thinks Amalfi gets too much attention and the Cilento gets too little. Her honest guide to Campania, Paestum, and what the region is really about.
Kristine has watched countless visitors make the same Dolomites mistakes. She is blunt about Cortina, blunt about AI itineraries, and has one piece of advice most people ignore.
Ana Luisa lives in Florence and her advice is simple: enjoy life slowly, find the Oltrarno, and leave a day for the Tuscany around you.
Florence local Dina shares the neighbourhood most visitors never find, why Piazza del Duomo rewards an early arrival, and the mistake she watches travellers repeat in the city year after year.
Riccardo knows central and southern Apulia intimately. He sends friends to Ceglie Messapica, suggests rethinking Alberobello, and explains why September is the only month he recommends without hesitation.
Most people drive through the Sabina hills on their way to Rome and never stop. Valentina, who grew up in Toffia, thinks that is a significant mistake.
If you ask someone which island in the Bay of Naples to visit, almost everyone says Capri. Miriam, who was born and raised in Naples, has a different answer.
Eleonora has a short list of things she wishes every Rome visitor knew before they arrived. Galleria Borghese is at the top. The Trevi Fountain is not.
The Dolomites are extraordinary, but they demand respect. Costanza, who grew up in Trentino, explains what most visitors get wrong and what to do instead.
Many visitors write Naples off before they arrive. In Serena's experience, that is the biggest mistake you can make in Campania.
Most visitors to Campania stop at Naples, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. Antonio, who lives in Salerno, thinks they are missing the best part of the region.
Most visitors come to Venice in peak summer and wonder why it feels overwhelming. Mosè, who has lived in the city all his life, has a very different suggestion for when, and how, to actually experience it.
Most travellers come to Sardinia for the beaches, leave without seeing the interior, and miss half the island's soul. Valentina, a Cagliari local, tells us what to do instead.
Most Naples visitors stick to Via Toledo and the sea-view restaurants. Laura, who has spent her life in the city, has a very different idea of how to experience it.
Most visitors spend their whole trip on the main boulevards. Dasha, who has lived in Paris for years, knows exactly where that approach falls short. We asked her where to go instead.
Barbara has lived in Rome long enough to know what makes a trip truly memorable, and it is not always where you think. We asked her how she would actually spend 48 hours in the city.
Cecilia, a local expert from Genova, shares her honest two-day guide. The caruggi, Monte Fasce, the eastern villages of Nervi and Boccadasse, and what to eat beyond the tourist traps.
Local expert Francesca shares her honest guide to Liguria. Where to go, what to skip, the best restaurants, and why focaccia di Recco beats everything else on the coast.
Tommaso, a local expert from Sicily, shares his honest advice on how to travel the island well. When to visit, the small towns to choose, and what to eat from arancino to cannolo.
Valeria came to Verona to study and never left. When she wants to feel happy, she goes for aperitivo with friends. Five spots. From a 1935 Valpolicella institution to a sky lounge above the Arena. Where Verona reveals itself.
After many years walking travellers through Florence and Tuscany, Massimo can tell you that the Uffizi and Accademia are beautiful. But they're not the only reason to come. Where Florence and Tuscany actually reveal themselves to those who look deeper.
Massimo was born in Florence. So he knows how a real Florentine starts the day. Not with a smartphone and a hurry. With coffee, with quality, with ritual. Four cafes where he actually takes his breakfast.
Roberto was born in Venice, raised in Venice, owns property in Venice. Venice is not something he visited and studied. It's something he lives. Three neighbourhood walks that show the city Venetians know.
Thirteen years in London hospitality have taught Dewi that the best hotel bars aren't about money. They're about experiences you can't get anywhere else. Three rooms that represent the pinnacle of London bar culture.
Dina works with travellers as a Florence-based travel advisor. And the first thing she does is take them for coffee. Nine cafes where she actually spends her mornings, her afternoons, her time in this city.
Francesca came to Bologna to study art history and fell in love with the city through its churches. Four sacred spaces that contain art that changes how you see the world. And a city full of life around them.
After thirty years walking travellers through Bergamo, Lucia has learned that the city only opens itself to people who slow down. Food is the best reason to slow down. Five experiences inside the walled city that will change how you understand it.
Daria is a vegetarian cook who's spent years driving the Apennine hills looking for places that take raw materials seriously. Here are her five favourite agriturismi. Honest food, fair prices, and a quality of cooking that comes from people who actually understand it.
Paolo has led many cyclists through Piedmont and watched them fall for the region. Cycling here isn't just exercise. It's moving through the landscape, tasting the air, experiencing beauty with your body. His five favourite rides.
Giovanni grew up Sicilian. And that means he understands food in a way most people don't. Five experiences that introduce you to the real island, not the postcard version: Palermo street food, Mazara prawns, Trapani cannoli, Marsala wine, and Catania pasta.
Life in the Valle d'Itria is not what you read in travel blogs. Francesco shares three real Pugliese experiences. Riding alongside Europe's longest aqueduct, looping the Canale di Pirro by old Fiat 500, and the meat-pilgrimage braceria even a vegetarian respects.
Ravenna is the place where Byzantine art reached its most brilliant expression in Western Europe. Born in the city, Silvia has spent her life understanding these mosaics. And she walks you through the five UNESCO sites where their power is still alive.
Charo came from Amsterdam and fell completely in love with London's pub culture. After a Master's in pub history and years of running tours, she takes you to three of her favourites. Real pubs, real people, real London.
Born and raised in Massa Lubrense, Giovanna takes you off the postcard route. To Roman villas swimmable through rock arches, FAI-protected bays, and a fishing village where the catch arrives an hour before lunch.
Pisa is not about climbing the Leaning Tower. Through Walking with Heritage, Amanda helps travellers experience the city the way she does. Slowly, deeply, with the history and language to make sense of it.
As a mother and wife in Bologna, date nights are precious. Sara takes you to the three places she actually books when she and her husband want a meal that feels like a celebration. Elegant, seasonal, and unmistakably Bolognese.
Francesco is a (half) farmer, a winemaker, and a believer in honest small businesses. JAZZILE. A young natural wine bar in the Valle d'Itria. Is the place he points everyone who wants to taste where southern Italy's wine is going.
When you come to Sicily, the food is not just what you eat. It's what makes you understand the island. Federica takes you to the arancini, granita, chocolate, and fish that define what it actually means to eat Sicilian.
Most travellers come to Rome and never realise the coast is an hour away. Giulia takes you to Anzio and Nettuno. Five seaside places where Rome locals actually escape to, where history meets the sea and the crowds disappear.
From an 1822 institution on Piazza San Carlo to a hybrid cafe inside the historic FIAT workshops, Stefania walks you through the spaces where Turin's tradition and innovation actually live side by side.
Seda spends her days finding the restaurants Romans actually choose for dinner. Not just the ones with the best Instagram shots. Her ten favourites, from a Tuscan trattoria to the gelato that stops you in your tracks.
Lucrezia splits her time between Milan and Emilia Romagna. We asked her how to spend a long weekend on Italy's food and fashion spine. Where to eat, what to skip, and why visitors are getting the food wrong.
Rosa has spent years showing travellers a Tuscany that does not begin and end in Florence. We asked her where to base yourself, what to skip, and why she is so quietly insistent about leaving the city behind.
Walter has spent his life in Cagliari, the city Sardinians call the City of the Sun. We asked him where to eat, where to walk, and why the island's northeast coast is the one place he would happily skip.
Cagliari local Walter makes the case for [Sardinia](/destinations/sardinia)'s capital over the famous north: better beaches, flamingos, Roman history, and authentic food. At a fraction of the price.
Discover the five most common mistakes travellers make in Sardinia and how to avoid them for an authentic island experience.
Opinion pieces and editorial perspectives from our team on how travel is changing, what is working, and what is not.
