An Overview of Italy as a Holiday and Travel Destination

Malcesine on Lake Garda

Holidays in Italy

Attracted by the weather and a plethora of history and art, Italy is the fifth most popular worldwide tourist destination, with over 40 million visitors each year.

Italy is renowned for its gastronomy and attractions include beaches, lakes, countryside, mountains and more specific attractions such as The Coliseum, the gondolas in Venice and the ruins of Pompeii.

The Attractions of Italy

For British holidaymakers and travellers, holidays in Italy still ranks in popularity behind both France & Spain even though its attractions are no less compelling. The country provides a rich cultural heritage that is unsurpassed by any other comparable nation. Then there is the great Mediterranean climate, an increasingly popular (amongst the British) Italian cuisine, numerous and easy flight connections to a host of different destinations and, above all, Italy provides a diversified and quality product served up with a warm and friendly welcome.

All this makes Italy an attractive Mediterranean holiday destination even when compared with other countries like Greece, Turkey and Croatia.

Italy caters for a variety of different types of holidaymakers and visitors, from expensive villas with pools to smaller, more basic accommodation. Hotel packages are trending towards better quality 4* and 5* hotels.

Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast are the two most popular destinations for British holidaymakers.  Lake Garda is now one of the destinations growing the fastest in popularity and the Puglia region, where Bari is the main city, is a new rising star. City Breaks also remain popular notably to Milan, Bologna, Rome and, of course, Venice.

Activity holidays are another popular pastime including walking, cycling and Italian-style Adventure Holidays.

In Summary

Italy is a wonderful country to visit.  It is full of historical and interesting places to visit and stay; it provides a vast array of variety with its scenery, culture and popular cuisines; and it has a wonderful climate.

On top of this, the Italian generosity of spirit and general openness to visitors makes this country deservedly one of the favourite British overseas destinations.

Return to Italy Holiday & Travel Page

Further Information About Italy:

• Accommodation & Places to Stay
• Places of Interest
• How to Get There
• Weather & Climate
• Local Cuisine
• Things to Do in Italy
• Brief History of Italy