My Top 3 Favourite Places in Italy | Solo Female Travel

In this blog, I am excited to talk about my favourite and the best places to visit in Italy. Wow! I love the feeling of revisiting these places once again as I am writing about them. It is such a wonderful feeling, lovelies. You should also try writing about your beautiful memories after your trip to Italy.

As my brain signals on the top three favourite destinations in Italy, my heart pumps out the names of Florence, Sicily, and Venice—my favourite destinations in Italy. I love these places!

So yeah! Florence, Sicily, and Venice are my absolute favourites in Italy. They sure will seize a place in your heart because these three places are an unbeatable fun-filled combo pursued by all travellers in Italy. 

Florence is a pleasure to eyes with its archaic beauty, art, and architecture. Venice is the one place that power-ups your adventurous journey with its colourful buildings. And, Sicily balances your adventure and artistic life with leisureful celebrations at beaches.

So, what is in Florence, Sicily, and Venice other than art, adventure, and enjoyment that makes it one of the best places to visit in Italy?

Let’s look into them in detail.

The best places to visit in Florence

Cinque Terre 

Why is Cinque Terre one of the best places to visit in Italy?

To me, Cinque Terre is the best place to visit in Italy because it gives a lot more than what it appears to be. 

In simple words, it is an exciting Ferris wheel ride. You know how thrilling a Ferris wheel ride is! Each movement up and down is super fun in the Ferris wheel.

Likewise, as you explore Cinque Terre, your every move into the interiors of the five majestic towns of Cinque Terre is adventurous. Your way down the Cinque Terre is also exciting. The places may look familiar, but the sloppy roads, steep paths, and railway tracks amidst the zig-zag trails make your time in Cinque Terre everlasting.

For this reason, Cinque Terre is my favourite place and one of the best places to visit in Italy.

Are you ready for the Ferris wheel ride?

Let us go into every compartment of the Ferris wheel to feel the amazement of Cinque Terre.

The postcard view of Cinque Terre is the first set of our amusement ride. Before experiencing the stunning sunset view of Cinque Terre, let me tell you a little bit about the Cinque Terre coastline. 

Cinque Terre is formed of five villages—Riomaggiore, Manarola,Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. These five villages are not finely connected. So, it is not easy to clearly identify the division between these villages. Overall, what we see as Cinque Terre, the town mounted on the hill slope, consists of five villages.

Now back to the sunset view. After reaching Cinque Terre, I moved to the village of Riomaggiore. The seashore on the side of Riomaggiore is called the Fossola beach. There is a harbour near the beach. It is the ideal place to enjoy the sunset view of Cinque Terre.

Exciting views of the Ferris wheel ride

It is clear now you are on the steep side near the Fossola beach, watching the sunset. If you go up to the village at the top, there is a bird-watching centre and botanical garden.

Moving on from Riomaggioreour, our second view from the Ferris wheel is the Manarola village. This village is notorious for its priceless taste of Sciacchetrà wine. 

Jumping to the next compartment, we are at the top of the Ferris wheel. This is the most exciting part of the ride as you can see the whole of Cinque Terre.

You can see the complete view of Cinque Terre from the village of Corniglia. It is the only village with the viewpoint of all the five villages of Cinque Terre.

Coming down to the next compartment in our ride is the Vernazza village. Relax! Vernazza is a chill-out place with a sea view every side you turn. It is a cool beach spot to sunbathe, do a quick massage, build a sandcastle and bite off the stress.

Fun activities to do in Cinque Terre

The amusing ride is not over yet. The religious thing to do in Cinque Terre is hiking tracks. The first hiking spot is the cliffside walk sliding with the sea. 

Sloppy hill on your left and vast blue body on the right, there you are trailing in the narrow path between this wonderful view. Love it!

Can you imagine railway tracks in Cinque Terre? Sounds horrifying, right? The claustrophobic paths, slippery pathways, and steeply villages are already scary, but Cinque Terre has railway tracks connecting the villages.

This is why I like Cinque Terre!

And if you’re wondering about women’s safety in Italy, please read my blog here. You will have a clearer picture of how the destination treats its solo female travellers.

Wine Tasting in Greve

Wine tasting in the medieval town of Greve is the sweet cultural experience I had in Florence. I prebooked tickets to visit Greve. Without booking, you cannot go there. The booking can be made before 24 hours you begin your travel.

Greve is as pleasing as Florence. The ancient cottages and charming greenery add beauty to your trip. I visited three wine estates just to know the winner of my tastebuds. You, too, can visit two to five estates to taste the best of the best wine in Greve.

The best places to visit in Sicily

I have localities that are close to my heart in Sicily. They are Mount Etna, Isabella island and Puerto Villamil.

Mount Etna

I will start with the blazing place of Mount Etna. It is capped by Catania on the south and Taormina on the north. So, you can take a bus or any other public transport from either Catania or Taormina to reach Mount Etna.

If you take public transport, you won’t be dropped at the spot. Instead, the dropping is at the place called Etna’s Rifugio Sapienza. From there, cable cars or jeeps are available to take you to Mount Etna.

Oh! I didn’t tell you about Mount Etna yet. Mount Etna is one of the glamorous inactive volcanic mountains in Sicily. 

It has been inactive for the past years. With that assumption, the place is now officially made into a tourist spot sitting at the height of 3329 m above sea level.

Anyways, there is no threat to your life. Every movement of the mountain is monitored live and recorded. It will definitely be one of your best experiences in Italy. 

Guided tours are easily approachable near the location. You can take one and start your terrific thrilling taming walk about the volcanic mountain.

If Italy is your first solo travel destination, then you can consider reading my blogpost on 25 crucial tips for your first solo trip to Italy.

Isola Bella Island

Isola Bella Island is also close to Taormina (a hilltop town). This small pretty island welcomes you with its sandy pathway. Yes, you don’t need ferries to reach this island as you can march your own way in the sand line connecting the island with the shore.

The island was first occupied by an English noblewoman named Lady Florence Trevelyan. Lady Florence Trevelyan was exiled to Sicily by Queen Victoria. That is when she ended up staying at the Isola Bella Island.

I felt the need to tell this piece of history because Lady Trevelyan planted beautiful plants on the island. She has contributed to the beautiful green clusters of flora we are visiting today.

Mount Stromboli

Mount Stromboli is a volcanic mountain sitting magnificently on the small island of Stromboli, Sicily. After your expose to Mount Etna, volcanic mountains may sound cheesy to you, but unlike Mount Etna, Mount Stromboli is still active with volcanic production and is super powerful.

Coming to the favourite part, the sight of Mount Stromboli at night or anytime late evening is devilish, glamorous, and magical. Don’t miss it! Mount Stromboli is considered as the lighthouse by the sailors travelling on the nearby coastline.

Mazzaforno beach

Mazzaforno beach, situated on the Sicilian coastline, is a nice place to relax, sunbathe and play in the water. The emerald and turquoise embedded waterbody with pebbles at its borderline and gigantic mountains at its background are mesmerising beauty in Sicily.

You can check out my blogpost on what to pack for Italy as a solo female traveller. I’m sure it’ll be helpful since you’re travelling to a diverse country like Italy.

Syracuse

Syracuse is located on the eastern coastline of Sicily and is just 33 kilometres from Catania. While it has several historical centres, I love its beaches. Beaches are my ideal location to calm and celebrate.

I visited the Ortigia beach in Ortigia Island, Vendicari Beach and Avola beach. All the beaches were well-maintained—crystal clear water with enriching coral reefs across the waterbody. That means you have a lot of areas to snorkel, dive, swim, and surf.

On beaches, I like to lie down in a shady spot and look at other people’s activities in coherence with the movement of the waves. Sometimes, these were also the times I had serious thoughts going on my mind. And, that’s Sicily, one of the best places to visit in Italy.

The best places to visit in Venice

Yet another best place to visit in Italy is Venice, popularly known as the floating city of Italy.

The Grand Canal

By now, you must have guessed my favourite thing to do in Venice. Yeah! Gondola ride in the Grand Canal of Venice is my lovely liking.

Watching the vast sky and its colour reflecting around you and the stunning Venetian buildings floating in your view is a heavenly feeling.

Doge’s Palace

The Doge’s Palace is a breathtaking beauty of Venice. Wow! What wonderful gothic architecture. Classy photography in the background of the Venetian gothic palace is compulsory!

The Doge’s Palace is also known as the “Bridge of Sighs.” So, there is a bridge connecting the stunning palace to its prison.

But you cannot easily assess your entry crossing the Bridge of Sighs to the prison. This place is not open for public tours. Nevertheless, if you spend some cash and get that elite ticket, you can step into the prison with a guide. The ticket to the Bridge of Sighs is necessary to explore it completely. So, book your tickets, walk through the bridge, and get stunned by the beautiful architecture of Venice.

Murano

Coming next is the glass island of Venice.

Murano, the glass island of Venice, is a cluster of seven islands. They are neatly arranged with several bridges connecting the islands. Without considering the waterbody separating the island, to me, the glass island looks like closely packed apartments. Again, that tremendous formation of the island captured a place in my heart.

The colourful buildings, railway ride and hiking in Cinque Terre. Tannic, Acidic, Sweet, and many other tastes of wine in Greve. Beautiful gondola ride in Venice. Volcanic walk and Snorkeling in Sicily. These are my favorite places in Italy.

What are your favourites?

The list does not end here as there are so many breathtaking places to visit in Italy. Ten fingers cannot justify the country’s favourite destinations! I’m also pretty sure Rome and Naples are as beautiful as Florence, Sicily, and Venice.

However, my request for you is don’t miss out on these places to visit in Italy.

Also, comment on any wonders I have missed in Italy. If you have been to these places already, describe your impressive experience in the comments below.