Things to do in Italy

Italy holds together on a map and nowhere else. The north runs on business, fashion and the Alps. Milan anchors it, with Turin, the lakes and the Dolomites within a couple of hours.

The centre is Tuscany, Umbria and Rome. It sits at the hinge between north and south. The south turns coastal and slower: Naples, the Amalfi towns, Puglia further down the heel.

Sicily and Sardinia sit apart again, closer in feel to North Africa than to Milan. A fast train covers the mainland in a day. The islands need a flight or a ferry instead.

What the country is actually good at

Food changes by region more than most visitors expect. Piedmont runs on truffles and wine. Tuscany leans on olive oil and Chianti.

Naples runs on pizza. Sicily serves its own mix of Arab and Norman leftovers on a plate.

History stacks everywhere, not just in the famous cities. Roman roads, medieval hill towns and Baroque churches turn up in places with no reputation for any of it.

The coast and the islands carry the beach and boat side of things. The Alps and Dolomites handle skiing and hiking instead. Both halves of the country rarely show up in the same trip.

Group or private, north to south

A group seat runs about the price of lunch. The same day taken privately runs several times that. It pays off fastest with families or slow walkers.

Practical

• Weather. January runs near freezing at night in Milan and around 14C by day in Palermo. July passes 30C across most of the country, hotter and drier the further south you go.
• Trains. High-speed lines take about three hours from Milan to Rome and just over one from Rome to Naples; book ahead in summer for the cheaper fares.
• Meal times. Lunch runs from about one, dinner rarely starts before half past seven; kitchens often shut between the two.
• Tipping. Not expected the way it is elsewhere; a coperto on the bill already covers bread and the table.
• Booking ahead. The best-known sights sell out days or weeks out in peak season, everywhere from Florence to Sicily.
• Regional trains. Away from the high-speed spine, local lines run slower and less often; build in slack for connections in the south and the islands.