Italy

Tossing a coin into the Trevi Fountain is a tradition nearly every visitor keeps. The Pantheon’s unreinforced concrete dome still amazes engineers nearly two thousand years after it was built, and it sits just steps from the cafes of Piazza Navona. The Vatican Museums, capped by the Sistine Chapel, deserve a full morning on their own. In the evening, the Trastevere neighborhood fills with trattorias serving cacio e pepe and carbonara along narrow, ivy-draped streets. Rome’s density of world-class sights makes it one of the few cities where every corner turned reveals another landmark.

The Uffizi Gallery holds Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and works by Michelangelo and Leonardo, while the nearby Accademia houses Michelangelo’s original David. The Ponte Vecchio, lined with jewelry shops, is the last of Florence’s medieval bridges to survive intact. Across the Arno, the Oltrarno district and the Boboli Gardens behind the Pitti Palace offer a quieter side of the city away from the main crowds. Florence rewards travelers who pair its museums with long lunches of bistecca alla fiorentina and Chianti.

A gondola ride along the Grand Canal passes centuries of palazzos in shades of faded pink and gold. The Rialto Bridge and its surrounding market have anchored Venetian trade since medieval times, and the fish stalls there still open at dawn. The Doge’s Palace, connected to the old prisons by the Bridge of Sighs, traces the city’s history as a maritime republic. A vaporetto ride out to the islands of Murano and Burano reveals glassblowing workshops and rows of houses painted in vivid colors. Venice’s car-free streets and endless canal views make it unlike any other city in the world.