Italy

If you are looking for a romantic getaway or wanting to experience culture and cuisine at a heightened and extraordinary level, make sure you are on the next flight to Italy. If you are also looking for the country with the most UNESCO world heritage sites, then it is Italy. Considered as the birthplace of Western culture, you only have to turn a corner, and you would see a great monument or an extraordinary sight.

Italy is known for its estimated thousands of monuments and museums because the Italian Renaissance produced artists who took painting to the next level, including Da Vinci and Michelangelo. Italy is also considered to be the birthplace of opera.

Start your tour of Italy in its capital, Rome. is one of Europe’s most-visited cities. The country has so much going for it: trendy fashion, luxury sports cars and motorcycles, diverse regional cultures and dialects, as well as for its beautiful coast, alpine lakes and mountain ranges (the Alps and Apennines). Perhaps this was why the country was rated as the fifth most visited country in the world, with a total of 50.7 million international arrivals as of 2015.

No matter where you go in the country, you’ll be entranced. Top destinations include the Cinque Terre on the rocky coastline, Milan, touted as the world’s fashion capital, Florence, known for its architecture and art, and lesser-known (but extremely historical and interesting) Ravenna.

Further north you’ll find Venice, famous for its canals, exquisite handmade lace and Venetian glass, as well as the Italian Alps. They boast some of the most beautiful mountains in Europe.

While you’ll hear Italian spoken everywhere, English is widely spoken, especially among shopkeepers and tourist operators.

Italian cuisine

The Italians have one of the most famous and diverse cuisines in the world, and proudly claim Parmesan cheese as a specialty. Italian wine is one of the most coveted; the unique Amarone is a special variety of red that deserves its high price.

There is so much to do in Italy, from simply roaming the streets and squares, to Renaissance art and attending an opera. Hike the Dolomites; visit Pompeii to explore history, or simple cycle around a city. The experience in Italy is simply exhilarating.