Places to visit

overnight staySea and coastCities of art

Ancona

the Adriatic port where you can watch both sunrise and sunset over the sea

Marche · 2 stops · 5 sights

the apse of the Pieve, the portico of the Palazzo delle Logge and the sloping floor of Piazza Grande

Arezzo

the sloping square, the fresco cycle of Piero della Francesca and the goldsmiths' workshops

Toscana · 2 stops · 7 sights

the pool of thermal water that fills the square, with the stone palaces around it

Bagno Vignoni

the village in the Val d'Orcia where the main square is a pool of thermal water

Toscana · 3 stops · 4 sights

the Sagrada Família rising above the trees of the park, with the site crane on the left

Barcelona

Gaudí's modernism and the beaches of Barceloneta, capital of Catalonia

Catalogna · 2 stops · 6 sights

Bari

the city of San Nicola, with Bari Vecchia enclosed by the Muraglia, the longest seafront in Italy and the ferry port for Greece and Albania

Puglia · 3 stops · 14 sights

the courtyard of the Hôtel-Dieu, with its roofs of glazed tiles in diamond patterns and its wooden galleries

Beaune

the wine capital of Burgundy, with the coloured roofs of the Hôtel-Dieu, the cellars under the streets, the ramparts and the Côte de Beaune to ride by bicycle, and in November the Hospices wine auction

Borgogna · 5 stops · 8 sights

Piazza Walther from above at dusk, the red huts of the market and the bell tower of the Cathedral

Bolzano

the capital of the Alto Adige, between medieval arcades, Ötzi and the Advent markets

Trentino-Alto Adige · 3 stops · 5 sights

the Ponte Visconteo lit up at night, the crenellated tower and the foaming weir on the Mincio

Borghetto sul Mincio

the village of mills on the Mincio, below the Visconti fortified bridge

Veneto · 2 stops · 6 sights

the Christmas market huts at dusk, with the mountain still lit by the sun at the end of the street

Brunico

capital of the Val Pusteria, between the medieval Tyrolean centre and the Plan de Corones

Trentino-Alto Adige · 4 stops · 5 sights

Catania

the city black with lava beneath Etna, from the morning Pescheria to via Etnea

Sicilia · 2 stops · 13 sights

overnight staySea and coastHistoric villages

Vernazza from above, the little harbour and the tower on the rocky spur

Cinque Terre - La Spezia

five villages high above the sea, visited by train with the motorhome left outside

Liguria · 2 stops · 5 sights

Forte Sangallo from above, Antonio da Sangallo's pentagon with the octagonal keep and the new town behind

Civita Castellana

the town on a tufa spur between two gorges, and three thousand years of worked clay

Lazio · 2 stops · 8 sights

Civita and its tufa crag from the Bagnoregio viewpoint, with the valley of the calanchi around it

Civita di Bagnoregio

the dying town on the tufa, where you can only arrive on foot

Lazio · 2 stops · 8 sights

the quai de la Poissonnerie in December, with the half-timbered houses reflected in the Lauch

Colmar

the city of half-timbered houses on the Lauch, with the Isenheim Altarpiece at the Unterlinden, the Petite Venise by boat, the wines of the Wine Route and the most photographed Christmas markets in Alsace

Alsazia · 4 stops · 13 sights

the Christmas market on the Roncalliplatz at the blue hour, with the big tree and the canopy of fairy lights in front of the Cathedral

Cologne

the city of the Cathedral of the Three Kings on the Rhine, with the Romanesque churches and the Brauhaus of the old town, the Chocolate Museum on the harbour and the cable car over the river, and in winter the Christmas markets and the carnival that begins on 11 November

Renania Settentrionale-Vestfalia · 5 stops · 18 sights

overnight stayCities of artLakes

the Christmas market in the Stadtgarten in the evening, with the big illuminated tree among the chalets

Konstanz

the city of the Council on the lake, with the Imperia at the harbour, the Münster and the lanes of the Niederburg, the flower island of Mainau and the monasteries of Reichenau Island, and in December the Christmas market along the shore

Baden-Württemberg · 7 stops · 18 sights

the place de la Libération at night, with the palace of the dukes lit up and the tower of Philip the Good in the middle

Dijon

the city of the Dukes of Burgundy, with the palace, the tombs and the owl of Notre-Dame, mustard and the Cité of gastronomy, and from here the Route des Grands Crus that runs down through the vineyards of the Côte de Nuits

Borgogna · 4 stops · 15 sights

overnight stayCities of artHistoric villages

piazza del Comune with the Sturinalto fountain in the foreground, the bell tower behind and the arcades closing the sides

Fabriano

the town that invented the watermark, with a triangular square and a fountain in the middle

Marche · 1 stop · 7 sights

the wooden hut of a trabucco, still on its piles at the end of the pier, in low light

Fano

the arch of Augustus at the end of the square and the trabucchi at the end of the pier

Marche · 3 stops · 11 sights

overnight staySea and coastCities of art

the Christmas market on the Römerberg in the evening, with the big illuminated tree in front of the Römer

Frankfurt

the coronation city on the Main, with the Römer and the Cathedral, the old town rebuilt house by house, the museums on the riverbank and the cider taverns of Sachsenhausen, and in December the Christmas market on the Römerberg

Assia · 6 stops · 19 sights

overnight stayCities of artLakes

the Jet d'eau and Mont Blanc pink at sunset, above the city's roofs

Geneva

Calvin's city on Lake Geneva, with the Jet d'eau, Saint-Pierre Cathedral and the old town, the Palais des Nations and CERN, and in December the Escalade, the festival of the night it drove back the Savoyards

Canton Ginevra · 4 stops · 17 sights

the frozen Hoge der A on a winter morning, with the sailing ships moored and the tower of the Akerk in the background

Groningen

the city of bicycles and students in the north of the Netherlands, with the Martinitoren on the Grote Markt, the canals of the A and Mendini's museum on the water, and in December the illuminated historic ships of the WinterWelVaart

Groninga · 8 stops · 18 sights

the town seen from the lower square: the palace up on the left, Monte Ingino behind and the cable car wire cutting across it

Gubbio

the grey stone town leaning on the mountain, with the tablets that speak Umbrian

Umbria · 2 stops · 6 sights

overnight stayCities of artMountains and hiking

the colourful houses of Mariahilf on the bank of the Inn, with the Nordkette behind

Innsbruck

the city of Maximilian I, between the Golden Roof, the Hofburg and the Hofkirche, with the Nordkette reached from the centre by funicular, the Christmas markets and the Bergisel ski jump

Tirolo · 3 stops · 15 sights

La Thuile

a mountain village at 1441 metres, under the Rutor glacier and a step from the French border

Valle d'Aosta · 3 stops · 5 sights

overnight stayLakesHistoric villages

the arched gate in the battlemented walls, with the keep of the Scaliger castle behind

Lazise

a walled village on the Verona shore of Garda, between the old harbour and the Scaliger castle

Veneto · 3 stops · 5 sights

the brick bridge over the canal, with the moored boats and the full tables on the quayside

Livorno

the Venezia quarter, the navigable canals and the two fortresses

Toscana · 2 stops · 8 sights

day visit onlyCities of artSea and coast

the lakeside with the blue and white posts of the pier and the buildings facing the water

Lovere

the Alto Sebino village of the oldest museum in Lombardy, the medieval towers and the projections over the lake

Lombardia · 1 stop · 6 sights

overnight stayLakesHistoric villages

Lucca

the city enclosed within its Walls, with the towers, the Romanesque churches and the Comics at the end of October

Toscana · 3 stops · 10 sights

overnight stayLakesCities of art

Lugano

the Switzerland that speaks Italian, between the lake, the two mountains and a centre entirely on foot

Canton Ticino · 3 stops · 5 sights

the Brenta Dolomites seen from the porch of an alpine dairy, with the wooden tables out on the snow

Madonna di Campiglio

the smartest resort in Trentino, between the Brenta Dolomites and the glaciers of the Adamello

Trentino-Alto Adige · 3 stops · 8 sights

Mantua

the city of the Gonzaga closed in by three lakes, in the middle of the Po Valley

Lombardia · 2 stops · 5 sights

overnight staySea and coast

the wooden walkway climbs over the dune and comes out on the beach

Marina di Bibbona

fine sand, pine woods and squares named after flowers, on the Etruscan Coast

Toscana · 2 stops · 4 sights

the pine wood, the rock groynes and the beach as far as the marina

Marina di Cecina

the Tomboli pine wood, the river mouth and the water park among the pines

Toscana · 1 stop · 6 sights

day visit onlySea and coast

low sun on the pistes of the Alpin Arena Senales, with the wooden tables out on the snow

Maso Corto

two thousand metres at the head of the Val Senales, where the road ends and the glacier begins

Trentino-Alto Adige · 1 stop · 5 sights

overnight stayCities of artHistoric villages

Matera

the town carved into the tufa, with the Sassi, the churches in the rock and the living nativity at Christmas

Basilicata · 2 stops · 10 sights

sunset from the seafront of Montalto Marina, with the wooden fence, the breakwater closing the stretch of water and, on the right on the horizon, the stack of the power station

Montalto di Castro

the westernmost comune in Lazio, with an Etruscan city inside it and a power station on the sea that was never switched on

Lazio · 4 stops · 7 sights

overnight stayHistoric villagesSea and coast

the castle gate with the tower above the arch, the walls and the shops along the street

Monteriggioni

a thirteenth century castle still whole, fourteen towers above the Sienese hills

Toscana · 1 stop · 5 sights

the Château d'eau at the far end of the Promenade du Peyrou, above the basin

Montpellier

a young city a few miles from the Mediterranean, with a fully pedestrian centre

Occitania · 3 stops · 6 sights

the outer arches of the Roman amphitheatre, the two tiers seen from the square

Nîmes

the French Rome, between amphitheatre, temple and gardens above the spring

Occitania · 2 stops · 6 sights

Palermo

the city you reach from the sea, Arab-Norman and Baroque, with its markets, Monte Pellegrino and the beach of Mondello

Sicilia · 3 stops · 13 sights

Piazza Garibaldi and the Palazzo del Governatore mirrored in a puddle after the rain

Parma

Correggio's dome, five museums inside the Pilotta and ham in every shop

Emilia-Romagna · 2 stops · 5 sights

overnight staySea and coast

the Sfera Grande by Arnaldo Pomodoro in the basin on the seafront, with the sea behind

Pesaro

seven kilometres of beaches and the city of Rossini, between the Bicipolitana and the San Bartolo park

Marche · 3 stops · 10 sights

the Val d'Orcia and Monte Amiata from the town walls

Pienza

the pearl of the Val d'Orcia, between history, flavours and long views

Toscana · 2 stops · 5 sights

the stream between the houses of the village seen from under the covered bridge, with the snowy peaks beyond

Ponte di Legno

1258 metres in the upper Val Camonica, between the Adamello Ski pistes and the high valley paths

Lombardia · 4 stops · 4 sights

overnight stayCities of artEuropean capitals

the Colosseum lit up in the evening, seen from the road that runs past it, with the traffic light on red and people sitting on the pavement

Rome

three days with the vehicle parked, because you do not drive into Rome, you arrive and get out

Lazio · 4 stops · 27 sights

the old town in the evening from the bank of the Salzach, with the cathedral, the Kollegienkirche and the fortress lit up

Salzburg

the city of Mozart and the prince-archbishops, between the cathedral, the fortress on the rock and the Mirabell Gardens, with the Christmas market in front of the cathedral and the Krampus in December

Salisburghese · 4 stops · 15 sights

the rocky summit lit by the first sun above the houses and the snowy meadow

San Vigilio di Marebbe

the Ladin village under the Plan de Corones, at the gate of the Fanes-Senes-Braies park

Trentino-Alto Adige · 2 stops · 6 sights

day visit onlySea and coastHistoric villages

the castle from the beach at blue hour, with the spotlights lit under the base and reflected on the wet sand, and on the right the breakwater that closes the bay

Santa Severa

a castle with its feet in the water, built on top of the Etruscan port of Pyrgi

Lazio · 1 stop · 8 sights

Sestriere

two thousand metres on the pass between Val Chisone and Val di Susa, at the heart of the Via Lattea

Piemonte · 2 stops · 4 sights

the cathedral's gable with the mosaic in the tympanum, lit by the low sun

Siena

Sienese Gothic on the hilltops, between Piazza del Campo, the cathedral and the Crete

Toscana · 2 stops · 5 sights

the Roman amphitheatre at sunset, with the beach and the sea behind it

Tarragona

the Roman amphitheatre looking out over the sea, with a motorhome base at Salou and the train into the centre

Catalogna · 1 stop · 4 sights

Turin

the city of arcades and straight lines, done from the outside by motorhome and by tram within

Piemonte · 3 stops · 10 sights

overnight stayHistoric villagesCities of art

the whole town at sunset, with the palace and the two little towers caught by the last light and the cathedral bell tower beside them

Urbino

a court city on two hills, with a palace that is a city in itself

Marche · 2 stops · 6 sights

the dome of the Desemparats basilica, the cathedral's lantern tower and the Túria fountain on the Plaça de la Mare de Déu

Valencia

the bed of the Turia turned into a park, the medieval centre and the paella where it was born

Comunità Valenciana · 2 stops · 5 sights

the Grand Canal on a sunny day, water taxis on the move and the dome of the Salute at the far end

Venice

the Serenissima on the water, between the Grand Canal, the calli and the lagoon

Veneto · 1 stop · 5 sights

the old centre and the bend of the Adige at sunset, with the towers and bell towers above the roofs

Verona

the Scaliger city on the bend of the Adige, with its Roman Arena and an old centre all on foot

Veneto · 3 stops · 5 sights