The ultimate authentic Italy bucket list
Last Updated on July 13, 2026 by admin
If there’s one thing I miss more than anything about life before I had a baby, it’s the ease with which my husband and I could travel.
Last minute train tickets, a backpack with a few changes of clothes, and a general idea were all we needed to get out of town for a few days.
Now, travel requires so much more. More planning. More stuff. And more consideration for our little sweetie pie.
I wouldn’t trade being a mom for anything in the world, not even for a day, an hour, or a minute, but I do look forward to traveling again with a bit more ease someday.
In early motherhood, I’ve spent many hours remembering some amazing trips I’ve been lucky enough to take, and also daydreaming about where I’d like to go and what I’d like to do in the (hopefully not too distant) future, and in doing so, I’ve accidentally dreamt up a travel wish list for Italy.
I’m not really a bucket-list traveler, in that I don’t think of travel as a list of things to do. Some people tick boxes and refuse to go back to the same place twice – this is not me! I actually love return trips, going back to old favorite spots and expanding my mind map of wherever I am. Indeed, I have already done a few of the items on this list multiple times, and I still want to do them all again.
That said, I also have certain new things I want to experience, especially in Italy, where I’ve spent so much of my adult life. Enter the second half of this list.
This isn’t your typical Italy bucket list, though, it’s one I’ve built for anyone who wants to see a different side of Italy, away from the crowds and from the mobbed main sights that everyone already has on their to-do list.
Italy is so much more than the Colosseum, the Grand Canal, and the Duomo of Florence, and I think this list represents the country beyond those things.
Nothing on this list is luxurious or inaccessible (well, maybe the last one qualifies as a bit of a splurge), and some of them are very cheap (note, if you’re visiting Rome on a budget, I’ve got some tips for you).
So, to recap, I’ve done half of the things on this list, and others are things I’d like to do – my ultimate Italy dream experiences. Combined, they make up what I like to think of as an authentic Italy bucket list for the traveler who wants to experience this beautiful country in a less-common way.
By the way, if, like this list, “authentic-and-not-too-expensive” is your vibe, let me plan your dream trip to Rome!
Ok, andiamo! Here’s my ultimate Italy bucket list for the not-so-typical traveler.
The ultimate authentic Italy bucket list
Do a self-guided bacaro tour in Venice
Ok, this one I’ve been lucky enough to do more times than I can count.
Venice is one of those places that can be difficult to enjoy if you don’t know how to experience it. Hanging around San Marco and the Rialto bridge with 90 million other tourists is not fun, and what’s worse, it doesn’t really give you a great idea of the city of Venice as it lives and breathes.
Worse still is not getting a good idea of how the city EATS – if you stick to the busiest areas, you might end up at a tourist trap and never learn anything about Venetian food.
Enter the self-guided bacaro tour. Head to one of the more out-of-the-way neighborhoods like Canareggio or Accademia and do as the Venetians do at the tiny bars (bacari) that dot La Serenissima. Order some cicheti to eat and either an ombra rossa or bianca (a small glass of house wine), a spritz, or a prosecco (or stop at Il Santo Bevitore for a craft beer).
You can easily make a day of this, wandering between sights and bacari to refuel. Don’t make a scene – the Venetians don’t take kindly to wasted foreigners, and some places outright refuse bachelor and bachelorette parties.
I promise that it’s the best way to see Venice, and one most tourists know nothing about.
Stay at an agriturismo
In a past life, when I worked as an English teacher, I used to spend part of my summer vacation doing a second gig as a camp counselor. Lucky for me, the camp I worked at was at an agriturismo, which meant I got to stay in one for several weeks. I’ve also vacationed in an agriturismo and yes, it was a much more pleasant experience because I didn’t have a bunch of rowdy kids to look after.
An agriturismo combines, as you may have guessed, agriculture and tourism. In other words, they are working farms with rooms to rent. Agriturismi serve food (a percentage of which has to be produced on the farm), and often have restaurants that allow non-guests to come for lunch and/or dinner.
Think gorgeous views, memorable meals, stone fireplaces, peaceful walks, and starlit nights.
If this sounds idyllic, that’s because it is, especially because some agriturismi have a pool and some offer experiences like cooking classes, olive harvesting, and other activities.
So much travel to Italy is concentrated on urban centers, and frankly, a lot of them can’t handle it. Florence, Venice, and Rome in particular are experiencing difficulties in managing overtourism and are facing its brutal impacts, including city centers being emptied of residents owing to increased housing prices and the erasure of local culture.
Staying at an agriturismo will give you a taste (pun intended) of what the country has to offer outside of its packed cities and towns. I promise you’ll fall in love with the Italian countryside if you give it a try.
Visit an underrated region
There’s so much more to Italy than the usual tourist trajectories, and a great way to experience the rest of the country is by visiting a lesser-known, underrated region. Italy has 20!
Whenever we go to Abruzzo, for example, I always think of how ridiculously beautiful it is, how delicious the food is, how it’s got vineyards, mountains, beaches, lakes, hiking, skiing, and food that ranges from rustic to Michelin stared – they have SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS FOR GOD’S SAKE – and yet most travelers go to the same areas of Tuscany instead and pay a premium to go to all the same crowded spots as everyone else.
I also love Tuscany, don’t get me wrong, but Abruzzo, Le Marche and Umbria are also just as beautiful.
Attend a sagra
A sagra is a festival celebrating something – very often a specific food, historical tradition, or patron saint.
I will never forget the first sagra I attended. I was working at the summer camp I mentioned above, and on our one night off, the camp directors took us to the nearest town for a sagra put on by the local church.
We ate some of the most delicious pasta I’ve ever had off of plastic plates on picnic tables outside of the church, and I remember having one of those pinch-me moments where I took in my surroundings and just couldn’t believe how lucky I was to be living in Italy, experiencing a meaningful local event.
If you ever get the chance to attend a sagra, take it! Curious to know if your visit coincides with one? The folks at Italy foodies have mapped them out, month by month.
Sip prosecco at l’osteria senza oste in Veneto
Prosecco is and has been all the rage internationally for the last several years, so why not take a trip to the area it comes from? And why not sip some while overlooking the very spot where the grapes grow?
While you may know that you enjoy the stuff, you may not know that the Prosecco region is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, having gained this status in 2019 for the unique terraced farming technique that’s used to grow the grapes, which are of the Glera variety.
There is a route that can be traveled through the area, known as “La Via del Prosecco,” where you can tour wineries and vineyards and visit the towns and villages along the way, or, if you don’t have the time for that, you can spend a few delicious hours at “L’osteria senza oste” (the osteria with no host), a spot where you can serve yourself prosecco, cold cuts, cheese and bread while gazing out over the terraced slopes where the green globes that become your delicious crispy wine grow.
I have the absolute fondest memories of my trip there. My husband and I had been away from Italy for six months, and it was the very best welcome back to the country that I could have ever dreamt up.
Go on a cycling or walking holiday
Ok, this is where this post starts to fade into my personal wishlist, sort of, because I haven’t really done a full cycling or walking holiday, but I have had the pleasure of having a taste of one in Levanto.
Years ago, an old railway line was converted into a bike path called la Ciclopedonale Maremonti that connects the Ligurian towns of Levanto, Framura, and Bonassola, which lie just north of the famous Cinque Terre.
When I visited Levanto for the first time in 2021, we rode the path every day on rented bikes, stopping to swim along the way, and it was absolute heaven, especially after having been in and out of COVID lockdowns and curfews for much of the year.
I would LOVE to do a long biking or walking vacation in Italy, because what better way to slow down and really soak in her beauty?
You’re spoiled for choice, but the Guardian has a roundup of some of the best walking paths in Italy, which includes suggestions for places to stay and places to eat along the way.
And here is a handy list of long-distance bike routes throughout the country if you want to travel on two wheels instead of two feet.
Hunt for truffles
I’ve never been truffle hunting, and I don’t even really like truffles, but this is still very high on my Italy wishlist.
Maybe it’s the dogs, maybe it’s the being out in the woods part, maybe it’s because I have an image in my mind of sitting by a fire with a glass of wine and a bowl of pasta afterwards, who knows? What I do know is that I want to do it.
Depending on the variety you’re after, truffle hunting happens almost all year – black truffles are harvested in the summer, between May and August, and white truffle season (the more precious of the two) goes from October to December.
If you’re interested in truffle hunting, I highly recommend watching The Truffle Hunters, a documentary that follows a few elderly ones in different regions of the country.
Book your top-rated truffle-hunting experience here!
Dine in a trabocco
Along the coast of Abruzzo, a series of over-the-water fishing platforms called trabocchi have been converted into restaurants.
I’ve come close to having dinner in a trabocco a few times, but alas, it has never worked out. For this (sad) reason, I’m not exactly sure how it works, but from what I’ve gathered, you pay a fixed price for a multi-course seafood meal, sometimes with wine included, sometimes without. Here’s one travelers experience of dining in a trabocco.
If you’re planning a getaway along Abruzzo’s Adriatic coast, please eat at a trabocco for me and tell me how it is! If I ever manage to get there, I’ll report back.
While researching for this post, I found out that there’s a cycling path along the costa dei Trabocchi, called the Via Verde. Knock off three items on this bucket list in one – cycle the Via Verde, eat at a trabocco, and do it all in Abruzzo (a lesser-known region)!
Stay in a mountain rifugio in the Dolomites
A rifugio is a lodge along a mountain path. Some are rustic, others provide more amenities, but all offer accommodation to hikers, and generally have a restaurant on-site. The rifugio system has been around for over a century!
Doesn’t it sound nice to stop after a long day of hiking to rest your weary feet, eat a nice meal, and talk to other hikers, all in front of a beautiful view? I’m not a hiker, really, but I would like to be, so this kind of experience sounds idyllic to me.
Check out this post on rifugi along the Alta Via 1 for specifics on that particular route.
Sail the Aeolian islands
Alright, this is the splurge. I’ve wanted to sail the Aeolian islands ever since I found out they existed. Since then, I’ve spoken to many friends who have done so and have reinforced the idea that this is definitely something I should do.
The archipelago is made up of seven islands: Lipari (the biggest and busiest), Vulcano (known for its mud baths and hiking), Salina (where Malvasia wine is produced), Stromboli (an active volcano!), Panarea (the smallest and chicest), Filicudi (few crowds), and Alicudi (the fewest crowds and no roads at all!).
In 2000, the islands earned UNESCO World Heritage Status for their contributions to the field of vulcanology.
Here’s an in-depth guide to visiting the Aeolian islands from The Thinking Traveller.
Unfortunately, my husband gets seasick, and I can’t imagine being cooped up on a sailboat with a toddler, so this trip is probably pretty far off in the future for me, but I’ll dream about it until then.
Have you had any of these experiences? Questions? Thoughts? Share them in the comments!
