The most beautiful places I visited in Italy in 2023

Save these for your next trip to Trentino, Umbria or Tuscany

Getting out of Tuscany for a quick trip to somewhere new and different is something that is so easy to do because Italy is blessed with such variable landscapes and regions — each one is so unique. And Tuscany is in the middle of it all. I can hop on a train heading south down the Adriatic sea and be in Puglia in 5 hours or, on a train heading north via Modena and be in Trento at the foothills of the Dolomites in 4 hours. And there are so many places to discover within Tuscany or very nearby too — a couple of hours drive south and you can be in on the edge of a charming fishing village or in a wild, secret castle on the border of Umbria and a couple of hours drive north in the rolling Tuscan alps.

Here are some of the most beautiful places I’ve been to in 2023, some of these I spent hours researching and others were invites to discover real gems. These places are, I think, worth putting in your address book for a dream trip. For me, an ideal holiday needs to be somewhere that is not crowded with hoards but is peaceful, a place where you can unwind, where you feel comfortable or looked after and where you can marvel at the things around you — and, of course, eat well.

Trentino Alto-Adige

We come back to this region a lot because some of our best friends live near Trento (and we love its food and especially its wine) and I wanted to bring my parents here when they visited in October. We went in the first days of November (here’s more in detail on that trip). It’s a very quiet time of the year of to visit because it’s no longer summer season (when the mountains are popular for getting away from the heat or for hiking) and it’s not yet ski season. In fact some structures were completely closed for a break. It is however a great time of year to take in the old tradition of Törggelen, when farmhouse taverns open their doors to offer wine and bites to eat. Here is a past post on the dreamiest place (a no kids spa resort) I’ve ever stayed in this area and another mini guide on Trento.

Trento — I love this town, so elegant and with the backdrop of the alps behind it, it’s impressive no matter the season. We stayed at the Santa Trinità 18 B&B, which was absolutely lovely and cosy, and very central so you could go for a wander around town easily. A visit to the Buonconsiglio Castle is a must and we spent my birthday at Osteria il Cappello, which is the perfect spot after a visit to the castle or on your way to the Duomo. We loved it so much we went back twice. I love the market in Piazza delle Erbe and also adore Panificio Moderno, for excellent bread and pastries, they have a handy little cafe in the centre of town (in front of a cute playground if you have kids that need to run off some energy — also in my opinion they do the best panettone ever if you’re there at the right time of year). There are lots of beautiful little shops in Trento too and although I don’t normally do a lot of shopping, it was my birthday while I was here and Interno 11 was a treasure trove of pretty things. Trento is so easy to do on the train, by the way, so if you are car-less, this makes a great train trip.

South Tyrol — A little north of Bolzano (which we visited this time only to take the kids to the Iceman/Ötzi museum — very impressive, everyone loved it), we found a charming centuries old hotel perched on a hill about the village of Klausen called Fonteklaus. It was simple, beautiful and restful. The views from every window were spectacular. They do half board, so traditional dinners are included (this was handy, actually, as getting up and down the hill at night without lights on those tiny streets while it was raining or snowing — we got both! — would have been tricky). We were blessed with snow the last morning (the photo above) that we were there and it was an absolutely beautiful spectacle.

From here, it was a short drive to visit and do a tasting at fantastic, small, family run (natural) winery, Röck, just under the tiny town of Villanders (also worth a wander around since you’re so near). We missed out on getting a booking for the Törggelen they were putting on (mamma and nonna were busy cooking in the kitchen when we went for a quick tasting) but if you’re here in the autumn, look them up and book it asap, they only have a few small tables so it books out quickly!

Umbria

I still can’t believe I hadn’t been to Umbria before 2023. I mean, it’s less than 2 hours from my doorstep. I have this pretty thorough mini guide based on what we did and loved/ate/shopped for (ceramics!) during this one week trip we did in late August, a time of year where Tuscany is usually unbreathable, not only for the heat but the crowds, oh the crowds! Umbria was literally a breath of fresh air but what made it so very special was definitely being the guests of winemakers Eileen and Lorenzo at La Segreta, one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever stayed, hands down. They are also such champions of their charming village, Collazzone, which I loved. If you are after peace and quiet and total beauty, this is the place for you.

We also loved Montefalco and (following Eileen’s suggestions) L’Alchimista was one of the best places we ate at.

Puglia

This was by far the most spontaneous trip I’ve ever done. And even though I’ve been to Puglia now countless times (see my travel posts for more), Vieste was a new discovery for me. Pretty much unplanned, I woke up one morning unable to cope with Tuscany’s infernal summer-long heatwave for one more day, emailed a place I’d seen a friend on instagram visit (luckily they had one studio left!) and decided to put the kids on a train with me to a part of Puglia I’d never been to but have always dreamed of going, the Gargano Peninsula. Although it was short, it was a wonderful taste of what this very remote, beautiful place is about. There was a surprisingly calm pace here despite the fact that it was mid-August (prime holiday time. Tuscany is heaving at this time, especially anywhere near the sea) people playing bocce on the beach until dinner time, we lounged by the pool, ate focaccia from the beach bar, walked along the rocks to see the trabucchi (old fishing structures that cling onto the rocks above the sea, above). It was fantastic and Cala Molinella near Vieste was very simple, incredibly affordable, just a gem of a place to stay (watch this space as we are planning a workshop here in June!).

Venice

I have now visited the same place in Venice for the past three years and Casa Burano will probably the only place I ever stay in Venice now that I have fallen in love with it. The third edition of my Lagoon Workshop will be based here on the island of Burano in May too, and I can’t wait to be back there, this time we only will spend time on the islands in the lagoon and I can’t wait to share that magic with the guests. Here’s more on the last Lagoon Workshop and also see Gillian Knows Best for her run down on the lagoon islands.

Tuscany

I also spent quite a bit of time exploring places not far from home. The most stunning of all was Castello di Fighine (above and the very top image of this post), a medieval hamlet near the ancient spa town of San Casciano dei Bagni. It was an immense treat to stay in this forgotten castle in southern Tuscany, possibly the most beautiful place I have ever stayed in in Tuscany, on par with Castiglion del Bosco, which was voted best hotel in the world, except Fighine is apparently (and oddly) unknown, a secret.

The whole story of this place is absolutely fascinating to me. It was nothing but run-down ruins inhabited by cows in the mid 90s when a South African couple bought it and poured their care and money into restoring it into the quietly elegant splendour that it is now. They’re in their nineties now and still visit (Signora Joy showed me her photo album of the restorations, which is where I saw the cows sitting in what is now a luxury villa!) when they want to get away from London. Most surprising of all is Heinz Beck’s Michelin starred restaurant they decided to include in the castle’s hamlet. I’ve written more about it here on my blog.

On our way home from San Casciano dei Bagni, we wanted to break up the trip and couldn’t help but stop at a personal favourite spot during the cooler weather — Bagno Vignoni, for a dip in the hot springs, a meal at my favourite Osteria del Leone and a good sleep at Locanda dei Loggiati (their breakfast by the hot spring pool is so lovely!).

Also a treat was an off-season October getaway to Monte Argentario, a place we called home in 2015 when Marco was head sommelier of Il Pellicano (also a stunner). We took my parents for a visit to the area (their first time) and the weather was unseasonably perfect.

I was invited to stay at Argentario Golf & Wellness Resort, which sits in the green hills between the port towns of Porto Santo Stefano and Porto Ercole (above), where we lived in 2015 when I wrote Acquacotta.

It’s an impressive property and one that is open year round (which can be hard to find in this area, it can be a ghost town off season — everything seems to shut down). The rooms were spacious, perfect for a completely relaxing getaway with generous jacuzzis and fluffy robes. There’s a spa for treatments, a large indoor pool (which was a little chilly to swim in in late October but it didn’t stop Luna) and a hot and cold pool for walking through to get your circulation going. They have two restaurants on the property, the fine dining Dama Dama restaurant and a more casual Club House restaurant — we ate very well at both but the Club House was the kids favourite.

We went back to some of our old favourites in Porto Ercole (so pleased they are still there), popping in to visit my fishmonger (a visit to her family fish shop was one of the highlights of my day), our favourite pizza by the slice place (Grano) and sandwich shop (Cinzia’s Sandwich Club), and spent an evening in Orbetello during a festival day (scored some beauties at the flea market), also visiting my old favourite spots, Ferrini pastry shop for their tette di monaca (yes, literally that translates to “nun’s tits”, they are light, wobbly and fluffy, soft meringue like pastries filled with the lightest custard) and excellent natural gelato at Le Logge.

I so love this part of Tuscany and being here in the off season in particular makes a really peaceful, refreshing visit.

Where next

In 2024 I want to visit more places closer to home. High on my list is the island of Capraia, which is so close to us — a short ferry ride from Livorno, which is only 30 minutes away. We recently spent a night in Genova (this city surprised me with its beauty, if you’re headed here, the Grand Hotel Savoia was lovely and don’t hesitate to look up Enrica Monzani aka A Small Kitchen in Genoa and have her take you on a food tour of the city, she is a local and she showed us Genova in a way I would not have been able to do alone) and the day in Lunigiana (eating these amazing panigacci, ancient flour and water flatbreads), the mountainous area in the northwest of Tuscany, close to the Ligurian border and it won’t be my last visit! Somehow, if I can, I’d love to make it to some new regions that I haven’t been to before — Molise and Abruzzo are high on my list.

What’s on your wish list?