Archive for 'Tourist Attractions'

Lipari is the largest of the Aeolian Islands and is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea, just off the northern coast of Sicily. It is an exceptionally beautiful place with pretty and colourful little villages, the most impossibly blue waters, lovely sandy beaches, craggy volcanic rock formations, and a lush green landscape. There are lots of things to see and do but the best all revolve around enjoying the incredible natural beauty of Lipari, with boat trips and hiking the various trails around the island being two of the best activities to really make the most of those stunning surroundings. If you have found a vacation rental in Sicily and you are coming to explore Lipari for the day then we would highly recommend that you follow one particular route, to the Forgia Vecchia, at the top of which you will be rewarded with a sweeping view over all of the incredible natural bounty below.

The Forgia Vecchia is a large obsidian crater, that is 600m wide and 1km long, created by an old obsidian lava flow that came out of Monte Sant'Angelo and it is an extraordinary sight to behold. It also happens to offer the most evocative and exceptional viewing point on the island. The nearby Stromboli may be famous for having the only permanently active volcano in Europe and for its black sand beaches but the lesser-known Monte Sant’Angelo and the Forgia Vecchia hold their own with the incredible setting and a volcano-dyed beach made up of black pebbles that curve around a tranquil bay, framed by the volcano’s lush green slopes.

Car lovers from all over the globe will know that Italy is one of the key destinations to visit over the course of your lifetime. Traditionally, Italy has produced some of the world’s favourite cars as well as some of the world’s most desirable luxury cars. As such, these companies and brands often have museums dedicated to their history and the cars that they have made and have made them famous throughout the years. You can head to the Ferrari Museum, the Lamborghini Museum, the Fiat Museum and more but, if you have found a vacation rental in Milan and are exploring the city, then the obvious choice is the Alfa Romeo Museum, located a few kilometres from the city centre of Milan, in Arese.

The Museo Storico Alfa Romeo (now called the Museo Alfa Romeo - La macchina del tempo, which literally means, “The Alfa Romeo Museum – Time Machine”) is dedicated to over 100 years of history of the Alfa Romeo brand. Alfa Romeo, while best known for their cars, has actually produced automobiles, commercial vehicles, railway locomotives, tractors, buses, trams, and marine and aircraft engines throughout the years. This museum tells the tale of the brand and all of those incredible machines that it has put out into the world over time.

If you are interested in colours that seem too vivid to occur in the real world and picture-perfect views, there are several contenders for spots to visit that meet these requirements all around Italy. However, there is one sight in particular that makes us want to hop on the next plane and go see it with our own eyes right now: the Place Moulin Dam.

Also known as the Lago Place Moulin or the Lac de Place-Moulin, it is located in the Aosta Valley, in the very north of Italy, amongst the Italian Alps. This is an incredibly scenic and beautiful part of the world, in general, with lots to see and a landscape that rewards the more adventurous traveller. This emerald gem, nestled amongst the Italian Alps is a particularly stunning find. If you have found a vacation rental in the Aosta Valley and are exploring the area by car or bike, we recommend that you make this one of your pit stops on your road trip across one of the most scenic landscapes in the world.

Sorrento is a beautiful gem of a town on the Amalfi Coast. Facing out onto the bay of Naples, it is perched atop a cliff, boasting sweeping views over the coast, at the base of which there is a busy marina. This stacking of the town gives it that distinct and picture-perfect look that lots of the towns in the area have: glittering water with bobbing boats topped by rows of colourful buildings. The charming old town is a warren of little streets and alleys that are lined with pretty historic buildings but amongst all of the pretty parts that make up this picturesque town, one of the most charming and unmissable sights and sites is the Chiesa di San Francesco and its lovely cloister. If you have found a vacation rental in Sorrento and you are exploring the town, be sure to duck in for a moment amidst your holiday wanderings and fun and enjoy a spot of tranquillity in the most fairytale-like of settings in Italy.

Located in the historic centre of the town, in Piazza Francesco Saverio Gargiulo, right next to the Villa Comunale Park, this 14th-century church with said iconic cloisters abutting it is famous for its Arabic portico and interlaced arches, which are interwoven with flowers, plants, and ornamental trees. The beautiful space is also often filled with birdsong, particularly in spring, as it is very popular amongst feathered locals.

Capri is one of those famously gorgeous places that people are just dying to see with their own eyes. If you have found a vacation rental in Capri and are busy exploring the island, once you have walked around a bit, you may want to see it all from above as well, to take in a sweeping view over everything at once. In this case, you’ll need to head to Monte Solaro, the highest and most panoramic point on the island, which offers views over the whole of the Gulf of Naples, glimpses over the Gulf of Salerno on clear days, and also takes in many of Capri’s famous landmarks at the same time.

There are two different options to surmount Monte Solaro, depending on your inclination, energy, preferences, fears, and the day in question: you can hike to the top or you can take the famous Anacapri Chairlift.

At 589 meters above sea level and at the top of a steep trail, the hike up to the pinnacle of Monte Solaro isn’t the most difficult in the world by any sort of stretch of the imagination. It is a well-marked trail that rewards viewers with lovely views the whole way up and can be completed in around an hour. Beginning at Piazza della Pace in Anacapri, behind the cemetery, it is a straightforward climb up that anyone who is relatively fit should be able to complete without much difficulty.