Travel advice, ideas & expert tips

Visiting the Pitti Palace, Florence: practical guide for first-time visitors

Palazzo Pitti on the south side of the Arno in Florence is the largest palatial complex in Tuscany, Italy — a building that housed three dynasties across four centuries and today holds five museums and a chapel under one roof. This guide was updated in…

Visiting the Medici Chapels, Florence: practical guide for first-time visitors

The Cappelle Medicee (Medici Chapels) at Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini 6 in Florence are the funerary monument of the Medici dynasty and home to Michelangelo's greatest sculptural achievements in a single room. This guide was updated in June 2026. The full admission price is…

Villa Carlotta, Lake Como: practical guide for first-time visitors

Villa Carlotta sits directly on the shore of Lake Como at Tremezzina, a neoclassical villa housing a museum of Neoclassical and Romantic art alongside one of the finest botanical gardens in northern Italy. This guide was updated in June 2026. The 2026 adult admission is…

Inmates at the Aquarium of Genoa in Liguria, Italy.

Visiting the Aquarium of Genoa: practical guide for first-time visitors

The Acquario di Genova at the Porto Antico in Genoa is the largest aquarium in Europe, holding over 400 animal species and 200 plant species across a 12,000 m² exhibition surface. This guide was updated in June 2026. The standard adult admission starts from €26…

The Ancient Theatre of Taormina in Sicily, Italy.

Ancient Theatre of Taormina, Sicily: practical guide for first-time visitors

The Ancient Theatre of Taormina (Teatro Antico di Taormina) is a Hellenistic theatre begun in the 3rd century BC, rebuilt substantially by the Romans, and set on a hillside above the Ionian Sea with Mount Etna visible on the southern horizon. This guide was updated…

Malta National Aquarium, Qawra: practical guide for first-time visitors

The Malta National Aquarium at Qawra Point in St Paul's Bay spreads across 20,000 square metres of seafront property. It presents five themed zones covering Mediterranean marine life, tropical oceans, Roman-era diving, and the waters around Gozo and Comino, alongside a reptile and amphibian area.…

Visiting the Mosta Rotunda, Malta: practical guide for first-time visitors

The Mosta Rotunda — formally the Sanctuary Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady — is a neoclassical Roman Catholic church in the centre of Mosta, Malta, completed in 1860 after 27 years of construction. Its dome has an inside diameter of 39.6 metres and…

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