Portofino, one of the most exclusive spots on the Italian Riviera, is a chic yacht haven, with streets lined with designer boutiques, restaurants perched on the waterfront and colourful houses built in the traditional Italian style. Looking over the village, and across the sapphire ocean below, enjoying a luxury holiday in Portofino means experiencing Italy at its finest. After dining at one of the fabulous restaurants right on the waterfront, take a walk along the pretty harbour and soak up the exceptional surroundings.
Milan, Italy’s second city, is an impossibly stylish centre of fashion, culture and the arts. Stroll around the splendid Castello Sforzesco courtyard, where Milan’s ruling families once resided, splash out in its chic fashion boutiques and enjoy a glass of Italy’s finest in one of the city’s wonderful restaurants.
The nearby postcard-perfect Italian Lakes show off crystal-clear waters fringed by snow-capped mountains, their shores dotted with gorgeous villas and stunning gardens. Beautiful Lake Como is one of the glistening jewels in Italy’s crown, and our pick of the hotels, Villa d'Este, sits right on its south-western shore. This regal hotel is nestled within 25 acres of stunning gardens and enjoys 360 degrees of simply magical views.
In a country famous for its food and wine, the region of Piedmont is home to some of the finest. A prominent centre of the Slow Food movement, Piedmont is famous for cheeses such as Castelmagno and beef carpaccio – its freakishly muscular cows make for premium cuts of beef. Piedmont’s capital, Turin, is famous as the home of Juventus F.C. and Fiat cars, and the city’s proximity to the Alps is reflected in its rarefied, somewhat Parisian atmosphere.
The Dolomites comprise a stretch of the south-eastern Alps, and their peaks, shooting straight up from the earth like chimneys, are uniquely beautiful all year round. In the winter, the Dolomites is a popular skiing and snow sports area, and is particularly famous for its sunsets, which colour the white peaks a hue of pink. In the summer, tourists flock to the pretty Stelvio National Park – the largest of its kind in Italy – to hike its glaciers, woodlands and waterfalls.
