Recently updated on October 1st, 2024 at 12:28 pm
Italy is always a good idea – so why should you visit in 2025? From the mega Jubilee in Vatican City, to F1 racing on the super-fast Monza track, there are dozens of reasons why you should visit Italy in 2025 (and beyond). We’ve done our best to round up the top options with something for every type of traveler.
From just-restored historical sites and regional pastas to natural beauty and sustainable travel options, here many reasons to explore Italy in 2025.
1. Italy Jubilee 2025 – the Holy Year
The Italian Jubilee is a once-every-25-years event that is called on by the Pope. Throughout 2025 Rome will be the center of the action, with the Vatican opening its doors to an increased number of Catholic pilgrims visiting during this special year of spiritual renewal and celebration.
READ NEXT: Italy Jubilee 2025: everything you need to know
2. Pasta, pasta, pasta
What many don’t realise is how deeply regional pasta is in Italy. Each town or region has distinctive shapes and sauces that reflect local traditions and ingredients – making a pilgrimage across Italy one that is forever varied (and alway delicious).
In the north, especially in Bologna, you’ll find Tagliatelle al ragù, ribbons of pasta with a meat sauce, is from Bologna in the north, while in Liguria you’ll find trofie, a twisted pasta shape, traditionally paired with the region’s famous pesto alla Genovese. Then you’ll find bucatini all’Amatriciana in Lazio, where Rome is, and further south in Puglia, orecchiette (meaning “little ears”) is commonly served with broccoli rabe and sausage.
3. See revamped historic sites in Rome
Ahead of the big Jubilee, Rome is working double time to prepare its ancient sites and historic landmarks in time for 2025. If you’ve always wanted to see the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Pantheon looking their best, then 2025 might be the year.
4. See Venice’s Architecture Biennale
In 2025 Venice will receive the 19th International Architecture Exhibition, curated by the architect and engineer Carlo Ratti who said “To face a burning world, architecture must harness all the intelligence around us.”. The architecture biennale will fall from May to November.
5. Admire the coastal beauty of Cinque Terre
The five colorful villages found on Italy’s Cinque Terre coast are reason enough to visit Italy. But a handful of small villages are not a city – so when huge numbers of tourists visit it can be hard to manage the crowds. But good news, the Insta-famous Path of Love has reopened and in 2025 there will be timed tickets to walk along this 900m stretch of pathway. While that seems like a faff, it means a better experience for all.
6. Step into Milan Fashion Week
Fashion lovers should time their trip to Italy in 2025 to coincide with Milan Fashion Week. The north Italian city is famous for its fashion scene, and it’s one of the most important hubs for moda globally. Time it right to see emerging trends, runway shows, and designer events.
7. Florence’s renaissance revival
Walking through Florence is like walking through a museum, and you could argue there’s no better place in Italy to explore the Renaissance period. Here you can visit the Uffizi Gallery, Accademia Gallery, and Pitti Palace, or change tracks in 2025 with the Florence Biennale, which celebrates contemporary art in October.
8. The 2025 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix in Monza
Italy isn’t just about art, history and culture – it’s also about cars and sport. In 2025 the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix will take place in Monza in early September on the fastest track in F1, which opened in 1922.
9. Tuscany and its food and wine scene
If you’ve always wanted to explore Tuscany, with its rolling vineyards, olive groves, medieval hilltop stone villages, and slow food movement, then why not make 2025 the year? Look at the calendar and you’ll find wine festivals celebrating a new harvest, and farm-to-table dining experiences.
10. Lake Como’s glitz and glamour
Lake Como will forever be one of Italy’s most glamorous destinations, making it an easy choice for 2025. Set at the foothills of the Alps, the lake’s blue waters are framed by colorful Italian villages, lush gardens, and opulent villas. If you’ve been before then look for new luxury hotels and lakeside restaurants to add to your list In 2025.
11. Travel Italy by train in 2025
How can our travels be more eco friendly? While group travel by coach is better for the environment than individual travel by car, train is an even better option! Italy has an ever-extending network of high-speed trains connecting major cities and regions. While Trafalgar usually travels by bus, we have one fantastic Italy by rail tour – Contrasts of Italy.
READ NEXT: Why more of us are choosing to travel by rail
12. Eat through underrated Bologna, the foodie capital
Food lovers should add Bologna to their radar, the capital of the delicious Emilia-Romagna region. Bologna is famously known as the “Fat City” and it’s guaranteed that you’ll eat well. At the farms around Bologna you’ll find DOP products like Parmigiano Reggiano, parma ham, moderna balsamic vinegar and more. It’s the place in Italy to join cooking class and visit food markets.
13. Verona’s Shakespearean romance
It’s a tale as old as time – two feuding families whose son and daughter secretly fall in love. You can visit beautiful Verona and discover the famous settings for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, including Juliet’s House and Arena di Verona. While here catch a theater performance!
14. Eat pizza at the birthplace: Naples
Make 2025 the year you stop skipping past Naples on the way to the Amalfi Coast. The birthplace of pizza and Italy’s third-largest city is rougher around the edges, making it an authentic destination. Plus, everyone loves pizza and where better to try Neapolitan pizza than at the source?
15. Discover the eternal allure of Pompeii
While in Naples, visit nearby Pompeii the ancient Roman city buried by an eruption of Mount Versuvius. There are constantly new archaeological findings around the foothills of Pompeii, so if it has been years since you last visited you may get to experience something new while touring Pompeii and Herculaneum in 2025.
16. Seek out unique festivals in Italy in 2025
From religious and cultural celebrations, to tasty food and music festivals, Italy is abig country with plenty happening from north to south. Take a look at Italy’s top festivals in 2025 and see if you can align your trip to catch something memorable, like Siena’s Palio, Venice’s Regatta, and the Umbria Jazz Festival.
17. Explore locations of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics 2026
Three northern Italian regions will host the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, so you can beat the crowds and explore these skiing and winter sports destinations before they host this global event (and likely become busier after the 2026 games).
18. Italy’s growing wine tourism
While the tradition of wine-making in Italy *literally* stretches back millennium, the idea of wine tourism is fairly modern. Italian wine regions and wineries, who have always sold wine via stores, are only starting to open their cellar doors to welcome guests for wine tastings, harvest festivals, and even overnight stays. Try visiting Piedmont, Sicily, and Veneto in 2025.
19. Venice’s iconic Carnival
Who can resist the timeless allure of the Venice carnival? Falling each February, this winter festivity is filled with costume traditions, gondola parades, and masquerade balls. It can take some research to find the party, but it’s worth even just being a fly on the wall, watching party-goers make their journey through winter mists to the ball.
READ NEXT: Introducing the fascinating history of the Venice Carnival
20. Mark the 80th anniversary of Liberation Day
In 2025 it will be 80 years since the Italian resistance movement was victorious against Nazi Germany and the Italian Social Republic. The date – April 25 – is a national holiday and you can expect to see marches and parades in cities across the country.
Ready to explore Italy in 2025? Leave us a comment with where you’d like to explore most and why…..