Reading suggestions · Italy

The deep worries from the day before quickly faded after the first few kilometers, starting from Vézelay. With, as always at the beginning of a long-distance hike, that strange feeling of being like a child learning to walk.

After a pretty disastrous weather-wise stay in Gran Canaria, we’re hoping this time the sun will show up in Puglia. It’s not a sure thing since the weather’s been pretty rough across Europe in early May.

This is a trip of about a month (from September 3, 2025, to October 4, 2025), or rather a part of that trip. This part matches the title exactly: an opera festival in Verona (one evening) and the Dolomites in the Veneto region.

When you tell your friends and family about your wild urge to escape to the other side of the planet to mingle with the Mongols, it usually comes with a bunch of questionable jokes and terrible puns. For this new adventure, it’s a different destination but the same old story—this time, we’re visiting the "Puglians." Wheels up for Puglia right now!

What makes Bologna unique are its porticoes, which have been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2021: 62 km of arcades along the buildings that let you walk sheltered from the sun or rain. Back in 1288, the municipality required houses to include private porticoes for public use. In the city center, you can stroll under 38 miles of porticoes in various styles, some more ornate than others, with a dominant palette of red tones.

Okay, Palermo—we know it. We go there to marvel at the architectural wonders born from the Arab-Norman-Byzantine-Gothic blend. And rightly so. We also go to treat our taste buds to all sorts of delights, both savory and sweet. Rightly so, too.

Autumn is the perfect season to visit Corsica: fewer tourists, ideal temperatures around 25°C, and most importantly, less stress on the roads. You can feel it everywhere. Servers and shopkeepers are more relaxed and have time to chat...

As mentioned in the title, this will be a trip around Tuscany in parts that aren’t the region’s most visited. No Florence-Siena-Pisa trilogy, no San Gimignano; there’ll be a quick stop in Siena, but without visiting the most famous sites. This choice, plus traveling in September, should help avoid overtourism.