Towns worth staying the night
Somewhere to sleep that a travel guide has vouched for.
12 lists
The best beach towns worth staying overnight in PugliaPuglia's coast runs from limestone cliffs above the Adriatic to the shallow, pale-sand bays of the Ionian, and the towns along it hold clean bathing water awards alongside hotels a travel guide has vouched for. These are the places to sleep rather than day-trip, with the sea a short walk from breakfast.
The best towns worth staying overnight in the province of Bolzano/BozenSouth Tyrolean towns in the province of Bolzano/Bozen where a guide-vouched hotel makes it worth unpacking properly, from the Isarco valley to the Pusteria and the Gardena and Badia sides of the Dolomites.
The best towns worth staying overnight in PiemontePiemonte rewards travellers who sleep where they eat: lake villages, Langhe wine hamlets and stone mountain settlements, each with a hotel a travel guide has vouched for. A guide to the Piemontese towns worth booking a room in rather than passing through.
The best hidden towns worth staying overnight in CampaniaCampania's coast rewards anyone who books a room instead of a return ferry: lemon terraces above the Tyrrhenian, evening passeggiata in near-empty piazzas, and hotels along the Amalfi Coast and on Capri that guides have vouched for.
The best hidden towns worth staying overnight in Trentino-Alto Adige/SüdtirolSmall towns in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol with hotels a travel guide has vouched for, so you can stay the night under the Dolomites rather than drive back down the valley. Larch, stone and Speck, with fewer visitors than the resorts.
The 8 best small towns worth staying overnight in LombardiaEight small Lombardy towns, on Lake Como, Lake Garda and up in the Bergamo and Valtellina mountains, where a guide-vouched hotel means you can stay the night instead of racing back to Milan.
The best towns worth staying overnight in the province of NapoliThe province of Napoli rewards anyone who stays after the last hydrofoil leaves: lemon terraces above the Tyrrhenian, tufo houses washed in ochre and lime, volcanic wine from Ischia and mozzarella eaten the morning it was made. These are the towns in the bay with hotels a travel guide has vouched for.
The best towns worth staying overnight in the province of PerugiaGreen hills, travertine and pink Subasio stone, wild boar salami and lentils from the high plains: the province of Perugia rewards travellers who stop for the night rather than passing through, and these towns have hotels a guide has vouched for.
The best hill towns worth staying overnight in PugliaInland Puglia, up on the Murgia and the Salento plain, where the houses are whitewashed limestone, the evening passeggiata is a real event and the towns keep hotels good enough to hold you past dinner. Hill settlements for staying rather than stopping.
The best towns worth staying overnight that eat well in PugliaPuglia eats late and cooks simply: burrata from the Murgia dairies, capocollo from the Valle d'Itria, orecchiette with cime di rapa, sea urchins split on the harbour wall. These are the Puglian towns where a guide-rated hotel and a guide-named kitchen sit within walking distance of each other.
The 7 best towns you can reach by train that are worth a night in SiciliaSicilian towns strung along the island's coastal railway, where a slow regional train drops you within walking distance of baroque squares, tuna markets, lava-stone churches and a bed for the night. Arancini at the station bar, granita in the morning, no car required.
The best towns worth staying overnight that eat well within 90 minutes of PerugiaUmbria and its Tuscan border eat richly, on lentils, wild boar, torta al testo and Sagrantino, and the towns within easy driving distance of Perugia are where the good tables sit alongside a bed worth booking. Stone hill towns where dinner is the reason to stay the night.