The top sights in Italy

The best of the best: Top 10 lists of sights, museums, cathedrals, and experiences you can't miss in Rome, Florence, and Venice

We all want to to try and see everything, and we all want to be good and get off the beaten path to discover little-known and unheralded sights, but when push comes to shove there simply isn't enough time to do it all—and there most definitely are some unmissable sights

St. Peter's and the Vatican and the Colosseum in Rome, the David and Uffizi Galleries in Florence, the Grand Canal and St. Mark's in Venice, the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

These are the Big Guns of Italian sightseeing, the must-see museums, churches, and ancient sites that no one wants to leave Italy without experiencing.

To that end here are some lists of the top famous sights and experiences in Italy, starting with the top 20 sight in all of Italy, then separate lists for the top sights in each of Italy's three major tourist cities:

Italy's top sights
  1. Colosseum, Rome
  2. Leaning Tower, Pisa
  3. Sistine Chapel ceiling, Rome
  4. Grand Canal, Venice
  5. Accademia, Florence (Michelangelo's David)
  6. Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, Milan
  7. Pompeii, Campania
  8. Uffizi Galleries, Florence (Botticelli's Birth of Venus)
  9. St. Peter's Basilica, Rome
  10. Blue Grotto, Capri
  11. St. Mark's, Venice
  12. Chianti vineyards, Tuscany
  13. Roman Forum, Rome
  14. Cinque Terre, Liguria
  15. Pantheon, Rome
  16. Duomo, Florence (Brunelleschi's Dome)
  17. Positano, Amalfi Coast
  18. Ponte Vecchio, Florence
  19. Basilica of St. Francis, Assisi
  20. Spanish Steps, Rome
  21. Accademia Gallery, Venice
  22. Doge's Palace, Venice
  23. Piazza della Signoria, Florence
  24. Trevi Fountain, Rome
  25. Lake Como, Lombardy
» more
Rome
  1. Vatican Museums
  2. St. Peter's
  3. Colosseum
  4. Roman Forum
  5. Imperial Fori
  6. Pantheon
  7. Spanish Steps
  8. Trevi Fountain
  9. Piazza Navona
  10. Catacombs
» more
Florence
  1. Uffizi Galleries
  2. The Duomo
  3. Piazza della Signoria
  4. The Accademia (David)
  5. San Lorenzo leather market
  6. Ponte Vecchio
  7. Bargello
  8. Pitti Palace
  9. Santa Croce
  10. Santa Maria Novella

» more

Venice
  1. St. Mark's Cathedral
  2. Accademia Gallery
  3. Doge's Palace
  4. A gondola ride
  5. The Grand Canal
  6. Shopping for Venetian glass
  7. The Ca d'Oro
  8. The Peggy Guggenheim museum
  9. Climbing the Campanile of St. Mark's
  10. Carnival in Venice

» more

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