Best Free Things to Do

Watching the sun rise over the Roman Forum: A short stroll from the Capitoline Hill down Via del Campidoglio to Via di Monte Tarpeo brings you to a perfect outlook: The terrace behind the Michelangelo-designed square, an ideal photo op when the sun rises behind the Temple of Saturn, illuminating the archaeological complex below in pink-orange light. Early risers can reward themselves with breakfast from the bakeries of the nearby Jewish Ghetto.

Basking in the Lights of the Renaissance: At dusk, make the steep climb up to the ancient church of San Miniato al Monte, Florence. Sit down on the steps and watch the city begin its evening twinkle.

Discovering you’re hopelessly lost in Venice: You haven’t experienced Venice until you have turned a corner convinced you’re on the way to somewhere, only to find yourself smack against a canal with no bridge, or in a little courtyard with no way out. All you can do is shrug, smile, and give the city’s maze of narrow streets another try, because getting lost in Venice is a pleasure.

Driving the Amalfi Coast: The SS163, “the road of 1,000 bends,” hugs vertical cliffs and deep gorges, cutting through olive groves, lemon terraces, and whitewashed villages—against a background of the bluest ocean you can picture. One of the world's classic drives, it provokes fear, nausea, and wonder in equal doses; the secret is to make sure someone else is at the wheel. Someone you trust.

Surrendering to the madness of a Palermo market: In Sicily's capital—a crossroads between East and West for some 2,000 years—the chaotic, colorful street theater is a vignette of a culture that often feels more Middle Eastern than European. The Vucciria isn't what it was, however: Focus on the Capo and Ballarò markets.