23 days in Italy & Madrid Itinerary

Italy is a land of high fashion, fine art, exquisite architecture, luxury sports cars, outstanding cuisine--and an insatiable taste for "la dolce vita." It's also home to the greatest number of World Heritage Sites in the world, making it an ideal place for your next holiday. The country boasts a varied landscape of mountain ranges, alpine lakes, and coastal towns, so it's no wonder travelers often refer to it as the bel paese (beautiful country). With so many places to visit, visitors often have a difficult time planning their itinerary. The smaller villages each feature a distinct character and a blend of architecture, art, and cuisine. In the country, you'll find countless archeological sites dating back to Roman times and beyond. The country's cities and seaside resorts are cosmopolitan powerhouses with museums, galleries, restaurants, shops, open-air markets, and pedestrian-friendly historic areas.

The area surrounding the capital city, the Community of Madrid is located in the very heart of the country. Densely populated and quite industrialized, the region still retains some remarkably unspoiled and diverse habitats and landscapes, including tall mountain peaks, dense oak forests, and low-lying plains. The region’s lush valleys are noted for sheltering the last bastions of the Spanish imperial eagle, as well as several other species nearly extinct everywhere else in the world. Though the region’s main attraction is undoubtedly the city of Madrid, it is the impressive biodiversity of the area that draws tourism to this part of Spain.