Romance and Italy go hand-in-hand — which is a good way for lovers to stroll through its romantic towns. Few destinations can offer more to parents traveling for a Valentine’s Day getaway (or any other time of the year) without the whole family. You have plenty of choices, from skiing in the Dolomites to spas in Sicily, but these are our favorites.
Verona
One of the world’s favorite love stories was set here, and despite being pure fiction, Verona puts on a good show for it, with Juliet’s house (the balcony was added in the 1930s) and other sites mentioned in the play. This beautiful city, set in a sweeping curve of the Adige River, doesn’t need Shakespeare to make its medieval streets and Renaissance palaces a setting for lovers. Enjoy dinner for two with a bottle of Amarone from the neighboring Valpolicella region.
Bologna
Lovers and food lovers choose Bologna for a getaway, when they can score a table at the best restaurants and shop under the protective canopy of the city’s famous porticos. More than 20 miles of the city’s streets are lined by arcades protecting pedestrians from rain, wind and summer sun. Shops (many of them selling food delicacies) open into these cocooning walkways.
Savor Bologna’s culinary heritage in restaurants, sign up for a cooking lesson or take a food tour to visit markets and traditional food shops, including a bakery, chocolatier, pasta maker and gelato shop for samples of Bologna’s specialties.
Lucca
Perhaps the most endearing of Italy’s small cities, this Tuscan town is tucked cozily inside its encircling walls, its skyline pierced by a series of tall, narrow brick towers. At its historic center, the stunning façade of San Marco in Forno rises from a broad piazza in tiers like a decorated wedding cake. Atop the city walls is a wide promenade shaded by trees, a favorite place for strolling hand in hand. If you’re up for something more strenuous, you can climb one of the towers to its tree-studded rooftop, or rent bicycles for a spin atop the walls.
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