Fort walls, renewed archaeological galleries, medieval squares.
Civitavecchia is Rome's port, and it is not in Rome. It is about eighty kilometres northwest on the coast, roughly an hour and a quarter by train from Termini, and the town itself is a working port with a fortress and not much else. Almost everyone treats it as a transfer rather than a place.
Ways to spend your day
Historic port and Fort Michelangelo
Choose selected public historic-port spaces and exterior views of Fort Michelangelo.
National Archaeological Museum
Choose selected available galleries in the reopened National Archaeological Museum.
Piazza Leandra and old town
Choose selected public streets and squares around Piazza Leandra.
We may earn a commission if you book through these links. Tour information and images: Viator. Suggestions are not live availability. Confirm availability, meeting point, start time and return buffer on Viator before booking. Don’t assume a ship-return guarantee.
La Spezia is the Cinque Terre call, and the way to do it is the train: the local line runs from La Spezia Centrale to all five villages in minutes, which beats any coach and most boats. Portovenere, at the end of the headland, is the quieter alternative and reachable by ferry.
Ways to spend your day
Morin promenade
Choose a public stretch of Passeggiata Morin for palms, sea views and a pause beside the gulf.
Amedeo Lia Museum
Choose selected available galleries of paintings, sculpture and decorative objects at the Amedeo Lia Museum.
San Giorgio exterior
Choose selected public spaces by San Giorgio castle on Poggio hill for exterior views.
The harbour piazzetta, San Giorgio, or Castello Brown.
Portofino is a tiny, much-photographed fishing village on the Italian Riviera. Ships anchor and tender in; the harbour, the walk to Castello Brown and the lighthouse are the main sights.
Ways to spend your day
Piazza Martiri dell’Olivetta
The permitted public square and selected harbour-side section.
Salerno is where ships berth for the Amalfi Coast, and it is a real working city rather than a cruise stop, with a long seafront and a Norman cathedral. The coast itself starts around the headland: the ferry to Amalfi and Positano is far better than the road, which is spectacular, narrow and slow in equal measure.
Ways to spend your day
Lungomare Trieste
Choose selected public pedestrian spaces along Lungomare Trieste for views across the Gulf of Salerno.
Giardino della Minerva
Choose selected available visitor spaces among the medicinal plants at Giardino della Minerva.
Villa Comunale gardens
Choose selected public garden paths and monument views in Villa Comunale.
Catania sits under Etna on Sicily's east coast, a city rebuilt in black lava stone after the 1693 earthquake and all the better for it. The volcano is the excursion and reaches around 1,900 metres by road; the fish market behind the cathedral is the alternative and costs nothing.
Ways to spend your day
Piazza Duomo
Choose selected public spaces in Piazza Duomo for the elephant fountain and cathedral facade views.
Via Crociferi streets
Choose selected public stretches of Via Crociferi for baroque church and monastery facade views.
Villa Bellini gardens
Choose selected available public garden paths in Villa Bellini.
Kotor ties up almost against the old town walls at the head of a fjord-shaped bay, which makes the approach itself worth being on deck for. The climb to the fortress above the town is 1,350 steps and the best view in Montenegro; the bay villages at Perast are a short drive.
Ways to spend your day
Kotor Old Town
Choose selected public Old Town streets and squares for historic facades.
Kotor Maritime Museum
Choose available Maritime Museum displays for the bay’s maritime history.
Kotor bay-side spaces
Choose selected permitted public shore-side spaces around Kotor for bay and mountain views.
Dubrovnik docks at Gruž, about three kilometres from the walled Old Town, so budget for a bus or taxi at both ends. The walk around the city walls is the thing to do and takes a couple of hours; go at opening or late, because the Old Town at midday in season is genuinely uncomfortable.
Ways to spend your day
Stradun streets
Choose selected public stretches of Stradun, also called Placa, for the old city’s stone facades and street atmosphere.
Maritime Museum
Choose available Maritime Museum galleries in Fort St John for Dubrovnik’s maritime history.
Lapad promenade
Choose a selected public promenade section at Lapad Bay for sea views and a pause by the water.
Split is Croatia's second city on the Dalmatian coast, built in and around the Roman emperor Diocletian's palace. The palace is a UNESCO site and still lived in, with the waterfront Riva promenade and Marjan hill park nearby.
Dante-quarter streets, a city square, archaeology at Classe.
Ravenna's cruise ships dock at Porto Corsini on the Adriatic coast, about 12 km from the historic city known for its early Christian mosaics. Bologna Airport is the main gateway, about 80 km away.
Ways to spend your day
Dante-quarter exteriors
Choose permitted public streets and exterior spaces in Ravenna’s Dante quarter.
Piazza del Popolo
Choose public spaces in Piazza del Popolo for Ravenna’s civic facades.
Classis Ravenna Museum
Choose available Classis Museum displays at Classe, separate from Ravenna’s coastal cruise terminal.
The last of the four Millennium-class ships, in service since 2002. Nine places to eat, three of them extra, eight bars, and the class's crew ratio, which is the best in the fleet.
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