5 Romantic Places to Visit in Italy by Car

Italy is one of the best road trip countries in Europe, and it’s no accident so many couples choose it for a honeymoon or an anniversary trip. Hire a car, string together a handful of towns, and the romance turns out to be built into the drive itself, not just the destination at the end of it.

Here are five of the most romantic places in Italy, plus exactly how to get between them by car.

This guide covers Verona, Venice, Rome, Pisa and Lake Como — five stops that work well strung together if you’re driving through the north, or picked individually if you’re short on time. You’ll find drive times, worthwhile detours along the way, and the practical bits — car hire, visa and insurance — sorted before you set off.

🗺️ Quick Resources

• 📱 Stay connected: Airalo — new users get 15% off. I came to eSIMs late and wish I hadn’t — it’s saved me hundreds of dollars since.
• 🚗 Car hire: DiscoverCars — Especially worth it for a two-week trip.
• 🛡️ Travel insurance: SafetyWing — affordable, reliable, and easy to set up. Choose your dates and coverage; that’s it.
• 🛂 Visa: iVisa — confirm what your passport needs before you travel.
• 🎟️ Tours & experiences: GetYourGuide — browse experiences and use code trulyexpattravel10 for 10% off via the app.

📅 Best Time to Visit Italy by Car

April to June and September to October are the sweet spot for a driving trip. Temperatures are manageable, the hill towns aren’t overrun, and parking in places like Verona and Pisa is far easier to find than in peak summer. Avoid August if you can — it’s when much of Italy takes its own holiday, so roads are busier, prices climb, and some smaller trattorias close for the month.

One practical note before you plan a route: many historic centres, including parts of Verona and Rome, have restricted traffic zones (ZTL) where non-resident cars aren’t allowed without a permit. Park on the edge of the old town and walk in — it’s usually faster than trying to find your way through anyway.

📍 Most Romantic Places in Italy by Car

Verona

Verona tops this list for a simple reason — it’s the city Shakespeare set Romeo and Juliet in, and walking its pebbled streets past Juliet’s balcony and Romeo’s tomb, it’s easy to see why he picked it. Catch an opera at the Arena di Verona in the evening, eat gelato somewhere unremarkable-looking, and let the architecture do the rest. For a fuller day-by-day plan, see The Best of Verona in 1 Day.

How to get to Verona

Verona sits about 160km from Milan (roughly 2 hours 15) and 114km from Venice (a similar drive time). Both routes are scenic enough that the journey is part of the appeal.

💡 Tip: Coming from Venice, break the trip in Padua — a university city that’s actually older than Rome. Coming from Milan, stop in Brescia instead, a UNESCO World Heritage city that’s one of the more underrated stops in the north.

👩 Solo travel note: Verona’s old town is compact and easy to navigate alone, and an evening at the opera is a lovely way to spend a night solo — you won’t be the only one there without a plus-one.

Rome

Most people don’t think of Rome as a romantic destination first — it’s better known for its history and religious sites — but it earns its place on this list. Zip around the backstreets on a Vespa, throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain, or eat gelato on the Spanish Steps, and it’s not hard to see why Audrey Hepburn’s Roman Holiday still holds up as a romantic ideal. If you’re heading to the Colosseum, book skip-the-line tickets ahead of time.

How to get to Rome

From Florence, it’s about 275km (around 3 hours). From Naples, it’s 223km (about 2.5 hours). Both drives have decent scenery along the way.

💡 Tip: Coming from Florence, detour 30 minutes to Siena — one of the prettiest towns in Tuscany, with some of the best food in the region. Coming from Naples, stop in Tivoli for the Villa Adriana and Villa d’Este, a popular day trip from Rome in its own right.

Lake Como

Lake Como is a fixture on every Northern Italy weekend-getaway list, and it earns the spot. Drive up the lakeside to Menaggio or Bellagio, stopping at the small villages along the way, then hike into the hills above the lake for the view that makes the detour worthwhile. For more on why it’s worth the trip, see 10 Reasons Why I Fell in Love with Lake Como.

How to get to Lake Como

It’s a straightforward 50km drive from Milan — about 1.5 hours, mostly on the motorway until you reach the lakeside roads, where things slow down and get considerably prettier.

💡 Tip: I’d pick Menaggio over Bellagio — I find that side of the lake prettier. If you’d rather have quieter streets and fewer tourists, Bellagio is the better call outside peak season.