When your mind wanders off thinking about winter travel ideas, there are a lot of people who think that it’s only worth visiting Italy during the sweltering hot summer months when it’s jammed with millions of tourists. For some inexplicable reason they believe they absolutely have to queue for hours on end to buy a slice of pizza, never mind get into a museum. This is, of course, completely wrong, and Italy is a wonderful tourist destination in winter too. And we are not only talking about the options available for skiers – which is a little bit too strenuous and cold for many. There is a wealth of winter travel ideas when it comes to visiting Italy, and we are going to give you a few examples of experiential winter tours in Italy, which you as a travel agent, can offer your customers. Experiential travel is becoming more popular all the time, and Italy has a lot to offer in this area. We should also mention in passing that the weather in much of Italy during winter is STILL BETTER than the weather in most of the rest of Europe. It is not as cold, and it doesn’t rain as much. In fact Italian winters can be better than the summers of many Northern European countries. I wonder what Italy did to deserve such good luck . . . But, with no further ado, let’s dive , into some winter travel ideas for Italy!
Ingredient hunting for pesto in Genoa
There are different types of winter cooking classes to choose from but one of my favourites is “Pesto calling!“. This is a great experiential winter tour idea to offer your customers visiting Italy. Your customers will explore Genoa looking for the ingredients to make pesto . and will tour around Genoa, its local markets, bottegas, and Oriental stalls gathering all the ingredients to make pesto according to Nonna Dina’s personal recipe. The tourists will be guided through this mazey recipe shopping trip by our expert guide Luisa
Energetic, outdoor winter experiential activities
There are lots of other experiential winter travel ideas to explore a more rural setting, in the great outdoors. “The Carnic Celts dance that saved Cordenons from the Roman Army” is an interesting one. This is an experiential tour whereby the tourist role plays a Celtic experience. It’s the beginning of the millenium and the Roman army is about to invade and destroy the Celtic people of Cordenons. You will live out how the local people reacted, and you will learn all about the history of the era from Artès tour guide Paola who is an expert in the legends and folklore of the area. A professional dance instructor will teach you the Celtic people’s traditional dance, and there will be live Celtic music. During this experiential tour you will also cook, but with traditional ingredients the ancient Celtic people used. The traditional Celtic dance is always planned to take place outside. However, if the weather is too inclement it will go ahead inside the local association’s centre. But let’s be honest, the weather will most likely be lovely!
Enjoy the city without the crowd: Milano Città dei Baci
Something tourists can find annoying about visiting Italy during the summer is how crowded it is. That’s why visiting Italian cities during winter can be such a different, invigorating experience. There are experiential tours of various different towns and cities all over Italy, but one that stands out, and could only have been created by Italians is: “Milano Città dei Baci“. If you don’t know what this means: Milan, city of kisses. This tour is aimed at – but not exclusively – newly weds, couples, anyone in love who likes to kiss . . . Our expert guide Elena, who is a landscape architect and a photographer, will bring you on a tour of Milan’s most romantic scenes. This is a tour for anyone who is interested in “eternal love”. However, what I personally really like about this one, is the “lover’s eternal selfie”. Well, it’s not a selfie really. Elena will take a photograph of newly weds, lovers, whatever. .. in front of The Kiss by Hayez, as you pose and imitate the passionate kiss Hayez depicted. It’s kind of like taking a selfie with a mirror behind you – except Elena is a pro photographer, and you are standing in front of a masterpiece rather than a mirror. Elena will also take snaps of you elsewhere around Milan, in less “steamy” situations. I should probably say you do not have to be a couple to enjoy this experiential tour which is perfect for winter . . . but isn’t it wonderful to be in love?
The great indoors
It goes without saying that there are a lot of museums in Italy. However, according to recent research by the Italian ministry for culture the numbers of tourists visiting Italian museums has been continually rising over the last years. There is a boom in the Italian museum sector. So visiting Italy in winter will allow your customers to dodge long queues and crowded art galleries. This means a trip to a museum will be more relaxed and laid back.
A wealth of experiential winter travel ideas in Italy
So as you can see, Italy has a huge amount of travel ideas to offer tourists during the winter. It is not only a really long, boot-shaped ski resort with a few Christmas markets. Italy is bursting with experiential winter tours you can start offering your customers now! And with our offers you can provide your customers with unique experiences so that they can explore and discover the ins and outs of big cities, rural areas and everything in between, and experience Italian culture in a deeply unique and local way
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