Rome And Venice Are Way Too Crowded. Visit Arezzo For A Quieter Italian Getaway

For all the enchanting destinations one can travel to across the European continent, perhaps nowhere can compete with Italy in terms of cultural influence, architectural flair, and tangible ancient history. Two cities epitomizing this are Rome, the former center of one of Europe's furthest-reaching empires (the remnants of which are scattered throughout the modern cityscape), and Venice, a floating city of spires and terracotta rooftops that's been popular with tourists since the 19th century. Excess tourism is, unfortunately, an issue in both cities, causing crowd-weary travelers to search for alternatives. If you want a quiet Italian getaway in a beautiful historic town, you could certainly do worse than Arezzo.

Rome received more than 22 million visitors in 2025 while Venice sees a whopping 30 million annually. Arezzo, located in the Tuscany region, about halfway between Rome and Venice, is comparatively under-touristed, welcoming around 300,000 overnight visitors each year. It has all the trappings of an Italian medieval city: a grand piazza surrounded by stone buildings, a duomo with soaring Gothic arches, a hilltop fortress surveying the city, and artistic masterpieces enriching the walls of its churches.

This is Italy, so you can expect the food and wine to be sublime too, whether on a winery tour, taking part in a cooking class, or dining in a traditional trattoria. With its lack of crowds and slow pace of life, Arezzo is a great place to detox and unwind — there are plenty of nice hotels, B&Bs, and private villas to facilitate this. You could also bundle Arezzo into a Tuscan road trip through the region's hills, medieval cities, and vineyards.

When visiting Arezzo, you should explore the major sites, a good portion of which are located around the main square, Piazza Grande. The 14th-century duomo, also called the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Donatus, has typically aspirational Gothic architecture, where everything is airy and poised and reaching towards the heavens. Among its most impressive features is the vaulted ceiling fresco, painted in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Another immense work of art covers the walls of the Basilica of Saint Francis. Called "The Legend of the True Cross" and painted in the mid-1400s, it depicts the story of the wood on which Jesus was crucified. Also visit the Medici Fortress, where you'll get views of the old-world cityscape. A fortress has existed here for around 1,000 years, though the current structure is from the 16th century and was designed in the pointed star shape that was the fashion in Italy at the time. The idea was that starlike geometry could protect the exterior walls from artillery fire. Some places took this philosophy even further, like Palmanova, a fully star-shaped town in northeastern Italy.

If you come outside the main travel season, in spring or autumn, say, you'll experience Arezzo without the company of many other tourists. The essence of slow travel is also about eradicating the need for checklists and itineraries. Perhaps you just want to wander the timeworn streets and spend your evenings eating Tuscan cuisine, sometimes called "la cucina povera" or "peasant cooking," which is based on simplicity and fresh ingredients. Arezzo's well-reviewed Tuscan-style restaurants include Trattoria Cavour 42 and Teorema del Gusto, both with outdoor seating. You can also sample wines in a nearby vineyard. Villa La Ripa, producing white, red, and sparkling rosé, is 15 minutes from town by car and offers various tour and tasting experiences.

Of Tuscany's two international airports, Florence's Amerigo Vespucci Airport is closer to Arezzo, just over an hour away by car. Flying here also allows you to visit Florence, one of Europe's — if not the world's — most beautiful cities, though it too has suffered from overtourism. Many family-run stores have been replaced with shops selling tourist tat and the city recently banned some outdoor dining in response to the plastic tarps, terraces, and branded umbrellas that had proliferated throughout, and become a visual scourge on, the historic city streets.

The crowds swarming Florence's old town might make you want to hightail it to Arezzo even quicker. So once you get here, it's worth staying in a property that lends itself to the peaceful atmosphere. Hotel Continentale Arezzo, in the heart of town, offers colorful suite rooms with quirky design features — marbled columns, Venetian Baroque furniture, intricate coffered ceilings — and city views. You can also book activities and experiences here, like rooftop yoga, pottery making, or a fresco-painting workshop. If you want to make your escape a little more rural, the hotel has a 13th-century villa, Casale di Piero, in the Arezzo outskirts, with a pool and a garden terrace. This will be more cost-effective if traveling with a large group.

If privacy is king, there are plenty of Airbnbs scattered around town. There are also private rentals you can book in the nearby countryside, with access to vineyards and beautiful views of the rolling Tuscan hills. Staying in one of these rural properties will require you to commute in and out of Arezzo for sightseeing and other activities, but what you get in return is a desperately romantic view of the quiet Italian life.