Discover Italy : Sports and leisure

Legendary soccer clubs

Juventus Turin. Affectionately nicknamed "the old lady" by its fans, Turin's historic team was founded in 1897. A mythical soccer club, the black-and-white-clad "Juve" has won every major trophy that club soccer has to offer. They are Italy's most popular and successful team, with a staggering 36 league titles (mid-2023) and 2 Champions Leagues. Legendary players such as Dino Zoff, Roberto Baggio, Zinedine Zidane, Pavel Nedved, Alessandro Del Piero and Gianluigi Buffon have all donned the famous Bianconeri shirt...

AC Milan. Founded in 1899, AC Milan is the club of the rossoneri, the Red and Blacks. A jersey worn by some of the greatest names in soccer history, including Maldini, Van Basten, Gullit, Weah, Shevchenko, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Ibrahimovic... A legendary club that has lifted 7 Champions Leagues and 18 Italian championships.

Inter Milan. The Nerazzurri of Inter, the Black and Blues, have amassed a staggering 3 Champions Leagues and 18 championships. Aided and abetted by the soccer stars who have trodden the turf of the Giuseppe-Meazza stadium (called San Siro when rival AC Milan is playing): Ronaldo, Lothar Matthäus, Jürgen Klinsmann, Javier Zanetti, Youri Djorkaeff, Luigi Di Biagio, Christian Vieri..

SSC Napoli. In the south of the country, SSC Napoli are holding their own against their prestigious northern neighbors. In May 2023, they won their^3rd Italian league title. A title that has enriched a list of achievements that also includes 6 Italian Cups and 1 UEFA Cup won with a certain Diego Maradona, who since his death in 2020 has given his name to the city's stadium. The object of a veritable cult following in Naples, El Pibe de Oro helped the club shine for the first time in its history, and also won its first two league titles.

The Italian Alps, a benchmark for winter... and summer sports

In winter, from Trentino-Alto Adige to Valle d'Aosta, via Piedmont, Veneto and Lombardy, winter sports enthusiasts can enjoy themselves in the Italian Alps and Dolomites. While the vast majority prefer downhill skiing, the hundreds of Italian resorts offer holidaymakers every kind of winter pleasure: freeride, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, tobogganing, ice-skating sessions and more.

Ultimate proof of the quality of these northern Italian resorts is the fact that the 2026 Winter Olympics will be held between Milan ( Livigno and Bormio resorts) and Cortina d'Ampezzo, just twenty years after the Turin Olympics were held around Sestriere in 2006, a resort built by members of the famous Agnelli family (owners of Fiat and Juventus Turin soccer club). The best season for winter sports is from December to March. Despite a few snowfalls in March, the snow disappears from April onwards.

In summer, the ski slopes are transformed into spectacular and easily accessible hiking trails, and walkers come from all over the world. A high-mountain ascent, stopping off at one of the many refuges or high-altitude bivouacs, is the perfect opportunity to familiarize yourself with the Italian Alps in the north of the country. You can also enjoy the trails on horseback or mountain bike. They are very well signposted throughout the region and pass through breathtaking scenery. On the other hand, the Alpine torrents are attracting more and more extreme sports enthusiasts, such as kayaking, rafting and canyoning, and there are numerous associations offering courses for beginners. Climbing also attracts its fair share of enthusiasts. Like the vias ferratas, which are a cross between hiking and climbing, and offer the promise of great thrills and grandiose landscapes. Introduced in the ^19th century in the Dolomites, these "railroads" are in fact trails equipped with ladders and cables to climb steep slopes. There are almost sixty vias ferratas in the Dolomites, some of them truly emblematic. Many expeditions can be organized from Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Around the lakes, hiking and lounging on the programme

The incredible natural setting, between lakes and mountains, and the mild climate have made the Italian Great Lakes a superb open-air sports ground, with hiking, biking, horseback riding, climbing, rafting and canyoning. Around the lakes at the foot of the Alps and in the hills, walkers, horse riders and cyclists can enjoy a vast network of paths and trails. These include Verbania on Lake Maggiore, Sarnico on Lake Iseo, Salo and Riva del Garda on Lake Garda, Como on Lake Como and Lugano (Switzerland). There are also many superb viewpoints to be found in the surrounding hills. There are also great opportunities in parks and nature reserves, including the Val Grande National Park, one of the wildest in the country, north of Lake Maggiore.

The shores of Lake Maggiore, Lake Como, Lake Iseo and Lake Garda also form a veritable inland sea, and the many water sports centers around these lakes are a delight for those who love to relax and enjoy water sports. Sailing, windsurfing, funboarding and kitesurfing are particularly popular around Lake Garda (especially in Riva, Torbole, Gargnano, Toscolano-Maderno and Malcesine) and north of Lake Maggiore towards Cannobio, while wakeboarding and water-skiing can be found in Gravedona, north of Lake Como. But you can hire small boats, kayaks, canoes, pedalos and paddles everywhere.

Seaside and water sports

Of course, the seaside is also ideal for lounging and water sports.

On the Tyrrhenian coast, Cinque Terre is a veritable paradise for divers: the region's coastline is protected, and marine flora and fauna flourish. And once you've walked the hundred or so kilometers of hiking trails in the Cinque Terre National Park, the vast beach of Monterosso Al Mare (the only sandy one) and the coves of the other seaside villages are just waiting for you. Kayaks and canoes are readily available for hire.

In Tuscany, the seaside resorts of Marina di Massa, Viareggio, Forte dei Marmi, the Etruscan coast and the island of Elba offer pleasant cruises, diving sessions and numerous water sports.

In Lazio, just a few kilometers from Rome, you can enjoy the fresh air, sunbathing and crystal-clear waters of the seaside resorts of Lido di Ostia, San Felice Circeo and Sabaudia, Terracina, Gaeta or Sperlonga.

In Campania, in the gulf opposite the city of Naples, you'll find some of the most beautiful islands in the Mediterranean: Capri, Ischia and Procida, with their towering peaks, turquoise waters and superb coves. The beaches of the Amalfi Coast, such as Positano , are also very popular.

On the Adriatic coast, the coastline around Trieste, with its pebble beaches, coves and rocky capes, lends itself to idleness and water sports. Further along, on the other side of the gulf, lies the Friulian coast, a succession of long sandy beaches and nature reserves inhabited by numerous species of birds.

After a detour to the famous Lido beach opposite Venice, head for Emilia-Romagna and Rimini. A city that comes alive in summer, attracting hundreds and hundreds of thousands of tourists (there are over 5,000 hotels in the area!), not least thanks to its long sandy beaches. Riccione, Cattolica, Rimini... There are plenty of opportunities for water sports: water skiing, wakeboarding, scuba diving, sailing..

In the Marche region, the Conero nature park, near Ancona, is a must. This park opens onto a coastline of breathtaking scenery.

Further south, while you can stop off at some of Abruzzo's seaside resorts, Puglia is the place to put down your towel. There's sailing and kitesurfing off the Salento coast at Castro and Gallipoli, scuba diving and snorkeling at Peschici and Vieste (Gargano), and classic water sports everywhere (jet-skiing, water-skiing, towed buoys, etc.). In the Crotone region of Calabria, where you'll also find the Capo Rizzuto nature reserve, you can explore the seabed where Roman columns are immersed.

Inland, great nature activities

Inland, between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Seas,agriturismo (green tourism) is growing steadily (a good option for horseback riding, by the way), and national and regional parks and protected reserves offer hiking, birdwatching, mountain biking, river fishing and all kinds of nature-based leisure activities.

In Emilia-Romagna, the Apennines National Park, shared with neighboring Tuscany, offers hikers landscapes of mountains, forests, lakes and waterfalls, where wolves, deer and mouflons roam, closely watched by golden eagles. The other national park is the Foreste Casentinesi, home to some of the best-preserved forests in Italy. Finally, in the north, the Po Delta Regional Park also offers superb scenery, rich in pine groves and marshes. An ideal playground for birdwatching enthusiasts!

In the Appenine chain, the town of Norcia in Umbria is an ideal base for accessing the Sibylline Mountains National Park. This national park is an exceptional spot for hiking in the heart of the wilderness.

Tuscany's superb landscapes lend themselves perfectly to hiking, horse-riding, cycling and even hot-air ballooning. The Via Francigena, one of Europe's most important pilgrimage routes, offers a great opportunity for hiking. Like Chianti, where you can wander from vineyards to charming villages.

The Campania region of Naples also boasts spectacular national parks, such as the Vesuvius National Park, which stretches around the volcano, and the Cilento National Park.

Further south, there are also a number of trails in Puglia, notably in the Gargano area. But hikers will especially want to head for the Pollino National Park, a vast area of the Apennine chain shared by Basilicata and Calabria, offering trails for all levels in a wild and majestic landscape. You can also enjoy pleasant walks in Calabria, in the Sila and Aspromonte national parks. It's worth noting (surprising but true!) that there are also a number of small ski resorts in the south of the country, in Basilicata and Calabria!