TURIN

Plus Spruced up and still chipper after last year’s Winter Olympics, this is a baroque city on a grand scale, with wide boulevards, impressive squares and a couple of world-class museums (on Egyptology and cinema). The skyline, with its eccentric 500ft Antonelliana tower, is handsomely backlit by snowcapped Alps. Turin is no longer Fiat’s fiefdom, but you can still relive The Italian Job at the company’s former factory — now a hotel complex — with its restored rooftop test track.

Minus This is a big industrial city, with sprawling suburbs. The famous shroud is only available for public viewing every 25 years.

Do it: stay in style at Le Meridien Turin Art + Tech Hotel (00 39-011 664 2000; doubles from £148), set inside the old Fiat works. Cheaper is the cosy and central Hotel Artua & Solferino (011 561 3444; doubles about £65). Fly with BA or Ryanair.

VERONA

Plus No matter that “Juliet’s balcony” was built in the 1920s, Verona is still seriously romantic. The centrepiece is the Roman arena, venue for the opera festival, which climaxes every summer with an audacious Aida. Nearby, mellow country surrounds the perfectly proportioned villas of Palladio.

Minus Dull and frumpy hotels predominate, and even those get booked solid during the opera season.

Do it: classy Hotel Accademia (00 39-045 596 222; doubles from £119) bucks the trend; as does little Hotel Torcolo (045 800 7512; doubles from £73). Fly with BA or Ryanair.

BOLOGNA

Plus La Grassa (the Fat One) is the calorific capital of Italy, with sausages and tortellini topping the menu. It’s an architectural feast, too: the city’s nobility built more than 100 towers, 20 of which remain today. The oldest university in Europe still thrives, guaranteeing a lively atmosphere and an unrivalled bar scene.

Minus Watch your wallet — this is one of Italy’s most expensive cities.

Do it: stay in luxury at the Hotel Corona d’Oro (00 39-051 236 456; doubles from £160), a restored 14th-century mansion. In the university quarter you’ll find Hotel Accademia (051 232 318; rooms from £40). Fly with BA or Aer Lingus.

FLORENCE

Plus Crucible of Renaissance art, home to Michelangelo’s David and Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus — but red-roofed Florence, surrounded by rolling hills, would be a big-league city break without all that. Roam the food hall of the Mercato Centrale or the swanky boutiques along Via de’ Tornabuoni for a window on Florentine life today.

Minus The summer crush can be overwhelming.

Do it: stay at the wonderful Hotel Torre di Bellosguardo (00 39-055 229 8145; doubles from £155); or Johanna and Johlea’s tasteful B&B (055 463 3292; doubles from £57). Fly with Meridiana.

TRIESTE

Plus irtually surrounded by Slovenia, Trieste only became part of Italy in 1954, so you’d expect it to be a bit different — and it is. You can munch on pastries in a “Viennese” cafe, stroll along avenues of prim Hapsburg houses, and tuck into hearty Slovenian-style broth. But it’s the Italian love of la bella figura that rules down by the sassily renovated harbour, overlooked by a brooding castle and the exquisite San Giusto Cathedral. Out of town, it’s just a short drive to the beaches of Croatian Istria.

Minus More rewarding for the connoisseur than the first-timer. And those northeast winds... brrr.

Do it: stay at Hotel Continentale (00 39-040 631717; doubles from £121), the best of the city’s four-stars; or the basic-but-central Hotel James Joyce (040 311 023; doubles from £54) — the novelist lived in Trieste for 10 years. Fly with Ryanair from Stansted.

VENICE

Plus Still the best place on earth for car-free romance. Venice’s 150 canals, 400 bridges and countless picturesque palazzos don’t disappoint: the Grand Canal on a vaporetto is the most thrilling public-transport experience in the world. Tour the Doge’s Palace and the Accademia gallery, sip a coffee on St Mark’s Square, and make time for the islands, peaceful Torcello and atmospheric Murano.

Minus There are two floods a year — water in winter, tourists in summer. 40 miles

Do it: stay at the opulent, 14th-century San Cassiano (00 39-041 524 1768; doubles from £110), or at the only one-star on the Grand Canal, the cosy Hotel Galleria (041 523 2489; doubles from £70). Fly with BA, BMI, EasyJet, Jet2, Aer Lingus or Ryanair.

RIMINI

Plus The 10-mile stretch of sandy beach here has been luring tourists ever since sea-bathing became fashionable. But lately Rimini’s fin-de-siãcle hotels have been joined by a new generation of hedonistic head-turners, including the futuristic Hotel duoMo (www.duomohotel.com). Smart clubs, too: Byblos, Pascia and Villa delle Rose. Away from the party strip you’ll find an engaging Roman centre, complete with ancient fish market, and many familiar Fellini movie backdrops — the iconic director regularly filmed in his home town. A 30-minute bus ride brings you to the hilltop micro-state of San Marino.

Minus The beaches are sardine-packed in August, eerily quiet in winter — visit in spring or autumn.

Do it: stay at the stately Grand Hotel (00 39-0541 56000; doubles from £140); or at the Esedra (0541 23421; doubles from £60), a peaceful 1890s villa. Fly with EasyJet or Ryanair.

AIRLINE CONTACTS: British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com ), BMI (0870 607 0555, www.flybmi.com ), EasyJet (www.easyjet.com ), Jet2 (0871 226 1737, www.jet2.com ), Meridiana (0845 355 5588, www.meridiana.com ), Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com ), Aer Lingus (in Ireland: 0818 365000, www.aerlingus.com ).

Times recommends

• The 10 best bits of travel gear
• Soho's classy, cheap new townhouse
• Germany's perfect Christmas city