12 Instagrammable Spots In Italy

1 May

10 minute read | Written by Erin Roche

Italy is without a doubt one of the most photographable countries in the world, rich with history, quaint towns, stunning streets, and breathtaking vistas. You won’t be able to put your camera down as you stroll around the towns you visit!

We’ve compiled this quick guide to all of Italy’s best photos spots of Rome, Florence & Cinque Terre so you don’t miss a beat. We hope this guide brings inspiration to your shoots in these picture perfect Italian cities and helps you get the best out of your time there.

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Rome: The Eternal City

Photo Spot 1: Colosseum at Via Nicola Salvi

This is the perfect spot to capture the Colosseum pictures of your dreams, but don’t get us wrong, you most likely won’t be here alone. Via Nicola Salvi is probably the busiest spot around the whole Colosseum to snap Instagrammable pictures, and for a good reason! There are endless shots you can take here, so take your time, be patient in queues, and use props so your shots look different to the next person!

Best Time To Go: As the busiest viewpoint to snap pictures of the Colosseum from, we suggest getting here for sunrise if you don’t fancy battling the hoards of tourists for the shot. We however went at sunset and found that with a bit of patience we were able to get photos in the spots we wanted with beautiful golden lighting after the sun dipped behind Rome’s hills.

How to Get Here: If travelling by Metro, you can get on Line B and disembark at Colosseo. This will pop out right next to Via Nicola Salvi. There are also public bus stops outside the Colosseo if you are in a serviceable part of the city. We walked almost everywhere in Rome, and found this was an easy (and free!) way to get around.

Helpful Hint: Watch out for scammers all around Rome, but particularly in the Colosseum area. Some will try put a bracelet on your wrist and make you pay for it, while others will offer tickets into the Colosseum that cost more than buying the tickets directly through the Colosseums website.

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Photo Spot 2. The Colonnades at Vatican City

For a shot that you may not see often on Instagram, head to the columns on either side of Piazza San Pietro and get creative. This is a great spot to play with shadows and shapes, with the stark white columns creating harsh striped shadows throughout the day.

Best Time To Go: Early morning will allow you to capture the columns without shadows and without crowds! But if you’d like to capture a shot with the shadows of the columns, you will need to go during the day. Our photo involved using photoshop to remove the constant stream of people walking through our shot, so again, be prepared for the crowds if you visit in the middle of the day.

How to Get Here: The nearest metro stop is Ottaviano which is on Line A, or there are a number of bus lines that frequent the area. Once you’ve reached the obelisk in Vatican City, the columns are to the left and right on the outside of the square.

Helpful Hint: For both buses and metros, tickets must be purchased before boarding the transport. You’ll find ticket machines at the metro stations, or you can pay useless ‘Contactless’ at the gates. For buses, you will need to visit a tobacconist or bar to purchase your ticket if you are not boarding at a major bus station.

Photo Spot 2. The Colonnades at Vatican City

Photo Spot 3. Rampa Di San Sebastianello

Chances are, your trip to Rome will take you to the Spanish Steps, so we’ve found a hidden gem right next this hot spot to get a unique and Instagrammable view of Rome.

The Rampa Di San Sebastianello is a set of stairs that lead to the top of the Spanish Steps. At the top, you’ll find a great spot to take a shot with traditional Italian homes as a colourful background to enhance your feed.

Best Time To Go: You can visit here at any time of day, but as always mornings will be the quietest time

How to Get Here: The nearest metro stop is Spagna which is on Line A. Once you’ve reached the bottom of the Spanish Steps, climb to the top on the left hand side, and turn around to look out over the city. You’ll see the Rampa Di S.Sebastianello sign here next to an apartment gate.

Helpful Hint: You won’t be allowed to use a tripod on the Spanish Steps if there are security/police around, so consider this when pre planning any shoots you have in mind.

Photo Spot 4. Trevi Fountain

Our fourth spot in Rome will take you to one of the Eternal City’s busiest and most crammed sites, the Trevi Fountain. The Trevi Fountain is a breathtaking site with lots of photography potential, from portraits, to capturing the individual details of the fountains statues, so take your time here.

Best Time To Go: In our opinion, the only time you should visit the Trevi Fountain is at sunrise. We visited in the middle of the day and twice at sunrise, and for not only photography purposes, but also for the overall experience, sunrise was the only time we would go back. Even at sunrise, we weren’t the only people there, so the earlier you can arrive the better.

How to Get Here: To get to the Fountain, you can disembark the Metro at Barberini or Spagna both on line A and both about an 8 minute walk from the fountain. The Trevi Fountain is otherwise best accessed by foot as it is surrounded by the many narrow roads of Rome’s city centre. It is a 10 minute walk to both the Spanish Steps and Pantheon, so this is a great spot to start your day in Rome.

Helpful Hint: A wide angle lens (such as a 10-24mm) will come in handy here if you hope to capture a lot of the fountain in your shot.

Florence: The Birthplace of the Renaissance

Photo Spot 5. Santa Maria Del Fiore from your rooftop

Florence is the perfect city to splurge any remaining budget you have and find a hidden gem right in the centre of the city. Many people visit Florence and will marvel at the beauty of the Duomo, but as with many things, the best view is from above.

We usually travel on a tight budget and shudder at the thought of spending over $100 a night on accommodation, but we thought it was worthwhile to shell out a bit of cash for a magical night under the Florentine sky with an insane view of the cathedral. We paid 82€ for one night in January, however prices will likely grow during peak season.

You can find Airbnbs dotted around the Piazza that surrounds the Cathedral as well as hotels and apartments on Booking.com or independent websites.

Best Time To Go: Being your own hotel rooftop, you won’t be subjected to the hoards of people trying to get shots of the Duomo throughout the day. We however found that sunrise and sunset gave the most beautiful glow to the Duomo that made our pictures even more magical.

How to Get Here: The Duomo is in the heart of Florence city, and Florence is very walkable. We didn’t catch any buses or trams, and walked the whole city instead.

Helpful Hint: Travelling in the off season will allow you to stay in some nicer places for less so keep an eye on cheap off season deals and try fit your travels around these times.

Photo Spot 5. Santa Maria Del Fiore from your rooftop

Photo Spot 6. Abbazia di San Miniato al Monte

Most Florence itineraries will recommend you visit Piazzale Michelangelo for ‘The Best View in Florence’, but we can do you one better. Just beyond the Piazzale Michelangelo lies this secret gem, where you can experience breathtaking sunsets and capture beautiful pictures of the glorious city with almost no crowds.

Abbazia di San Miniato al Monte is a church atop the hill with never ending views of the city and the mountains beyond. In front of the church are a number of staircases and railings just begging for a photo, with all of Florences rich history in full view.

Best Time To Go: We found the sunset over the city to be a magical sight as the warm glow lights up the rich earth tones of the city and surrounds.

How to Get Here: As we mentioned, Florence is a very walkable city but the walk up to this viewpoint does involve climbing quite a few stairs. It will only take 5-10 minutes from the base by the river. Once you’ve reached Piazzale Michelagelo, continue walking uphill on the footpath, and you will eventually find come across the magnificent steps leading to the church.

Helpful Hint: We found the roads and stairs from Piazza Poggi were kinder on our lungs (we weren’t the fittest travellers) than the usual steps up the Piazzale Michelangelo (called Scalea del Monte alle Croci on Google Maps).

Photo Spot 6. Abbazia di San Miniato al Monte

Photo Spot 7. The Hidden Fotoautomatica’s

One of Florence’s best kept secrets are the Fotoautomatica’s scattered about the city. The old fashioned camera booths have been restored to capture timeless memories printed in black and white, that take a whole 4 and a half minutes to print, quite different to the quick capture and move on that many travellers are so familiar with. This makes it a great spot to pause, treasure the experience and grab not only a film strip but also a snapshot of the booths themselves, as you wait for your memory to print.

Best Time To Go: These booths are scattered about the cities many streets so you will likely have to contend with traffic and people at any time of day, so this is just a spot to go to whenever you’re in the area.

How to Get Here: The booth pictured here is on the corner of Santa Monaca and Via dei Serragli, but other booths can apparently be found at Via dell’Agnolo, Via del Proconsolo, Piazza Stazione, Largo Fratelli Alinari and The Student Hotel.

Helpful Hint: The Fotoautomaticas cost 2€ for one strip - definitely worth it!

Photo Spot 7. The Hidden Fotoautomatica’s

The Cinque Terre: Five Fishing Villages

Photo Spot 8. Spiaggia Tragagia

Famous for the alleged ‘best beaches’ of the Cinque Terre, Monterosso Al Mare is certainly home to many large sweeping beaches, unlike the other port-like cities of the region. In front of the Old Town of Monterosso lies Spiaggia Tragagia, a small pebble beach which is home to a public beach area and a lido, which is an Italian beach club that pops up in the summer. Here you will get a great view of the old seaside castle that stands high on the hill separating the old and new town.

This is a great spot to get some shots a bit different to the most common pictures taken in Monterosso Al Mare.

Best Time To Go: We visited in winter so we were able to visit this spot at any time of day, as there was almost no one on the beach and the lido was not set up.

How to Get Here: Exit the Monterosso train station to the left and walk for about four minutes to the tunnel, and continue through. At the other end, you will see Spiaggia Tragagia from the road and can also venture into the Old Town to explore.

Helpful Hint: The train is the only way to visit the Cinque Terre as only local vehicles are allowed in the towns. There are walking tracks between the villages, but if you are short on time, wanting to get to spots early or don’t fancy a hike, the train is the best option. Make sure to check the hourly timetable.

Photo Spot 9. Riomaggiore Harbour

The famous red port side apartment featured in many photos of the Cinque Terre can be found in the harbour of Riomaggiore. For the best shots, head up the Via San Giocamo and perch yourself (safely) along the wall looking back upon the buildings. You’ll be able to capture some beautiful, colourful snaps of the famous area.

For another view of the harbour, head back down Via San Giocamo, and cross the harbour to the ramp side. Head out onto the rocks and to your right is a large cliff, climb the stairs and walk down onto the cliff for another spectacular spot.

When we visited in winter, the rock wall and harbour below were inaccessible due to maintenance, however when open, the rock wall would also make a great spot for some photos.

Best Time To Go: With the sun setting over the ocean and streaming a perfect golden glow onto the old fishing village, sunset is a perfect time to get your shots here.

How to Get Here: From the train station, follow the tunnel out into the town and immediately ahead will be signs for the harbour. You can either go to the left of the ramp or the right for the pictures shot below.

Helpful Hint: During off season, the train only runs once per hour in each direction so be sure to check the train timetable and plan ahead which trains you will be catching so not to wait around for hours throughout the day.

Photo Spot 10. The Cliffs of Vernazza

Perched high atop the seaside village of Vernazza is the most famous viewpoint in all of the Cinque Terre. The hill provides a perfect ocean vista with the warm hues of a quaint Italian village capturing the eyes of the viewer amidst the sea.

Best Time To Go: This is another great sunset spot with the warm hues of the village lit up in a perfect golden glow as the sun dips below the horizon. However in the summer, as crowds swarm the area, a sunrise visit may be for the best.

How to Get Here: On the main street of Vernazza, there is a staircase with a sign to Monterosso. The viewpoint is about 10-15 minutes into a 1.5 hour walk from Vernazza to Monterosso Al Mare.

Helpful Hint: In summer, you will likely need to queue to take photos here and may have to pay entry to access this section of the walk. In winter, the booth was closed and we were able to get in for free.

Photo Spot 11. Spiaggia di Fegina

Another iconic photo of the Cinque Terre is the pebbled beach home to the brightly coloured orange and green beach umbrellas. In winter, the lido is closed so you can instead capture the beach in its natural state. A great spot to capture this beach from is the slightly inclined road of Via Fegina, out to the left of the train station. This will help you capture the beach and the rock structure that juts out from the beach.

Best Time To Go: To get a bright ‘summer vibes’ picture, a shot in the middle of the day is great here, but otherwise the shot is not particularly impacted by the time of day (other than the usual lighting conditions that come with shooting at midday). Shooting in the summer may impact your ability to position yourself on the beach, as you may need to pay entry to the lido.

How to Get Here: From the train station, exit to the left and walk along the footpath until you are above the beach rocks. Here you can take some great photos of the beach from above.

Helpful Hint: To capture a photo of both of us on the beach from the road, we took turns in making our way down to the beach one at a time. We then used Photoshop to edit our two pictures together to make it look like we were both in the photo. This was purely done for safety as we weren’t comfortable leaving the camera by the road to take a photo together. Check out our Instagram @thewaytowherever for editing tutorials of photos just like this.

Photo Spot 12. Manarola Harbour

The little town of Manarola, which we stayed in for 5 days during our time in the Cinque Terre, is home to the most well known view of the Cinque Terre, the iconic bridge and harbour combination, backed by colourful houses and bright blue boats. You can take photos of the harbour from the ‘Manarola Scenic Viewpoint’ which is pinned on Google Maps. Or you can head down to the harbour itself and walk along the rock wall for some new perspectives.

Another hidden spot to grab shots is around the corner from the Manarola Scenic Viewpoint. You can climb down to the waters edge and get some beautiful photos of the never ending coastline.

Best Time To Go: As with the rest of the Cinque Terre, sunset is going to cast a beautiful glow on the buildings, however this is a great spot at any time of day as you should be able to get some shots hassle free if you stand along the railing.

How to Get Here: Once you have exited the train station tunnel, head directly left and either climb the stairs or the ramp. From here you will be able to see peaks of the harbour, head down towards here and you can decide what vantage point you’d like for your shots.

Helpful Hint: For delicious gelato and to-die-for Nutella crepes, stop in at Gelateria Artigianale in Manarola (in Google Maps as ‘Gelateria Manarola’).

That's it!

If you’ve made it down here, thank you so much for reading

We absolutely loved creating content in Italy, but we found that many places we visited have ‘the shot’ and not much else that people shoot. For this reason, we tried to incorporate cute outfits & props to change up our shots and make engaging, original content of these saturated sites. We encourage everyone to do the same, pull inspiration from your favourite creators, and make your art your own!

In each city and region, there are so many photography opportunities, particularly if you’re not focused on self portraits, so wander around with your camera at the ready and soak in as much as you can!

We hope you have a great time exploring Italy’s rich culture and history, and don’t forget to eat plenty of pasta, pizza and gelato!

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