A new Italian study finds food and wine trips offer the clearest escape from overtourism in 2026

Travelers looking for a short break in Italy in autumn and winter 2026 may find the best escape from overtourism in food and wine experiences, according to a new analysis by the Italian platform Dolcecharm.

The study, called the 2026 “Italy Without Crowds Index,” draws on data from Italy’s national statistics agency, Istat, and the Culture Ministry. It argues that enogastronomic tourism stands out as the category most removed from the country’s busiest destinations. According to the analysis, 66% of authentic food and wine experiences are located more than 20 kilometers, or about 12 miles, from Italy’s 100 most visited municipalities. That was the highest share among the categories reviewed.

Dolcecharm said 43% of those food and wine experiences are in small towns with fewer than 5,000 residents. Another 39% are in inland areas, and 8% are in municipalities above 600 meters, or about 1,970 feet, in elevation. The study said those figures suggest that travelers who choose wine and culinary itineraries are more likely to reach places that remain outside the main tourist flows.

The same analysis found that nature tourism also tends to be relatively far from the busiest destinations, with 65% of experiences located more than 20 kilometers from one of the 100 most visited municipalities. Wellness tourism followed at 56%, then boat and seaside activities at 48%. City tours ranked much lower, at 25%. Overall, the study said authentic experiences are spread across 595 municipalities in all 20 Italian regions.

Dolcecharm based its broader argument on what it described as the concentration of tourism in a limited number of places. In 2024, Italy’s 453 state museums, monuments and archaeological sites recorded 60.9 million visitors. The five most visited sites — the Colosseum, the Uffizi Galleries, Pompeii, the Pantheon and the Galleria dell’Accademia — accounted for 50.2% of those visits, according to the study. The Colosseum alone represented 24.2%.

The concentration becomes clearer when the wider museum system is included. Dolcecharm said that in 2025, taking into account all 4,677 museums open in Italy, Lazio, Tuscany and Campania received 50.1% of the country’s 140.8 million admissions. A similar pattern appeared in the accommodation market. In 2025, the 100 most visited municipalities, out of nearly 8,000 across the country, accounted for 51% of arrivals in hotels and other tourist lodgings.

That imbalance, the study said, is the clearest sign of overtourism: large numbers of people visiting the same places at the same times, while much of the rest of the country remains lightly traveled. Dolcecharm said the aim of the index is not to measure how many tourists come to Italy, but to identify where visitors can still find a more authentic experience away from the heaviest traffic.

To make that point more concrete, the study paired 10 of Italy’s most crowded destinations with nearby alternatives that it said face much lower tourism pressure, again using Istat data. Instead of Varenna on Lake Como, the analysis suggested Lecco, 19 kilometers away. There, visitors can see the Monumental Cemetery of Laorca, built into the rock, and the Gerenzone Iron Valley. Instead of San Vito Lo Capo in Sicily, it pointed to Trapani, 25 kilometers away, where travelers can visit the Palazzo della Giudecca and the salt pans with the Nubia windmill.

The same approach was applied in Piedmont and Veneto. Rather than Barolo, Dolcecharm suggested Alba, 12 kilometers away, citing the wooden choir of the Cathedral of San Lorenzo and the underground Roman remains beneath the city. Instead of Venice, it proposed Treviso, 26 kilometers away, where visitors can see the Buranelli canal and the chapter house of San Nicolò.

The regional picture in the study also showed where avoiding crowds may be harder. Many of Italy’s 100 most visited municipalities are in Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto and Tuscany, areas that include the Dolomites, Lake Garda, Venice and the Veneto beaches, along with art cities and the Tuscan coast. Dolcecharm said those regions have fewer experiences far from the crowds, making destination choice more important for travelers trying to avoid congestion.

By contrast, the study said every experience mapped in Abruzzo, Basilicata, Molise and Valle d’Aosta was classified as far from the crowds. That finding points to a persistent divide in Italian tourism: while a relatively small number of famous destinations continue to absorb much of the demand, large parts of the country still offer space, lower visitor pressure and tourism built around local food, wine and smaller communities.