Few celebrities have become as closely associated with Italy as Stanley Tucci. Through his bestselling books, food-focused travel series and social media cooking videos, the actor has spent years exploring the country’s regional cuisines, cultures and hidden gems.
Along the way, he’s developed strong opinions on where travelers should go, what they should eat and how they should experience Italy. For first-time visitors, Tucci’s advice is simple: slow down, embrace local traditions and let food guide the journey.
Where Does Stanley Tucci Recommend Going in Italy?
For first-time visitors, Tucci points to a handful of cities that each offer something distinct — from northern elegance to southern chaos. He told Travel + Leisure in 2025 that travelers should consider Milan “for its progressiveness and elegance and proximity to the lakes and mountains, as well as its risotto, osso buco, polenta, and the like.”
Rome is non-negotiable on his list. “Rome without question for its grandeur and for the four ubiquitous pastas — alla matriciana, cacio pepe, carbonara, and alla gricia — not to mention the artichokes,” Tucci told the outlet.
He also recommends heading south, suggesting “Palermo and Naples for the madness of them both, the pizza, eggplant parmigiana, and the seafood.” Florence rounds out his shortlist “for the cultural richness of the city and the simplicity of the food, like the bistecca fiorentina and ribollita.”
Tucci’s connection to Italy runs deep. Both of his parents are of Italian descent, with family lineages originating in the Calabria region of southern Italy. His paternal grandparents came from the village of Marzi in the province of Cosenza, and his maternal family hails from Cittanova in the province of Reggio Calabria. He first lived in the country at age 11, when his family relocated to Florence for a year — an experience that shaped the cooking he later detailed in books like The Tucci Table and Taste: My Life Through Food.
What Is the Biggest Mistake You Can Make Traveling to Italy, According to Stanley Tucci?
His big-picture advice for any itinerary is to slow down and avoid the crush.
“Do your best to go off-season to avoid the crowds, especially in Venice, Florence, and Rome. And eat where the locals eat!” Tucci told Travel + Leisure.
He gave a similar warning to Fodor’s in 2022. “I think the one thing I’d say is don’t try to do too much in one trip.” His point is that Italy rewards travelers who linger over a region rather than rushing through five cities in a week.
What Are Stanley Tucci’s Tips for Eating Like a Local in Italy?
Tucci’s top rule for eating in Italy is to skip the guidebook circuit and seek out markets — especially farmers markets — to understand the food culture of wherever you are. “A market tells you how important food is or isn’t to the people there. It exposes the soul of a place,” Tucci told Travel + Leisure in 2025.
He encourages travelers to treat the market as a kind of cultural read. “Farmers markets in particular are a way of understanding the people who live in any given place,” he said. “Not only the produce or products that are sold, but how fresh are they, and where are those products from? Are the majority locally sourced or imported? What are the vendors like that are selling them? Who is shopping there?”
Once you sit down to eat, Tucci recommends ordering the dish a city is actually known for. He laid out a regional cheat sheet for Fodor’s: “Dishes in Rome, carbonara without question. In Florence, Bistecca Fiorentina. In Bologna, lasagna Bolognese. In Milan, risotto and ossobuco Milanese. Down in Sicily, pasta a la Norma. And then in Naples in that area, Amalfi Coast, seafood, pasta with zucchini, stuff like that.”
What Does Stanley Tucci Warn Travelers Not to Do in Italian Restaurants?
He also has firm opinions on what not to do at the table. “Don’t ask for cheese on your own spaghetti alle vongole. Let the cheese thing go. I think that’s key,” Tucci told Fodor’s. He added a note on language that doubles as a general travel philosophy: “Most Italians will speak English, but it’s always nice to make a vague attempt at least a few words of the language of the country that you’re in.”
Tucci’s emphasis on regional specificity tracks with how he writes about food in his memoir “Taste: My Life Through Food,” which details how the traditional cooking of his Calabrian mother and grandparents shaped his palate. The takeaway for first-time visitors: don’t order carbonara in Bologna or lasagna in Rome just because you can. Order what the place does best.
What Hotels Does Stanley Tucci Recommend in Italy?
Tucci has stayed at several hotels he says he would happily return to, and he named specific properties in Milan, Venice and Florence when speaking to Fodor’s in 2022. “I love the Mandarin hotels. I mean I love them. I stayed in the Mandarin in Milan, and it was gorgeous,” he said.
In Venice, he singled out two historic properties on the Grand Canal. “The Gritti [Palace] and the Danieli in Venice are really quite lovely,” Tucci told Fodor’s.
His most enthusiastic recommendation, though, was for a hotel in Florence. “Another hotel is the Ferragamo Hotel Lungarno in Florence. I dream about it all the time. I’ve stayed there a couple of times and I literally never wanted to leave. It’s just unbelievable and so tastefully done,” he said.
On how to get between those cities, Tucci’s advice depends on the destination. He told Fodor’s that renting a car can be worth it for some trips and a hassle for others. “Sometimes having a car is a great thing, except when you’re going to visit Florence, you don’t want to have a car. You can’t drive anywhere,” he said.
For travelers who do drive, he recommends building in detours. “It’s really nice to be able to drive and just stop off at little towns or little rest stops along the way, or take a circuitous route somewhere, go to a little hilltop town, that’s great,” Tucci told Fodor’s.
But he is just as enthusiastic about Italy’s rail system. “Equally, the trains are really wonderful because it’s very relaxing,” he said. “The countryside is gorgeous. And you take a train to Rome, you’re in Florence in no time and then from Florence to Milan, in no time and it’s easy. Grab a taxi and you’re in your hotel.” For first-time visitors trying to hit Rome, Florence and Milan on one trip, that’s a clear endorsement of trains over rental cars — and a reminder, again, not to try to cram in too much.
