Only a 30-minute train ride from Venice, Padova is a stunning city that remains largely untouched by mass tourism, but whose history, architecture and lifestyle make it a coveted place to live and visit.

Now a UNESCO heritage site for its unmatched, perfectly-preserved series of pre-Renaissance frescoes–including works by Giotto di Bondone and Giusto de Menabuoi–Padova’s city centre is dominated by the presence of the prominent University of Padua–whose foundation in 1222 as a school of law makes it the fifth oldest university in the world–and thus by the buzzing scene that comes with it.