Italy might be the destination for romantic holidays or honeymoons, but with its abundance of cultural and artistic heritage, world-renowned cuisine, natural beauty and spectacular beaches, it’s an ideal place to lose yourself in as a solo traveler.

Now, seeing the country as part of a tour group is completely fine, but there’s something about doing it alone that allows you to experience places and people on a more personal level. And doing that as a woman, it’s an enriching and empowering experience. To paraphrase Miss Lavish from the 1907 novel A Room with a View, “a lone female in an unknown town. Now, that is what I call an adventure.”