Capital District · Pop. 412,000

Aurelia

Best time: April – June · September – October

• • Giardini della Corona — seven terraces rising to Palazzo del Governo
• • Banca Centrale di Vesperia and the Ducato Museum on Via dei Governatori
• • Mercato Vecchio: saffron risotto, stuffed focaccia and Montara cheeses
• • Evening passeggiata along the Lungofiume Aurelio

Stay: Palazzo Serenissima (historic), Hotel Corona Verde (design), guesthouses in the Borgo Antico

Technology Corridor · Pop. 286,000

Nova Vesper

Best time: All year · mild coastal climate

• • Molo Quantico waterfront and its illuminated research piers
• • Museo dell'Innovazione Sovrana
• • The Vesperline maglev — Nova Vesper to Aurelia in 14 minutes
• • Weekend startup markets at the Darsena Digitale

Stay: Hotel Orizzonte on the seafront, serviced lofts in the Darsena quarter

Alpine Reserve · Pop. 58,000

Montara

Best time: July – September (hiking) · December – March (ski)

• • Ghiacciaio della Corona glacier trek from Rifugio Stella
• • Lago Serena — clear-water swimming and wooden boathouses
• • Cheese-makers' route through the villages of Valdoro and Pietralta
• • Stargazing at the Osservatorio di Monte Vespero (2,340 m)

Stay: Rifugio Stella and Rifugio Aquila, family chalets in Valdoro

Maritime Province · Pop. 173,000

Litorra

Best time: May – October

• • Parco Marino delle Praterie — seagrass meadows, turtles and seahorses
• • The fortified old harbour of San Lito (1612)
• • Ferries to the Isole Gemelle and their white-pebble coves
• • Fish market auctions at dawn in Porto Nuovo

Stay: Restored fishermen's houses in San Lito, Villa Maestrale on the cliffs