2 Best Sights in The Veneto and Friuli–Venezia Giulia, Italy

This attractive town, with Venetian-style villas and arcaded streets, lies 23 km (14 miles) north of Treviso in wine-producing country and is known for its sparkling white wine, prosecco. Its other claim to fame is its connection with Gianbattista Cima—called Cima di Conegliano. Along with Giovanni Bellini, Cima is one of the greatest painters of the early Venetian Renaissance, and the town's elegant 14th-century Duomo houses an altarpiece he painted in 1492. The front of the Duomo is formed by the frescoed late-medieval facade and Gothic arcade of the Scuola dei Battuti. If you stop in town, be sure to taste the prosecco, sold in local wine bars and shops. There is regular train service from Treviso.

For a fascinating and delightful day excursion out of Padua, take a drive (or a bus ride) to see several medieval towns. Monselice, 23 km (14 miles) south of Padua, has a castle perched on a hilltop that is everything a 13th-century castle should be, both inside and out. It also has the Villa Duodo, designed by Palladio's disciple and collaborator, Scamozzi. Este, 10 km (6 miles) west of Monselice, is another example of a medieval walled city. Farther west, the walls surrounding the town of Montagnana, 50 km (30 miles) southwest of Padua, are some of the best preserved in Italy; they enclose a market square, a 500-year-old cathedral, a Palladian Villa, and a medieval castle.