For Italians, the beauty of travel lies in getting off the beaten path According to a new American Express report, what truly drives Italians to pack their bags is everything they hadn't planned to see

Say Rome, and you think of the Colosseum. Paris? The Eiffel Tower. London? Big Ben, of course. Every city has its iconic landmark — the one that inevitably ends up in photographs, guidebooks, and above all on lists of things to see before you leave. But in 2026, in a world where travel has become increasingly easy and accessible, can we really say these attractions are still what makes us want to pack our bags and go? A study conducted by Ipsos Doxa for American Express challenges a fairly deep-rooted belief: what makes a trip memorable is not necessarily what we had planned to see, but what we stumble upon without having looked for it.

The real destination? The one you weren't looking for

Italian travellers seem less and less interested in postcard attractions and more and more drawn to small discoveries off the beaten path: a hidden restaurant, an independent shop, or a conversation with someone who truly lives the city. It comes as no surprise, then, that over three quarters prefer places recommended by locals over well-known destinations. More than half choose to visit fewer places but experience them more deeply. Only 15% stick rigidly to an itinerary, while 34% are willing to change their plans based on local tips. Another 33% set off already intending to leave room for spontaneity, because sometimes not knowing exactly where you're headed can be an excellent way to end up in the best possible place.

A journey takes shape through the people who live it

Going with the flow doesn't necessarily mean giving up on culture. On the contrary, the cultural dimension is for many a genuine reason to travel: the vast majority of Italians say they have travelled at least once with the primary goal of having a cultural experience, while for fewer than half it is historical heritage, archaeological sites, monuments, local traditions, exhibitions, and food and wine that constitute the very reason for the trip. It is precisely the act of connecting with a destination that gives travel a different kind of meaning, and what often makes that possible are local communities. Nearly three quarters of Italians say they have changed their plans at least once after receiving a tip from someone who lives there, recognising these very changes of plan as one of the elements capable of making a trip truly memorable.

The map of memories doesn't follow the guidebooks

Even spending habits reflect this shift: more than half of travellers prefer to support local businesses and are willing to pay more for authentic experiences. This approach echoes the commitment of American Express which, to mark its 125 years in Italy, supports the promotion of cultural heritage, including through the restoration of archaeological finds from the Baths of Caracalla. Perhaps, then, the perfect trip is not the one where we manage to see everything, but the one where we find something we weren't looking for — something many people don't even know exists. Because photographs of the Colosseum we've already seen a million times, especially thanks to social media, which shows us so much that we can know by heart things we've never actually seen in person — but that alleyway we turned down by mistake, and the place we discovered without searching for it, belong to us alone and to our memory of that city. So perhaps that's the real beauty of setting off: coming home having added something to the map that wasn't there before.