Top 20 byer, som udstationerede ønsker at flytte til i Italien, 2026-udgaven

Italy has long cast a spell on those seeking la dolce vita abroad. From its Renaissance cities to sun-soaked villages, the country offers hundreds of locations (Italy is home to more than 7,000 municipalities, or comuni) where one might imagine starting a new life. 

As we head into 2026, interest in relocating to Italy is surging once again. But hvor, exactly, are would-be expats looking to move? Is it the bustling streets of Milan and Rome, the rolling hills of Tuscan towns, or the quiet allure of undiscovered coastal villages? To answer this, we delved into fresh data from 2025, analyzing both what people searched for on search engines and what they actually explored on Magic Towns Italiens byudforsker. The results reveal a fascinating two-track journey: big cities dominate the early imagination, but it’s the smaller “hidden gem” towns expats spend time investigating that ultimately capture their hearts.

Our Methodology: How We Identified the Top Towns

To find the top expat hotspots, we focused on high-intent relocation signals in 2025. In plain language: on the one hand, this meant looking at search engine queries from abroad that explicitly mention moving or living in Italian locations (for example, searches like “moving to Milan” or “living in Florence”). By filtering for these relocation-themed keywords (in English, and their German and French equivalents), we zeroed in on towns generating genuine expat interest rather than just tourist curiosity. 

We then paired this with Magic Towns Italy’s own analytics: which town profile pages attracted the most views from international visitors (i.e. people outside Italy) over the past year. These two data sets capture both the aspiration stage and the forskning stage of the expat journey.

Combining these metrics, we compiled a blended ranking of Italy’s top 20 towns for 2025. The ranking gives a 60% weight to search popularity and 40% to site page views, ensuring that a town had to perform well in at least one dimension (and ideally both) to make the cut. In practice, this meant the final list includes the usual big-name magnets as well as lesser-known towns that punched above their weight in attracting overseas interest. Below we present the Top 20 as the 2026 edition of towns expats are eyeing, with their average monthly search demand and Magic Towns site interest listed side by side. (Note: A “0” in Search Demand indicates the volume was below Google’s public reporting threshold, not necessarily zero).

Top 20 Searched Towns for Expats in Italy (2025 Data)

(“Search Demand” = average monthly Google searches in 2025 for “moving to/living in ___” queries; “Site Interest” = international page views on MagicTowns Italy town pages in 2025.)

Big Cities vs. Small Town Surprises

Milano (Milano), Italy’s business and fashion capital, tops the list at #1 – and it’s no surprise why. Across search engine searches, Milan was the clear outlier by volume, attracting the most “moving to…” queries of any Italian city in 2025. In the United States in particular, far more people searched about moving to Milan than anywhere else in Italy. Notably, Milan has become a beacon for high net worth individuals, drawn to Italy by the new flat tax regime.

Other major cities like Firenze (Firenze), Torino (Torino) og Bologna also feature prominently in the top 10, reflecting the fact that many expats begin their Italy journey eyeing the country’s best-known urban centers. Big cities have a natural pull. They’re perceived as hubs of job opportunity, infrastructure and familiarity. As one would expect, people often start by searching for places they already know or feel are “safe” bets for a major life change.

Yet the most interesting story lies beyond those obvious choices. The majority of towns in the Top 20 are not major cities at all. Once would-be expats move from dreaming to serious planning, many of them pivot to exploring Italy’s smaller towns and rural areas. In fact, the single most-viewed town page on Magic Towns Italy last year wasn’t Milan or Rome: it was Scalea (coming in at #6 overall), a coastal town in Calabria with barely 11,000 residents. While search engine queries for Scalea are very modest, this town drew massive attention once people were on-site and in research mode. Scalea’s status as a 7% tax town doubtlessly added to its appeal.

The same pattern holds for places like Tricase (#11, a small town in Puglia), Belluno (#12, a mountain city in the Veneto), Cefalù (#14, a beach town in Sicily), and Chieti (#16, in Abruzzo). None of these are large, famous cities, yet each attracted outsized attention from international users in 2025. These communities offer many of the qualities expats seek: affordable homes, authentic lifestyle, a slower pace, or very high quality of life indicators (Belluno is one of the highest-scoring towns on Magic Towns Italy). It’s a classic case of big-city dreams versus small-town realities: the glitzy regional capitals grab initial attention, but the practical charm of “second-tier” towns often wins hearts as plans solidify.

The rise of smaller towns in expat interest is backed by real-world drivers. Priser på ejendomme og leveomkostninger in Italy’s provinces can be dramatically lower than in Milan or Rome, a fact not lost on retirees and remote workers on a budget. For example, Calabria (where Scalea is located) consistently offers some of the most affordable real estate in Italy, and has begun to foster expat communities in towns like Scalea, Tropea, and Pizzo.

Likewise, Puglia’s appeal (think Tricase or the city of Bari – a name that regularly comes up in our private consultations) lies in its mix of seaside lifestyle and value for money, making it a top region for those seeking la dolce vita without a hefty price tag. Once our readers arrive on Magic Towns Italy, many naturally gravitate to these kinds of locations that promise a gentler, more attainable version of the Italian dream. This aligns with our site’s very mission: highlighting lesser-known towns where quality of life is high. The data suggests that when expats move from casually dreaming to actively planning, they move beyond the obvious cities and start comparing smaller towns that may offer affordability, lifestyle, and feasibility (especially for retirees).

Regional Trends and 2025’s Surprise Moves

Looking at the list from a bird’s-eye view, one can spot clear regional patterns. Northern powerhouse regions like Lombardiet (home to Milan) and Toscana (home to Florence, Lucca, Siena) still dominate in terms of raw search interest. These two regions rank first and second respectively for total “move to” query volumes. This is the big-city gravity effect. But when it comes to on-site engagement by foreign readers, the map shifts southward and eastward. Puglia stands out as the #1 region for international page views in 2025, thanks to strong interest in places like Bari (#5) and Tricase (#11). Veneto (with Verona, Vicenza, Belluno, Treviso in the mix) and Sicilien (with Cefalù and Palermo) also rank among the top regions by site interest. 

Top regions in Italy by search demand og Town Explorer usage

In contrast, a region like Lazio, which includes Rom, barely features in the conversation, as Rome did not crack the combined Top 20 at all. The absence of Rome (and, for that matter, Naples or Florence’s neighbor Pisa) in the final ranking underscores how initial curiosity doesn’t always translate into sustained interest. Many dream of the Eternal City, but when it comes time to compare realistic options, other locales steal the limelight.

The 2025 data also reveals some impressive year-on-year shifts in expat interest. Among the larger destinations, Bologna was the strongest riser (relocation-related searches for Bologna were about +16% higher in Feb–Aug 2025 compared to the same period a year earlier). Rome and the alpine city of Trento also saw double-digit growth in interest, as did attractive smaller cities such as Siena, Pisa, og Verona. This suggests expats’ awareness is broadening slightly beyond the usual suspects. 

Towns trending up/down in moving-intent searches

Fastest risers (same period 2025 vs 2024)

On the other hand, Florence experienced a noticeable dip with 25% fewer “moving to Florence” searches than the year before. Several mid-sized towns that had hype in prior years (for instance, Loreto in Le Marche, or Lodi in Lombardy) softened in demand as well. One particularly eye-catching development was the emergence of Bordighera, a small Riviera town in Liguria: it went from effectively zero search interest to a meaningful blip in 2025. Bordighera didn’t make the Top 20 list, but its sudden appearance hints at the potential to explode in popularity after a single viral article or a wave of retirees spreading the word. 

Fastest fallers (Feb–Aug 2025 vs Feb–Aug 2024; base ≥200)

The Two Paths to “La Dolce Vita”

In the end, our analysis paints a picture of two converging funnels of interest. At the broad end, big cities like Milan and Florence capture the imagination of those dreaming of Italy. They are the places people tænke they want to move, dominating early searches. But further down the decision path, as people get serious and turn to detailed research, many find themselves drawn to Italy’s smaller and often more livable towns.

The 2026 edition of our Top Towns list reflects this dual reality. In fact, Italy’s charm lies in its diversity: whether you seek career opportunities in a northern city or a tranquil retirement by the southern sea, there’s a place in Italy for you.

For expats and retirees reading this and weighing their options, the takeaway is clear. Don’t just follow the herd to the famous five cities. Pay attention to the rising stars and unsung locales that others like you are actively researching. The next chapter of your Italian adventure might start in one of these top towns on the list. Buona fortuna!