St. Peter's Basilica - Rome
Best Time: Typical sunset spot
Remarks: Rome is always worth a visit. The most prominent photo spot is located at the Ponte Umberto, The bridge has a very nice and wide parapet. On some spots, it's even wide enough to put your tripod on. And exactly one of these spots you want to have as the sidewalk is a bit tight. Therefore, be a bit early and do not leave straight after sunset. The very best time is 20-30min after sunset. The colors can get really crazy, like in this picture. Also the lights are switched on not until sunset. Good news, if you made it until blue hour, you don't have to stay hungry very long. There are very nice restaurants close by.
GPS Location: 41°54'08.7"N 12°28'17.0"E
Canal Grande - Venice
Best Time: Sunrise spot
Remarks: The location of the shot is a wooden bridge, called Ponte dell'Accademia, in Venice, Italy. I always recommend scouting the location beforehand if you are aiming for a sunrise. It is nearly impossible to find a good perspective in the dark. Be 30-40min before sunrise at your spot to have enough time to set up your gear and check your settings! As you are looking in the east direction it is perfect for a sunrise shot. If you want to plan your shot super detailed, you can use an APP to predict the exact spot where the sun will rise at the morning and decide whether you want to have it in your frame or, as I decided, to have it covered by the Santa Maria della Salute church. I was at a spot on the right side of the bridge but I saw also beautiful shots from the middle or from the left side. It's really up to your taste, time of year, and the weather conditions. I mentioned that the bridge is made out of wood. Even if the bridge is quite huge, you and so your tripod will be affected by the vibrations of other people crossing the bridge. I would recommend getting 2 legs on the parapet and just one leg on the stairs. Therefore you minimize the chance that the person crossing is using the same beam as your tripod. Little details can make a difference.
GPS Location: 45°25'53.6"N 12°19'43.8"E
Podere Belvedere - Tuscany
Best Time: Sunrise spot
Remarks: The location of the shot is a bit hidden so I would suggest that you scout our spot one day earlier. The GPS location is quite accurate, so that should give you a good start. Leave our car next to the big trash boxes at the street crossing you see straight above the marked spot. You should recognize a little dirt trail downhill. Just follow it and you come to a big wide greenfield. Now it's on you to find your spot. I saw people standing a bit higher to get more a panoramic shot. I preferred to go al the way down until a treeline. There was a 5m wide spot where there are no trees. I used that little free spot to shot.
GPS Location: 43°03'54.6"N 11°36'51.6"E
Manarola - Cinque Terre
Best Time: Sunset and blue hour spot
Remarks: Cinque Terre are five beautiful vallages on the Itallien west coast. Manarola is probably the most famous and also most beautiful one. I stayed in one of the not that famous viallage and travelled to the other villages via train. Works very well. Travelling by car is possible, but as the streets are very narrow and steep. Parking is also very limited and expensive. Once you made it to Manarola, there is a little walking way from the village to the other side of the bay where you have that awesome view. Unfortunatly, this way is also very narrow. Climbing on the rocks is forbidden, so you have to stay on the track. There is one super tiny spot, located on a stairway down to the water. You can put your tripod behind the railing, so it is out of the way. Another option, I show on the little picutes. For my second camera I used a travel clmap. Worked pretty well. As there is only one good spot on a very famous location, be very early on location. Yes it is a bit annoying but it's worth it I shot the whole sunset period, but finaly I chose the blue hour. I liked the contrast between the blue sky and the colors on the houses.
GPS Location: 44°06'26.6"N 9°43'34.5"E
Riomaggiore - Cinque Terre
Best Time: Sunset and blue hour spot
Remarks: Riomaggiore is another Cinque Terre viallage. The photo location is a artifical habor wall, out of big bolders. You have to climb a little bit arround before you find your spot. It took me arround 45min until I chose one. I was happy to arrive a bit earlier, so it didn't get to stressy. Spacewise, as it is a huge wall, it is not difficult to find a place. Similar to Manaroloa, I liked the contrast between the blue sky and the colors on the houses. Only advice, don't fall into the water...
GPS Location: 44°05'52.5"N 9°44'13.0"E
Vernazza - Cinque Terre
Best Time: Sunset and blue hour spot
Remarks: Vernazza is the only village of Cinque Terre which has two beautful perspectives. This one is the a bit more known one. It is located at a small hiking trail, concecting all 5 viallages. I tried to be as percice as possible with the GPS data. The point is right before a litte restaurant. There is spae for arround 3 Tripods next to each other. Everything more has not the best view. So again make sure to be one of the first. In this case, I chose a shot with sunset colors as the houses are not that colorful.
GPS Location: 44°08'02.7"N 9°41'06.6"E
Vernazza - Cinque Terre
Best Time: Sunset and blue hour spot
Remarks: And here we have the other perspective of Vernazza. It is located on the other side of the village. It is also on the hiking trail, connecting all five villages. The spot is not straight at the hiking trail but next to it. You follow the trail until there is a little plateau behind the wooden railing. You have to climb over or under the railing. There is space for around 2-3 tripods. So again, be early. Unfortunately, there are some bigger plants in the foreground. My tripod was not high enough to get a clean shot. I decided afterward to crop my shot a bit, as I didn't like the green in the foreground. If you have a larger tripod, bring it. I chose once again the blue hour shot - still like the contrast between the dark blue sky and the colors on the houses.
GPS Location: 44°08'11.9"N 9°40'53.8"E
Lago di Braies - South Tyrol
Best Time: Sunrise Spot
Remarks: Maybe this is the most disappointing spot in my collection. Nevertheless, I love the picture. The place could be so beautiful, but thanks to Insta Chinese tourists found this place. It is unbelievable how many people show up at sunrise. Even if there are plenty of "no drones" signs, I counted at least a dozen of them, destroying the last bit of silence. This episode ended with a facility manager from the nearby hotel chasing the Chinese tourists. I do not understand, why citizens of certain countries are unable to behave properly. Anyhow, I tried several spots: straight at the lakeshore, next to the wooden cabin, on the wooden cabin,... Finally, I decided to get a bit higher, climbing a bit into the forest. It was a bit tricky to set up a tripod and look actually though the viewfinder, without falling. In the end, I got my shot, but I will probably not come again.
GPS Location: 46°41'54.8"N 12°05'09.5"E