Little Roads Europe is us: Zeneba Bowers and Matt Walker, two Grammy-nominated classical musicians who spent decades as professional concert performers before leaving it all behind in 2019 to move to Italy.

We started Little Roads Europe in 2014 while still living in the US, built on years of obsessively exploring Italy and Ireland's back roads on our own travels.

Our move to Italy in 2019 is chronicled in our memoir, I Can’t Believe We Live Here, and in our podcast, Little Roads Unfiltered: Italy and Beyond, where we share the real, unvarnished story of building a new life in the Italian countryside.

Now settled in northern Lazio, we run Little Roads Europe on the same principles we started with: Hand-crafted driving itineraries to the small towns of Italy, Ireland, and now Scotland, built on relationships we've made in person, restaurants we've eaten in ourselves, and a simple rule: No kickbacks, ever. If you want the story behind the itineraries, start with the memoir or the podcast; if you're ready to plan a  trip, that's what we're here for. 

Our Five Promises:

💼 We've been there ourselves.

Every recommendation comes from firsthand experience. We don't send you anywhere we haven't personally explored.

💶 No kickbacks. No commissions. Ever.

Unlike most travel planners, we don't accept payments from hotels, restaurants, wineries, or tour companies for recommendations. Our advice is solely based on what we genuinely think is worth your time and money.

🚙 Off of the Checklist, Onto the Little Roads.

We won't send you to the same five cities every guidebook does. Our itineraries lead you to the small towns and back roads that make a trip actually memorable.

📞 We're on call while you're traveling.

Flight delayed? Late to a dinner reservation because it's raining? Have a question about… well, anything, during your travels? Email us. We stay available during your trip so you're never figuring it out alone.

📷 No Stock Photos.

Unlike most travel planning services, every photo you see on this site is one we took ourselves, with our phones. No stock photos, no AI content. Just us, a phone, and a click… which means, you can take these photos too! You can trust that what we show you is what you will find – not some AI fantasy that doesn’t exist.