Sophia Loren Has Loved 'Discovering' New Destinations — but She Always Returns to This One Place

Despite having traveled the world, iconic actress Sophia Loren says she still considers her home a destination to be explored.

"I am very close to where I was born so for me it's always Naples," the actress told Travel + Leisure of her favorite place to travel while on board the inaugural sailing of the MSC Seashore. "Even though I've seen it so many times, it's incredible, each time I pretend it's the first time because you discover things that maybe sometimes you didn't know exist."

Specifically, Loren, 87, — who was the first person to win an Academy Award for a foreign-language film in 1961 — mentioned Pozzuoli, a city a few miles west of Naples, as a highlight.

"It's not where I was born, but it's where I was living all of my childhood," she explained.

Loren has been the godmother of MSC Cruises' fleet since 2003 and was in attendance for the MSC Seashore's first sail out to sea from Miami to the cruise line's private island, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, in the Bahamas, in November.

During the ship's milestone sailing, Loren joined MSC executives for the MSC Seashore's naming ceremony, where she led a highly anticipated ribbon-cutting along with the ship's captain.

"The ships that they do are really incredibly beautiful and so I am very glad when I am asked," she said of being the godmother of the MSC fleet.

Loren has traveled to so many memorable destinations throughout her life, as she says, "there are too many to talk about." No matter where she goes, however, she says the key is to have a "wonderful time."

"When I travel I enjoy what I'm doing," she said. "I maybe go to places that maybe I've never seen and just pretend that I am discovering it, it's kind of a game sometimes, that's why it's fun."

Christine Burroni is Travel + Leisure's Digital News Editor. Find her keeping up with just about everything on Twitter or see what she's up to in NYC or on her latest trip on Instagram.