Questo luogo sembra familiare.

Both luogo and posto can mean place, but they are not always used in exactly the same way.

• luogo is a bit more neutral or formal, and often refers to a place as a location.
• posto is very common in everyday speech and can sound a little more informal or concrete.

So:

• Questo luogo sembra familiare = perfectly natural
• Questo posto sembra familiare = also natural, and often a bit more conversational

In many contexts, either one works.

Because luogo is a masculine singular noun, and the demonstrative adjective has to agree with it.

• questo luogo = this place
• questa casa = this house
• questi luoghi = these places
• queste case = these houses

So questo matches the gender and number of luogo.

In Italian, demonstratives like questo often work like this or that in English, so you normally do not add a definite article before them.

You say:

• questo luogo = this place
• questa macchina = this car

Not:

• il questo luogo ❌

So questo already does the job of pointing something out.

Sembrare means to seem or to appear, while essere means to be.

So there is a difference:

• Questo luogo è familiare = This place is familiar
• Questo luogo sembra familiare = This place seems familiar

Using sembra makes the statement less certain. It suggests an impression rather than a fact.

Sembra is the third-person singular present of sembrare.

Full present tense:

• io sembro
• tu sembri
• lui/lei sembra
• noi sembriamo
• voi sembrate
• loro sembrano

It is sembra here because the subject is questo luogo, which is singular.

Familiare is the adjective meaning familiar. It is the correct dictionary form.

A few useful points:

• familiare = familiar
• famiglia = family

So familiare is an adjective, while famiglia is a noun.

Also, familiare is one of those adjectives that often has the same form for masculine and feminine singular:

• un luogo familiare
• una voce familiare

Its plural is:

• familiari

Yes. Adjectives in Italian agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

Here:

• luogo = masculine singular
• familiare = singular form that works for masculine and feminine singular

Compare:

• Questo luogo sembra familiare = singular
• Questi luoghi sembrano familiari = plural

So the agreement is there, even though the singular form familiare does not visibly change between masculine and feminine.

Yes, but the original order is the most neutral and natural:

• Questo luogo sembra familiare.

You may also hear:

• Questo luogo mi sembra familiare. = This place seems familiar to me.
• Familiare, questo luogo sembra. ❌ very unnatural in normal speech

Italian does allow some flexibility, but in a simple sentence like this, the standard order is best:

subject + verb + adjective

A rough pronunciation guide is:

KWEH-stoh LWOH-goh SEM-brah fah-mee-LYAH-reh

A few details:

• qu in questo sounds like kw
• uo in luogo is pronounced as a glide, roughly lwo
• gl here is just a normal g sound because it is gua/go, not the special gli sound
• stress falls roughly on:
  • QUÈ-sto
  • LUO-go
  • SÈM-bra
  • familiÀ-re

Yes, absolutely. That is very common.

• Questo luogo sembra familiare = This place seems familiar
• Questo luogo mi sembra familiare = This place seems familiar to me

Adding mi makes the personal perspective explicit. Without mi, the sentence is still completely correct and natural.

No. Familiare can describe many things that seem known or recognizable:

• Questo posto sembra familiare.
• La sua voce sembra familiare.
• Quel nome mi sembra familiare.
• La situazione è familiare.

So it can be used with places, voices, names, faces, situations, and more.

Yes. You may sometimes see famigliare as a variant spelling. However, familiare is the more standard and generally preferred form in modern Italian.

So for learners, familiare is the safest choice.