Italia

Eat

thumb|250px|right|Trofie with pesto alla Genovese. thumb|250px|right|Beef with sauce and red wine in Bologna

As one of the world's most renowned culinary traditions, it is unsurprising that Italian cuisine can be very good. Unfortunately, there are also many tourist traps that serve overpriced and mediocre food. Finding the right place to eat, preferably the ones patronised by Italians, is therefore important; ask locals for their recommendations if possible, or perhaps even ask your hotel or look at online review sites for recommendations. The downside is that it is rare to find English-speaking waiters in the non-tourist-trap restaurants, so be prepared to have to speak some Italian. Restaurants often charge a cover fee called Coperto (usually €1–3 per person), which is separate from tipping. Inside a restaurant, you are expected to buy both food and a drink; asking for free tap water, after still and sparkling bottled water has been offered, is not considered polite.

Keep in mind that many touristy locations might have bloated prices: an espresso, for instance, in Italy as of September 2025 costs between €1 in southern regions and €1.50 in northern regions; in piazza del Duomo in Milan or piazza San Marco in Venice that same coffee is €3. Amalfi, while it is located in the South, has high prices.

Meals can be had for €5, in street food shops or panetterie (bakeries, depending on where you are they might have some delicious meals for very cheap, think of focaccia in Ligu…

Drink

Bars, like restaurants, are non-smoking.

Italians enjoy going out during the evenings, so it's common to have a drink in a bar before dinner. It is called Aperitivo.

Within the last couple years, started by Milan, a lot of bars have started offering fixed-price cocktails at aperitivo hours (18 - 21) with a free, and often a very good, buffet meal. It's now widely considered stylish to have this kind of aperitivo (called Happy Hour) instead of a structured meal before going out to dance or whatever.

Sleep

In major cities and tourist areas, you can find a good variety of accommodations, from world-class brand hotels to family-managed bed & breakfasts and room rentals, but hostels are really few.

Camping is a good way to save money and camping sites are usually well-managed, but especially during summer, managers tend not to accept last-minute groups of young people (given the high chance of problems that such groups of Italian guys tend to cause), so you'd better book in advance. Farmstays are an increasingly popular way to experience Italy, particularly in rural areas of Tuscany, Piedmont, Umbria, Abruzzo, Sardinia and Apulia. They provide a great combination of good and healthy food, wonderful sights and not-so-expensive prices. If you prefer self-catering accommodations, it's quite simple to find them on the wonderful Amalfi Coast or the less commercial and more genuine Calabria coast. An Italian specialty in small villages are scattered hotels for those who love participating in local lifestyle it is a balance between a hotel and a house.

Hotel star ratings can only be taken as a broad indication of what you will get for your money. There are many marvellous 2-star hotels that you will want to return to and many 5-star hotels that you will never want to set foot in again. The star rating, as in all countries, is based on a bureaucratic assessment of the facilities provided and does not necessarily relate to comfort. Often the only difference between a 3-star and 4-star h…

Stay safe

thumb|250px|right|Mounted Carabinieri in Milan. For emergencies, call 113 (Polizia di Stato - State Police), 112 (Carabinieri - Gendarmerie), 117 (Guardia di Finanza - Financial police force), 115 (Fire Department), 118 (Medical Rescue), 1515 (State Forestry Department), 1530 (Coast Guard), 1528 (Traffic reports).

If you're not sure which number to call, you can call 112 and explain the emergency. The operator will forward your call directly to the relevant department.

Alternatively, you can download the WhereAreU App through which you can call 112 (even if you can't talk) and they will know your exact position through your phone's GPS.

Italy is a safe country to travel in like most developed countries. There are few incidents of terrorism/serious violence and these episodes have been almost exclusively motivated by internal politics. Almost every major incident is attributed to organised crime or anarchist movements and rarely, if ever, directed at travellers or foreigners.

Stay healthy

thumb|250px|Careggi hospital in Florence. Italian hospitals are public and offer completely free high-standard treatment for travellers in possession of an EHIC (EU/EEA citizens) or GHIC (UK citizens). As in other countries with universal healthcare, you may have to wait some hours to be treated unless you're in a serious condition. Emergency rooms are called "Pronto Soccorso". Emergency assistance is granted even to non-EU travellers. For non-emergency assistance, non-EHIC/GHIC-holders are required to pay out-of-pocket, there is no convention with US health insurances (although some insurance companies might later reimburse these expenses).

Italy has a four-colour code of urgency, red being the most immediate (assistance is given without any delay) and white being the lowest (anyone with a red, yellow and green code will pass before you). With a white code, meaning the treatment is not urgent and does not necessitate emergency personnel, you are also required to pay for the full consultation, so do not go to the Pronto Soccorso just to check your knee after last year's fall.

Respect

Italy has a reputation for being a welcoming country and Italians are friendly and courteous, as well as very used to small talk and interacting with foreigners.