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Italy
🇮🇹 Italy
Two competing rail companies, a coperto on every bill, and tap water from street fountains.
Ready-made routes
Know before you go
The practical facts for Italy, at a glance.
Currency
Euro (EUR)
roughly €0.92 to US$1 — euro prices land close to dollar prices
Tap to pay
Yes in the cities. Carry a little cash for small bars and the south.
Power
Type C / F / L — Italy still uses the three-pin Type L in older buildings
230V, 50Hz
Tap water
Tap water is safe everywhere, and Rome’s street fountains are free and drinkable. Ask for "acqua del rubinetto" — some restaurants will still push bottled.
Tipping
Not expected. Most bills carry a coperto (cover charge) per person, which is not a tip. Round up if the service was good; never add a percentage.
Emergency
Police 112 · Ambulance 112
112 · Works with no SIM, no signal
Best months
April–June and September–October: warm, open and walkable
Entry requirements
Schengen area. Many passports get 90 days visa-free in any 180-day window. ETIAS pre-authorisation for visa-exempt travellers has been delayed repeatedly — check its current status before you fly.
Paying in Italy
Yes in the cities. Carry a little cash for small bars and the south.
Tap to pay works
Restaurants and shops
Museums and galleries
Taxis
Supermarkets
Carry another way to pay
Some small bars, especially outside cities
Market stalls
Church candle boxes
Small towns in the south
Milan and Rome metro gates take a contactless bank card. Buses in most towns still need a paper ticket bought beforehand and validated on board.
Apps to download
The apps people in Italy actually use, in the order to set them up.
Trenitalia
Free; fares €10–90
Critical
The national rail operator — regional trains and the Frecciarossa high-speed network.
Before you fly
Italo
Free; fares €15–80
Important
The private high-speed operator running the same city pairs as Trenitalia, often cheaper.
Google Maps
Free
Critical
Works well in Italy, including bus and metro times — and Venice walking directions, which you will need.
FREENOW
Free; metered fares
Important
Hails licensed Italian taxis — Uber barely operates here and is expensive where it does.
Airalo
From about $5
Critical
An EU-wide eSIM installed before you fly, so you land connected.
Before you fly
Booking.com
Free
Important
The widest Italian inventory, and clear about the per-night city tax.
Wise
Small conversion fee
Important
A euro balance and card at the real rate, avoiding foreign card fees.
Before you fly
WhatsApp
Free
Important
How Italian hosts, guides and small restaurants communicate.
Step-by-step setup for each app is in the iPhone app.
First 60 minutes after landing
1
Take the fixed-fare taxi or the Leonardo Express — nothing else
Rome Fiumicino has a €55 flat taxi fare set by law and a 32-minute non-stop train. Anyone approaching you inside the terminal offering a ride is not a licensed taxi.
2
Check your eSIM connected before leaving the terminal
Data roaming must be on for the eSIM line. Toggle airplane mode once if nothing appears.
3
Book the big sights now, not tomorrow
Colosseum, Vatican, Uffizi and the Duomo climb all run on timed tickets that sell out days ahead. Do this on the train in.
4
Fill a bottle at the first nasone you pass
Rome’s street fountains are free, cold and drinkable. Buying bottled water in Italy is a tourist habit, not a local one.
Where to stay in Italy
3 cities
Rome
Layered, loud and walkable in the centre. Most of what you came for sits inside a 3km circle.
Watch out for
The nasoni — cast-iron street fountains — run cold drinkable water all day. Carry a bottle and never buy water.
Colosseum and Vatican tickets are timed and sell out days ahead. The queue you see is for people who did not book.
Restaurants with a tout outside and photos on the menu are tourist traps. Walk two streets further.
Florence
Small enough to cross on foot in 30 minutes, with the densest concentration of Renaissance art anywhere.
Watch out for
The Uffizi and Accademia both require timed tickets booked well in advance.
Climbing the Duomo needs its own separate reservation, not included with cathedral entry.
The historic centre is a ZTL — if you drive in without a permit, a fine arrives by post months later.
Venice
No cars, no bicycles. Everything moves on foot or by boat, and your map will lie to you about both.
Watch out for
Vaporetto water-bus tickets are expensive singly — a multi-day pass pays for itself in two trips.
Venice charges a day-tripper access fee on peak dates. Check whether your date needs booking before you arrive.
Sitting down at a table in St Mark’s Square costs several times what standing at the bar does. That is legal and normal.
Getting around
Fiumicino airport → central Rome
About 32 minutes by train, or a fixed-fare taxi.
Leonardo Express train
Direct, no stops, every 15 minutes from the station above the terminal.
About €14
32 min to Termini
Official taxi, fixed fare
Fixed by law. Use the official white rank and confirm the flat rate before moving.
€55 flat to anywhere inside the Aurelian walls
45–70 min
FL1 regional train
Cheaper but serves Trastevere and Tiburtina rather than the central station.
About €8
45 min, not to Termini
Venice Marco Polo → the islands
The only airport arrival in this guide that involves a boat.
Alilaguna water bus
Slow and scenic, stopping across the islands. Buy at the airport dock.
About €15
60–90 min depending on line
Bus to Piazzale Roma
ATVO or ACTV bus to the road head, then vaporetto or walk.
About €10
20 min
Private water taxi
Beautiful and very expensive. Splits well across four people.
€120–140
30 min
Between cities
Italian high-speed rail is excellent and always beats flying here.
Frecciarossa or Italo
Book either operator well ahead; compare both.
€15–90 depending on booking date
Rome–Florence 1.5 hr, Florence–Venice 2 hr
Regional train
No reservation needed, but stamp the paper ticket before boarding.
€10–25
Roughly double
Staying connected
Yes — a carrier-locked phone cannot use a local SIM or eSIM
Airalo
Eurolink regional
5GB · 30 days · US$20
One plan across Europe — sensible if Italy is part of a longer trip.
Airalo
Italy local
3GB · 30 days · US$10
Cheaper per gigabyte if you stay inside Italy.
TIM / Vodafone prepaid
Physical prepaid SIM
20GB · 30 days · US$25
Gives an Italian number. Bring your passport — registration is required by law.
When to go
Best months
April–June and September–October: warm, open and walkable
Hardest months
August — hot, and many family-run places shut for ferragosto
Languages
Italian, English in tourist areas, thinner outside them
Getting it right socially
Cappuccino is a morning drink. Ordering one after lunch marks you instantly, though nobody will refuse you.
Coffee standing at the bar costs a fraction of coffee at a table. Both are normal.
Cover shoulders and knees for churches, including the Vatican. They will turn you away at the door.
Dinner starts at 20:00. A restaurant open at 18:00 is cooking for tourists.
The bill will not arrive until you ask — "il conto, per favore".
Ready-made routes
Italy’s classic three in 8 days
8 days · about US$135 a day
Rome, Florence and Venice on the high-speed line — the first-trip route, paced so you unpack three times, not six.
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