Travel Tips to Know Before Visiting Italy

Italy, one of my favourite places to visit and an easy country in Europe to travel. But like any country, there are some things to know if you are a first time visitor that will save you time, money, and make your life easier. Here’s what I’ve learned during my travels to this beautiful country and the travel tips I would give to someone visiting Italy for the first time.

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Italy travel tips

Buy tickets in advance

This country attracts a lot of tourist each year, so one of my top tips for visiting Italy is to plan ahead. Wanting to visit some of the more popular sites such as the Colosseum, Vatican Museums/Sistine Chapel or the Statue of David? Buy tickets in advance to (mostly) skip the horrible lines! You’ll usually have to book a time slot (I go for the earliest possible to avoid as much of the crowds as I can).

It’s often best to book before you go, as in some cases tickets will need to be printed before you go. For the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, we booked a tour through Get Your Guide. We visited as a group at a set time without waiting in line but were then left to our own devices to explore.

Italian trains are great

In Britain, I’ve become accustomed to trains that are often delayed, very basic, and not air-conditioned. The long distance trains in Italy put the British ones to shame. Italian trains are clean, modern, air-conditioned, and even entertainment screens. As a result, they are a great way to explore Italy if you are travelling from place to place. I’ve travelled between Venice, Pisa, Florence, and Rome by train and had zero inconveniences.

You can book your train ahead of time online through sites such as trenitalia and ItaliaRail.

Tips on Italian food

Italian food can be harder to find than you may think

Sure, there’s pasta and pizza everywhere making up your idea of Italian food. But in well-visited city centres, nine out of 10 restaurants will be aimed at tourists. And most of them are not very authentic. It also can be easy to fall into the ‘I’m starving, I’ll eat anything nearby’ trap that often ends in a substandard or overpriced meal. A little research and patience beforehand can go a long way towards having a really great meal.

And avoid anywhere right next to tourist sites and famous squares

Restaurants in famous squares such as Piazza San Marco in Venice and Piazza Navona in Rome have inflated prices compared to other restaurants. Avoid obvious places like the gelateria next to where tour groups meet for the Sistine Chapel. Or anywhere too convenient that suspiciously doesn’t have their prices listed. You’ll pay much more than if you walked a street or two away.

The sandwiches are incredible

One thing I did find in abundance: amazing sandwiches, especially in Tuscany. The sandwiches had fresh meats, homemade spreads and fresh bread that tasted amazing. One in Pisa even broke my recommendation above: it was right next to the Leaning Tower. Another in Florence was so tasty we went back a few times during our stay!

Nothing beats aperitivo

Why aperitivo hasn’t caught on elsewhere is a mystery to me. In case you aren’t aware of what it is, Aperitivo is the Italian version of happy hour. When you purchase a cocktail during set hours, you get nibbles or sometimes even access to a buffet of snacks (one we visited was even serving up pizza). Grab an Aperol spritz and settle down with some food. We ended up just having aperitivo for dinner a few nights as we were travelling on quite a budget!

Make sure to taste the wine

One of my favourite things I did when visiting Florence was to go wine tasting in the Tuscan countryside. I’m not even much of a wine drinker! The deep red Chianti was lovely, and I ended up leaving Italy with a few bottles.

Being a better tourist in Italy

Take something to cover up with

If you plan on visiting any religious sites like any of the churches, you need to cover shoulders and legs. This includes exploring Vatican City. I usually took a cardigan in my bag as it’s been quite warm every time I’ve travelled to Italy. I planned ahead by wearing midi or maxi skirts if we were going to visit any churches and when visiting to the Vatican.

Learn a few Italian phrases before you go

I always suggest trying to learn some phrases in the local language. At most, it might get you by where there’s a language barrier, but at least the effort and politeness will be recognised. A handy guide to common phrases can be found here.

When to visit Italy

Avoid summer months if possible

It is really hot and with the millions of tourists that visit this country each year, avoid peak season of June to August. I’ve been in March and a few times at the end of September/beginning of October. Venice was actually enjoyable in March with few crowds. While autumn was still hot, the crowds were lessened than what it would have been even a month before. Although there were still big crowds at Rome‘s main sites.

Tips on staying safe in Italy

You need to watch your stuff in cities

Pickpockets are almost as prevalent as the mosquitoes. While I haven’t been a victim, I’ve seen/heard about others being mugged. Be extra careful in Rome, pickpockets will target you the most here, like other heavily visited European cities.

The mosquitos are vicious

In my Carolina hometown, we used to joke that the mosquito was the state bird. Humid summers always meant walking around with a few itchy bites. They had nothing on these little suckers in Italy. Between Venice, Pisa, Florence and Rome, I was so bitten up, I looked worse than when I had the chicken pox. No amount of spray seemed to keep them at bay. I travelled around Southeast Asia and barely got bitten, but in Italy it was awful.

I suggest protecting yourself with repellent whenever you go. But if anyone has any suggestions of a repellent that actually works to really ward off these buggers, I’m all ears.

Validate your tickets

It’s not always clear for a first-time traveller that it isn’t enough just to buy a ticket for the buses and other transport, it has to be validated. On buses, this is a yellow machine towards the front which stamps your ticket with the time and date. And you cannot forget as you never know which journey will be the one inspectors come to check.

On my third trip to Italy, I was travelling with my grandfather and mom in Rome. After putting myself in charge of the tickets for the first few days, we got on a bus on our last day. While I grappled with my grandfather’s wheelchair with breaks that were stuck among the crowds, I handed the tickets to my mom towards the front of the bus. She hadn’t understood what I meant by validating them. At the next stop, the inspectors got on and we were each fined €50. They won’t care that you didn’t know how (in my mom’s case). And they won’t listen to any other excuses (that I couldn’t physically get to the machine without letting poor granddad roll freely around the bus).

If you’ve been to Italy, what lessons did you learn? If not, what would you want to know before you go?