James & Vilija

Living here in Italia has shown us that Italians are amazingly generous and friendly… once they know you. Like in any other country, when you wear the camera, bum bag and hat that screams TOURIST you are fair game.

Even given our best efforts when we go touristy we travel expecting to be ripped off and are suprised when we aren’t. As such we have complied a rough guide for people comming to see the beautiful people and sites of italia.

Safety/Security

The biggest point to be aware of is pickpockets in public areas. If you are headed to Roma, Venezia, Firenze etc… and find yourself in a crowded public place be very careful of your valuables and bags. Places that are notoriously bad are; St Peter’s Square, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Piazza San Marco, Milano Centrale Train Station.

If you are planning on going to Napoli/Naples pay particular attention to your bags and valuables. It is amazing the number of warnings I get about petty crime in Napoli mostly from Italians. However, don’t let this put you off visiting the city which is renouwned for the BEST pizza and its beauty.

Transport

As strange as this may sound, just because the date and time of your trip is printed on your train ticket, it doesn’t mean that it is valid. A train ticket is only valid once validated in a ticket machine. These tend to be yellow and found throughout train stations. As rediculous as it is, we know of people who have been fined for not validating assuming that the information on the ticket was evidence enough of the trip taken!

Some train trips may require more than one ticket e.g. a ticket for the trip and a seperate ticket for the seat you’ve booked. Make sure you validate them all for the reasons above.

Food/Prices

There are a couple of things to note when eating and drinking out and about;

• Always check your receipt at the end to ensure there are no suprises. A simple count should suffice. It is resonably common in restaurants for a cover charge of around €2/head to be added.
• Always make sure you take your reciept. I have been informed that there is an obscure (european??) law that says a retailer MUST provide a reciept else the consumer & retailer are liable for a fine. Yes, even for the €0.80 café you need to take it.
• When getting (taking) a coffe from a bar there are a few rules to follow. Always head to the cashier and pay up front. You then take your reciept to the bar and get your coffees. Enjoy it standing at the bar. It is fine if you want to sit down, just be aware that you are likely to be charged more. It is not uncommon at lunch time to see people eating their panini standing at the bar so don’t feel wierd. Remember pay first. The same applies for gelaterias as well.
• Here are some indicitive prices for normal items. This is waht we pay in Genvoa so be aware that prices in Milano, Roma, other expensive cities may be a little higher but not significantly. DO NOT PAY €7 FOR A GELATO like we saw advertised in Firenze
  • Coffee - €0.80-€1
  • 500ml Water - €1
  • Gelato - €1.50-€3
  • Pizza Margerhita - €5-6, Others €6-€9
  • Beer - €4-€5 (€6 for this first round)
• You generally don’t need to tip as often in restaurants a service charge is added to the final bill

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 11th, 2007 at 8:39 pm and is filed under Italia, tips, travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.