Hot answers tagged italy
18
It's common practice in Italy. It's called "coperto" (cover charge). Even though it's sometimes phrased as "pane e coperto" (bread and cover charge) but even if you don't touch the bread you are still required to pay for it. It is usually stated somewhere on the menu, although in some cases not very prominently.
So this does not only happen to tourists. To ...
15
"3 Hours" is a very common recommendation for international flights at many airports around the world - and it's almost always far more time that you need. Airlines like to get passengers to the airport early, not only because it gives more buffer if there are any problems, but also as it spreads out the "rush" period before the flight - you can imagine what ...
13
In your individual case, this could of course have been a ripoff.
However, historically, it has been quite common practice, particularly but not only, in south western Europe (Italy, Spain, Portugal), to charge a small fee for sitting down at a restaurant.
In essence, you could argue this is to cover, say, the bread and butter you receive but did not ask ...
10
I'd want to hire it as far from busy big cities as possible. The idea of damaging one, even if insured, would be so upsetting.
So to maximise this, you'd want to do it during term time (kids in school, less people on holiday), when there's good weather.
You'll want to pick up the car outside of rush hour, so around 10am, and still have a couple of hours ...
10
It depends. If your ticket comes with a seat reservation ("PRENOTAZIONE POSTO") then you do not need to cancel your ticket: just board the train.
Shorter range tickets with no seat reservation, on the other hand, must be canceled. Your ticket probably reads "DA CONVALIDARE" somewhere at the top. Trenitalia personnel typically doesn't cut tourists much slack ...
9
I used to just take my documents to the city hall and ask to have them certified. The term to use is "certifier conformes". You will need both the copies and the original so they can verify that they are, in fact, exact copies. They will then sign the copies and stamp them with "certifié conforme".
Mind you, I moved to the US 13 years ago so things may have ...
9
I personally recommend just getting money out at your destination with an ATM. Quite often you can get debit cards or travel cards that let you pre-load from your home country, and then withdraw over there, fee free. However, I suspect they'll make their money other ways (ie worse rates).
My tactic - on arrival, get cash out at the airport ATM or bus / ...
9
You can obtain train tickets online on the Trenitalia website. It's better because you block the seats.
There is certainly a high-speed connection between Florence and Rome. It's called Freccia Rossa. It takes 1.5 hours and starts every 30 minutes.
The 22nd I would do Florence-Pisa-Florence-Rome.
Florence-Pisa takes more or less one hour and you have ...
9
On Hafas sites (I used the Belgian one), I found 10h41 with one change at Torino:
EuroStar Italia - ES 9630: Roma Termini (13h00) to Torino Porta Susa (16h52)
TGV - TGV 9248: Torino Porta Susa (17h35) to Paris Austerlitz, (23h51)
I got a quote on voyages-sncf.com, the french railways company: 208€ in 2nd class and 262€ in first class. For such a trip, ...
8
I'm Italian and I visited Rome as a tourist myself about one year ago.
The image which mouviciel so usefully linked is self-explanatory, but it is not true for Rome or Vatican City only, all the churches in Italy have something similar being displayed IF they are regularly visited by tourists (otherwise, the same rule holds but there is no specific ...
8
Depending on where you are staying, the cost of a train trip for 3 may be comparable to a taxi ride. Going with the latter will be far less stressful and you can leave as early as you want, as long as you organize a dispatch with your hotel concierge.
Good luck, and with a 3 hour buffer, I wouldn't stress too much even if you have to ride the train.
8
I was in Venice last year on 27th Nov. Based on my experience on that day :
You definitely need to wear jacket. It was around 6-8 Celcius. I put some of my photos below. As you can see, all the people wear jackets.
On that day, it was sunny. I love photography as you do, and my photos in Venice were my best photos during my trip in Europe.
However ...
8
Well the obvious answer is to hitch - that'll lower your transport costs massively ;) It all depends on whether you're up to trying that. I don't tend to, personally, but on the occasion I have, it's pretty fun.
One thing to note about the public transport on Sicily is that it's nearly a 6 day service - the transport options are massively reduced on ...
8
I agree with you about the fact that Venice is the place which should not be skipped if one happens to be in the area. I also know that Venice may be expensive compared to other places.
Having said this, I'd surely go for a Venitian accommodation rather than one at Lido.
Venice is a town which should be enjoyed on foot. People do take vaporetti or motoscafi ...
8
Both Turin and Genova are two big cities able to provide you a lot of attractions, the choice of the best one really depends on what you are interested in and what kind of cities you prefer in general.
As a personal point of view I consider Turin far more elegant than Genova: nice streets with elegant buildings, the possibility to climb (by car or by a ...
7
Wikitravel.org has some ideas, which I've collected and grouped together below. It covers mainly respect, religion, clothing, and advice for women.
Italy has a reputation for being warm and welcoming and Italians are
uncommonly friendly and laid back, as well as very used to interacting
with foreigners. If you are polite and civil you should have no
...
7
Barcelona had more pickpocketing than any other city I've gone to for a conference. One year every single person I spoke to had a theft story. One person had been mugged, a woman had her laptop bag slit in the elevator and the laptop removed without her knowledge, and I was in a group of 4 who ate in a sandwich shop with our bags at our feet and stood up to ...
7
I have to say that Las Ramblas in Barcelona is the most thief-ridden part of the world I've been to. Moreso than all the other big cities I've been to in Europe east or west, Central America, or India. In the week I was there I either saw at least one person robbed or met at least one person who'd been robbed each and every day, some involving violence. It ...
7
Barcelona is like every big city in Europe. Generally very safe, but obviously there are some pickpockets especially in tourist region. But normal precautions should be way enough. I would just pay special attention when visiting Las Ramblas. There are a lot of tourists and a lot of pickpockets and other dodgy people. In night time, you will also met some ...
7
There's a Thermal Spa Centre!
The new thermal spa centre, on the opposite bank of the river Passirio, was opened during the 1970’s and is furnished with the most modern equipment for therapeutic treatment. It also houses an indoor swimming-pool filled with thermal water and the natural radio-activity in this water has a most beneficial pathological effect. ...
7
It seems that trains are already running normally (from travelbite.co.uk):
The Emilia Romagna tourist board has also confirmed that motorways,
offices and trains are running normally.
As for sightseeing, Venice, Florence, Pisa and Rome are left intact.
7
There are a lot of different questions in here. I tried to answer at least some of them:
1) Apart from a fully functioning car I would recommend to take a GPS navigation device with you. Check if the maps are up-to-date. Additionally, you should inform yourself, if you need any additional gear if you want to travel through foreign countries. If I remember ...
7
You can book this train on my website, loco2.com:
http://loco2.com/journey/rome-paris-1q0w3dk
Unfortunately we can currently only ship this ticket to a UK address.
If you cannot book elsewhere, I would recommend trying http://raileurope-world.com as they ship globally.
7
The Schengen Agreement is an agreement between several states that created the Schengen Area within which there are little or no border or visa controls.
STATI Schengen in Italian means "Schengen countries", so those countries that are part of the Schengen Area.
You can find a list of these countries here.
I guess your Visa is stating that you can visit ...
7
Every Saturday there are two scheduled buses running from the Mestre station, via the Marco Polo and Treviso airports to Arabba. Tickets can be booked on dolomiti.org.
7
I have never been to the USA, so I can't really compare the airport in Venice to any American airport.
The airport in Venice is rather small and organized in a standard way (for Europe and Asia at least). After you arrive, you get to the passport control desk, then you need to find your luggage on the correct conveyor belt. If you have nothing to declare ...
7
As shard said there are several locations you can compare with St. Tropez. Let me add some to the list he already gave (in no particular order).
Porto Cervo (Sardegna)
Porto Rotondo (Sardegna)
Capri (Campania)
Amalfi (Campania)
Positano (Campania)
Portofino (Liguria)
Taormina (Sicilia)
I would add some towns near Lago di Garda, like Gardone or near Lago ...
6
This is Firenze Card. It costs €50.
It gives 3-days access to most places worth to visit in Florence and to public transport.
About public transport, Firenze is not that big: everything is at walking distance, even from Santa Maria Novella train station. I wouldn't recommend to go downtown by car.
Most historical places, mainly churches, are entrance ...
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