if you are visiting Italy for the first time this year make sure you watch this video because in it I'll be sharing all my best tips and tricks for first timers hi I'm Christina from happytowonder.com and Italy is honestly one of my favorite countries in the world and after visiting over a dozen times in the past decade I can honestly say I've learned a lot about all the things that you should do there and also all the things that you shouldn't do there so in this video I'm going to be sharing all my best tips
and tricks specifically geared towards first timers so let's start with some Italy travel planning tips so tip number one is to definitely expand your Italy itinerary Beyond just the most famous with 20 different regions there are so many amazing places in Italy to visit and I promise some of them are places that you haven't even heard of Social and popular media over the years have made certain destinations kind of the top of everyone and their mom's bucket list so places like Rome Florence Venice Pisa Cinque Terre all of those are really famous destinations that everybody's
flocking to but the truth is there's a ton of really cool places in and around those regions that you should also be exploring so what I would suggest you do is pick some of these famous places and then also add on some day trips or side trips to areas nearby so that you have a mix of both hidden gems and famous attractions now in terms of when to visit I would say try your best to avoid visiting in the thick of Summer meaning from July to August and the reason I say that is not just
because everybody is trying to visit Italy in that time so the prices are really high there's lots of crowds also in many cases it can get unbearably hot as well so I would say try your best to time your visit for maybe the off season or shoulder season spring and fall are both amazing times to be visiting Italy and also some Italian cities are just incredible to visit in the winter just because there's a fraction of the crowds and you can kind of actually feel like you enjoy the city and have it to yourself which
is very rare and would honestly never happen if you went in the summer alright so now let's move on to Italy travel tips for transport and getting around so first things first I would say try to go with public transport as much as possible you don't necessarily need to rent a car unless you're planning on visiting a lot of smaller Villages or more remote natural areas to be honest if you're just going from City to City odds are you can just do that with trains and buses and it'll save you a lot of stress because
driving in Italy is very very stressful and is not for the faint of heart if you do end up renting a car though there are a few must know so first off be sure to rent a really small car the smallest car you possibly can just because in a lot of these smaller Villages their roads are really narrow and you don't want to get stuck trust me it happens also be sure to get something called a vignette if you're driving into some neighboring countries so for example if you're driving in Austria or Switzerland you need
to buy a vignette which is a special sticker that you stick on your car that gives you the right to use motorways in those countries another thing to keep in mind is you should be avoiding I don't want to butcher the pronunciation so this and these are basically zones in busy cities where you can get fined for driving because they limit the amount of vehicles or the times that you can drive through those zones now if you plan on going by public transport a few important things that you should know include first of all when
you're traveling by bus a lot of the time in Italy they don't actually sell tickets on the bus so you have to make sure that you have tickets before you get on and usually where you can go buy that is the tobacco shop or sometimes newspaper stands will also have them usually you can also use those tickets for the Metro as well so if there's ever any kind of deal where you can get a packet of multiple for a discount be sure to get one of those because you'll probably get through them another thing is
you should always be making sure to buy your train tickets in advance as well honestly Italian train stations are one of the most chaotic places in the universe so I would advise to not go to the station and buy your ticket try to buy it in advance so that you at least have eliminated that one stressor and so you have your ticket ready once you get there on that note once you get to the station oftentimes you'll find that the platform hasn't actually been announced yet and that's because in larger cities sometimes they won't actually
know the train platform that you'll be on until the train arrives so you'll often see a lot of people kind of standing in the main Concourse area looking up at the signs and that's because they're just waiting for the platform to be announced so don't be stressed out if you get to the station and they haven't announced your platform yet everyone else is also in the same boat so just wait for the number to come up and then run with everyone else something else to keep in mind though before you board the train is if
you have a ticket especially if it's like a physical ticket you need to make sure you validate that ticket as well before you get on the train having a ticket isn't enough you also have to make sure it's properly validated now with digital tickets it's a lot easier you don't have to worry about that but if you have a physical ticket make sure you get it stamped if there's a machine for you to stamp it just because if a ticket controller comes by and the tickets not validated they don't actually consider it to be a
valid ticket so you can still get fined even if you've paid for it now let's cover some culture and etiquette tips for Italy first off try to remember that there's tremendous cultural diversity within Italy Italy can look very different depending on where you're going and in fact if you're looking at northern and southern in many ways they are totally Worlds Apart so just keep in mind that there's a ton of regional diversity and try to forget any stereotypes of the country that you might have seen in popular media another important thing is to learn how
to say hello and thank you luckily Italian is a very pretty language and honestly you've probably heard hello and thank you in the past so to say good morning is bonjourno which I'm sure you've heard before and in the evening if you're saying hello it's buenasera of course to say thank you a very simple grazia will suffice another important etiquette tip is to remember to cover up when you're visiting churches not only is this just more polite a lot of churches will actually actively turn you away if you don't have your shoulders and your knees
covered so if you're visiting in the summer just make sure you have a scarf with you so that you can drape it over your shoulders and also have at least one skirt or one pair of pants that extends past your knee another thing to note is you should not be tipping by North American Standards when you're in Italy oftentimes in restaurants there's already a service and cover charge included in the bill and even if you are to tip most of the time it's going to be less than 10 it's not going to be as extravagant
as you would tip in North America and they definitely don't expect it so don't feel obligated that said you should definitely prepare for slower service than you used to servers in Italy tend to take their time and it's a really nice thing in my opinion they're just not trying to rush you not bother you and kind of let you enjoy your evening which I think is really great but if you're waiting for them to bring you the bill that bill is never going to come so make sure you're the one that asks the server for
the bill if you're wanting to make a move now let's move on to some Italy tips for attractions so first things first prepare yourself for scaffolding and restoration now Italy is an incredible country but on the other side of it being super historic it's also really old and a lot of The Monuments in Italy require active restoration so don't be surprised if there's a place or a specific attraction that you've been wanting to see forever and you show up and it's just covered in scaffolding or closed for some reason because restoration works this is super
common it happens on every trip there's not really anything you can do about it but just have that expectation in mind and don't cry like I did when I went to the Trevi Fountain and it looked like this another tip is to wake up at sunrise to see the most popular attractions of course this is more of a tip for peak season but honestly when you're visiting some super busy tourist destinations in Italy the only time you're ever going to see it without a million people is if you wake up for Sunrise and I know
that sounds unbearable but trust me it is worth every second of Miss sleep because then you can feel like the city is yours and you're really getting a chance to appreciate it without all the people another tip is to make sure you book tickets in advance for popular attractions now not only is this going to save you time so that you don't have to go line up four tickets on the day of sometimes in peak season the most popular attractions can actually sell out and you don't want to be that person that everyone in the
group is mad at because you didn't book tickets in advance now another sneaky trick that I have for avoiding crowds in Italy is showing up to an attraction just before it closes this is a trick that I've personally used at the Vatican Museums and I actually got to have the place pretty much to myself just by showing up an hour before it closed granted an hour is not a ton of time so I did kind of speed through it but oftentimes if you show up just before closes there will be way fewer crowds than even
if you showed up first thing in the morning because everyone thinks to show up first thing in the morning but now you know if you go just before they close oftentimes the crowds will already be gone by then too depending on where you're going you should also be sure to look into sunrise or after hours tours as well and a lot of the more touristy cities in Italy like Rome for instance they're starting to do things like sunrise and after hours tours which allows you to visit certain attractions before they open to the public or
after they're close to the public of course this often comes at an extra cost but it is a very special experience to splurge on and definitely one that I'd recommend a few years ago I did a sunrise tour around Venice and it was honestly just the most incredible thing being able to see all the piazzas without a million people in them was worth every penny lastly if you plan to do a lot of paid attractions during your visit be sure to look into whether or not your City offers a city sightseeing card or an attractions
pass or anything like that usually with these cards you'll pay one set price and then you'll get access to most of the tourist attractions in a city and I think that's a really great way to save money if you're planning on visiting a bunch of these attractions I used one of these in Verona and it saved me so much money and it was just really nice to be able to to use one pass and get into a bunch of places and it really helped me seek out more hidden gems for sure now let's move on
to tips for when you arrive to Italy so the first is to be aware of pickpockets I do have a full video about how to avoid pickpockets in Europe if you want to learn more about the common scams and techniques but you should really just know that pickpocketing is a very common occurrence in Italy especially in touristy cities because let's face it where there's a lot of tourists there's a lot of wallets to be taken and a lot of easy targets I was actually pickpocketed in Rome during my first backpacking trip so I know how
it feels it'll just be extra vigilant when you're in super crowded places like train stations or tourist attractions size just being a little bit more aware you should also take care to learn about some of the common scams that you'll find in Italy so some really big ones include the friendship bracelets there's often in towards the areas like in the main Square in Milan for instance there's guys who are there with friendship bracelets and they'll try to lure you over and tie it on your wrist and then demand that you pay for it if you
see these guys or they offer you a friendship bracelet even if they say it's free be sure to walk away and get away as soon as possible because sometimes they can be quite forceful on a similar note oftentimes you'll find people in main squares giving away roses and those say it's free they'll say it's a welcome gift but then they'll turn back around and ask you for a donation or it's really funny sometimes they'll give a free Rose to the lady and a couple and then come back and ask the man to pay for it
which is very fun to observe now honestly apart from that kind of petty theft you don't have to worry too much safety wise when you're in Italy it's really just those opportunistic crimes that you have to look out for I've never felt in danger in terms of violent crime when I'm in Italy so just keep those scams in mind and you'll be fine now another thing to not be weirded out by is oftentimes when you check into a hotel or an accommodation they will take your passport and make a copy of it don't worry this
isn't a scam this is just a legal obligation that they have to fulfill so if they take your passport don't worry you will get it back and they're not trying to steal it similarly you'll often be asked to pay a tourist tax when you arrive this can range from three to five euro per night per person depending on where you're staying again this is not a scam this is another legal obligation that the accommodation has to fulfill and usually it does have to be paid in person which is why it's not included in the price
that you pay up front if you're booking online now another tip is that when you get to Italy you should be getting some cash out so not only is this good for smaller purchases like gelato you should also make sure you have cash because a lot of public restrooms in Italy these days actually require you to pay so this is a really small fee usually it's like 50 cents or a Euro but it's still good to have coins just in case for when these emergencies pop up otherwise just make sure you do your business before
you leave a museum or a restaurant so that you don't get caught out in emergency situations because public bathrooms in Italy I found are not as common as you might think now another random bathroom tip is to not be alarmed if you can't find the flush in the washroom obviously this depends on where you are but from my own personal experience I've noticed sometimes the flush is the standard button on the wall sometimes it's a little pulley thing sometimes it's a circular button just detached from the toilet altogether on the other side of the wall
sometimes it's a pedal on the floor it's very inconsistent but before you panic just be sure to look around and see if there's anything that's pressable and odds are that's going to be the flush all right now that we've spoken in depth about toilets it's time to talk about food and drink tips for Italy because obviously we're talking about Italy so we do need a special section just for the food and drink now the first tip is to make sure you go to restaurants that have Italian menus if a restaurant that you're going to has
the their menu in English odds are they're catering more to tourists than to locals and that's already a red flag right there another red flag is if there's a guy out front trying to lure you to come into the restaurant that's probably not a good sign and the final nail in the coffin is if there are photos on the menu be sure to run because it's likely a sign that it's not an authentic restaurant and they're probably going to serve you mediocre food for inflated prices another rule of thumb is to try to dine away
from tourist attractions I mean this isn't always true but for the most part if you're in a really busy touristy place and you see a restaurant there that has an incredible view or anything that says like oh we've got free Wi-Fi or tourist menus odds are they're also catering to tourists so it's not necessarily going to be the most amazing food that you've ever had in your life if you just walk a few blocks away from the main tourist attractions you'll tend to find way better restaurants for way better value so definitely keep that in
mind another important food tip is to order based on the regional Specialties of wherever you are we as North Americans have a certain vision of what Italian food is we think it's just pizza and pasta but the truth is there's a lot of regional diversity in Italy so depending on where you are there's different Regional Specialties so before you order pizza and pasta everywhere you go try to look into if that area has any special Regional dishes that you should try on a similar note don't go to Italy expecting to find Americanized Italian Classics on
the menu so what I realized the hard way was actually a lot of the dishes that we grow up in North America thinking are Italian aren't actually a thing over there so things like spaghetti and meatballs are not an authentic Italian Dish chicken fettuccine alfredo not a thing either garlic bread also not really a thing so when you're over there don't look for those on the menu and if you see them on the menu then run because it's obviously a sign that they're catering to tourists more than to locals now another important thing is to
kind of understand the structure of an Italian menu because I think for first time visitors it can be a little bit confusing so when you see the word menu in Italy actually this often refers to a set meal so when you see the word menu and it gives a price basically that's saying oh this is a three-course meal combo and it'll cost this much now when you're looking at the actual physical menu with a list of dishes usually it's separated into a few different categories so the first page will usually be antipasto so these are
appetizers like cured meats cheeses Etc something that you have before the main meal to kind of wet your appetite and then there's the preemie course which is the first course and this will usually be something Carby like risotto or pasta and then there's the zagandi which is usually a meat-based dish and then there's the contorni which are side dishes like roasted vegetables and finally Dolce obviously it's desserts now if you're trying to have an indulgent four course meal you would follow things in that order but practically speaking it's completely normal to just have a creamy
and not as agondy you don't have to feel pressured to have a four course meal every time now another important thing is to not expect all day service at restaurants in North America we're very used to when a restaurant is open they will stay open for the entire day but actually in Italy it's very common for restaurants to close up shop between lunch time and dinner time so that they have some time to rest and also prep for dinner in bigger cities you will probably not have trouble finding at least one place that's open but
a lot of restaurants will not stay open continuously during that time another important thing is to make reservations if you can if you have your heart set on a specific restaurant then it's definitely a must especially if it's a popular place because they don't usually Reserve that many spots for walk-ins another thing to take note of is the fact that prices can actually be higher if you are sitting down to have it as opposed to if you're taking it away or if you're having it at the bar so if there's two columns with different prices
you'll know that one price is for if you're standing at the bar and one price is for if you're sitting down on that note you should definitely make sure to familiarize yourself with Italian Coffee Culture as well before you go because I feel like Italian Cafe culture is so interesting and it's also very different to what we're used to so first things first as I mentioned before most people will actually drink their coffee at the bar and it'll be a very quick activity the order one Cafe which is an espresso shot slurp it down and
then leave into getting a takeaway coffee in a cup to slurp throughout the day is not really a common thing over there so yeah it's very much like a quick walk-in Slurpee espresso and get out kind of a fair on that note cappuccinos are more or less considered a breakfast drink over there so you'll tend to have it in the morning and not really after lunch and this is kind of considered a faux pas in a lot of cases a lot of people don't like to get cappuccinos after 11 A.M especially not after a heavy
meal because they think the milk kind of curdles in your stomach and No One's Gonna Stop you but it's just not really commonly done another thing to keep in mind is that days don't really exist in Italy so if you order a latte you will literally get a cup of milk because that's what latte means in Italian if you're looking for coffee with milk you get a cafe macchiato but it's not going to be the same sort of a latte that you would typically get from Starbucks or anything like that now if you're feeling really
jittery from all that caffeine and you feel like you need to hydrate yourself a really good thing is that there's a lot of free water fountains scattered around Italian cities so if you bring a reusable water bottle you can easily fill up in public places for free and you don't have to pay for water that's it if you're at a restaurant water is very rarely free so if you sit down and the serve asks you oh do you want water just know that that water is going to cost you luckily it's not really that high
of a cost usually a bottle of water will cost you between two to three Euros for a big bottle just know that asking for tap water is not really common and in some cases they might actually think it's kind of rude so just keep that in mind and be sure to specify if you want still or sparkling as well another thing you need to try when you're in Italy is something called aperitivo so this is usually a pre-dinner ritual where you grab a drink like an aperol Spritz or something and a few nibbles and this
is just kind of a way to wet your appetite and advance of dinner it's a really lovely tradition it's kind of like an Italian happy hour and depending on where you go in a lot of places they'll give you free snacks when you buy a drink or if you're really lucky and you seek out specific places they'll even have a full Buffet spread when you buy a drink which is really great and last but not least it's very very important but when you're looking for gelato be sure to avoid places that look like this which
have really colorful gelato that stack super high with a bunch of decorations usually this is a sign that it's not high quality gelato just because you know there's a lot of artificial coloring and when it's stacked that high it means that it's not super fresh and it's also probably not being kept at the right temperature in contrast if you're looking for high quality gelato what you should be looking for are these metal tins usually with a lid because that shows that they're keeping the temperature under control and in terms of color you should be looking
for things that have a really natural color so things that are quite pale and not at all like the radioactive colors that you can often see in super touristy areas all right I hope this list of Italy travel tips was helpful if you'd like travel videos that are practical just like this one be sure to like And subscribe and of course as usual be sure to leave a comment if you have any more questions thanks so much for watching and I'll see you guys next week bye
