The capital
Rome.
The local time
GMT +1 (-2 hours to Moscow).
Currency
The monetary currency of Italy is the euro. 1 euro = 100 euro cent. Credit cards Visa, Mastercard, Carte Blanche, Diner’s Club are accepted for payment in hotels, restaurants and large shopping centers. Establishments that work with credit cards can be found by the sign “Carta – si”.
You can exchange currency at banks, at the post office, at exchange offices. Banking institutions are open from 09.00 to 14.00 on weekdays. Some of them also serve customers on Saturday from 09.00 to 12.30.
Shopping and shops
Shops in Italy are open from 09.00 to 20.00, some are open on weekends. Break for lunch from 13.00 to 15.30.
Good souvenirs from Italy will be brooches, Venetian masks, straw hats. Here you can buy high-quality shoes, as well as leather and knitwear. Porcelain, crystal, costume jewelry and jewelry will be a good gift. See liuxers for Italy customs and traditions.
Important: It is better to go to Italy for shopping from 07.01 to 01.03 and from 10.07 to 31.08 – these days the largest sales take place.
Accommodation
For tourists in Italy, there are many different accommodation options: from hotels to camping. Lokanda hotels offer the cheapest lodging for the night – they are located near major highways. You can also rent a room in “pensiones” and “albergni”. But remember that it is customary to tip the maids in them.
The division into categories in Italy is conditional. Some 3-star hotels do not have air conditioning in the rooms.
In ski resorts, you will be offered chalets or apartments for accommodation. When choosing a hotel in the mountains, pay attention that the windows of your room are as far as possible from the ski lifts. As a rule, in such hotels food is included in the mandatory list of services.
Residence hotels offer both rooms and apartments at the same time. They are located in different parts of the building relative to each other.
Electricity
The mains voltage in most hotels is 220 V. European type sockets, an adapter is needed. In some villages, the voltage can be 125 and 110 volts.
Tips
Tipping in Italy is optional. If you liked the service in the restaurant, then you can give a tip to the waiter. The amount of the premium should not exceed 5-10% of the cost of the meal.
The maids, controllers in the cinema should not be given more than 1 euro. Tipping is not allowed for taxi drivers, but doormen or porters at the hotel will be happy with 1-2 euros for services.
Beaches
The beach area in Italy belongs to the city. At the same time, separate sections of the beach are rented out to entrepreneurs who are entitled to charge up to 10 euros for the use of sunbeds and umbrellas.
Important: The first 5 meters from the sea are free, you can sunbathe there freely – they will not require money from you.
Being on the municipal beach from 1 am to 5 am is prohibited. If you are spotted by a patrol, get ready to pay a fine of 150 euros.
On a note
You can find a pharmacy by the red cross on the sign. They work from 09.00 to 19.00. Break for lunch from 13.00 to 16.00.
Museums are open only in the morning, most of them are closed on Monday.
The opening hours of the restaurants depend on their location. But they are always open from 13.30 to 15.30 and from 20.30 to 23.00.
Tea shop, bar, ice cream parlor and pastry shop from June to September open until 02-04 am.
Transport
A network of railways runs throughout the country. There are 6 types of trains in total. Some of them stop only at large stations (“Expresso”), some – at all in a row (“Locale”). There are also Pengolino, Inter City, Directto and Eurocity trains.
Buses run where there is no rail connection. Stops are made on demand.
To travel on public transport, tobacco and newsstands sell time-limite tickets. They are valid for 75 minutes that you spend on the road. They must be stamped at the entrance to the bus.
It is very difficult to hail a taxi on the streets. It is better to call them from the hotel or take them to a special parking lot. Every taxi has a sign in English, which shows the cost of carrying luggage, as well as tariffs in force on weekends or on the way to the airport.
Car rental. In order to rent a car, you must present an international driving license and leave a deposit. It is recommended to purchase the full insurance service – it will save you from having to pay for every scratch on the car. Traffic rules in Italy are identical to Russian ones. But do not try to bribe the sentry – you can be taken into custody for one hint of a bribe.
Prices
Italy is considered the most expensive country in southern Europe. For a night in a hotel of the highest category, you will be asked 200 euros, in an average one – 40-120 euros, and in cheap pension hotels – 14-40 euros. As a rule, the price of a hotel room includes one or two meals a day.
Phones
Emergency Phones:
100 – help desk
112 – carabinieri (police)
113 – emergency cases
118 – ambulance
115 – fire department
116 – assistance to a motorist
You can call from Italy from telephone boxes – they are installed on the streets. Often in post offices and bars they provide such a service as scutti (payment after the end of the conversation). To call from a payphone, you can use phone cards, they are sold in tobacco kiosks. Some payphones accept tokens or coins in denominations of 100, 200 or 500 lire.
The cost of an international call at call centers varies depending on the direction of the call and the time of day. Within Italy, the best time to call is from 22.00 to 08.00.
To call Russia, dial the combination: 007 + area code + subscriber number.
Callback: 8-10-39 + area code, 0 + subscriber number. 0 in front of the subscriber number is a mandatory combination when making all calls in Italy.
Important: short beeps on the handset mean that the phone is free and you can dial the number. Long tone sounds indicate a busy line.
City codes:
06 – Rome
02 – Milan
081 – Naples
055 – Florence
051 – Bologna
0166 – Cervinia and Pila
0165 – La Thuile and Courmayeur
0125 – Monte Rosa
There is a tourist information service in Italy. Its employees will advise you on the location of shopping centers, tell you about sights, museums, and exhibitions taking place during this period. You can also turn to them for help in case of poor service, or if you need to call an ambulance or law enforcement agencies. To call Easy Italia dial 039-039-039. Opening hours: daily from 9.00 to 22.00. The help desk specialists speak Russian, Italian, German, English and Chinese.
