Help! I'm traveling to Italy in ten days!!?

Question

I've never done anything like this before, and I have no idea what to pack, what not to pack, general do's and don't's, and things of that nature. So this is for all the travel experts out there:

* I"m going to be there three weeks. What do I need for my trip?

* What do I need to know about the airports?

* What do I need to know about Italy?

* I'm going to be in Rome for a week, then I'm moving on to Florence, Venice, and Tuscany. What can I absolutely not afford to miss?

Also, please help me out with tidbits from your own trips to Italy. I've been to the travel sites, but tips from real people are what I need at this point.

Grazie!

Answer 1

i can go on and on about the places and things to do in these places.  i'm sure everyone else will tell you where to go and what to do.  Italy is a very beautiful place and you will have a great experience in those places.  My favorite is Firenze (Florence).  

however, one of the most important things that my friends told me about in ROME (especially the ROMA train station) is to be careful about the thieves/pickpockets.  they can be anyone (as young as 6 years old, and can also be older folks with children/grandchildren) but usually the young crowd (teenagers).  don't put important/expensive things in your backpack pockets (easy targets) or outer pockets on jackets/pants.  you will see a lot of folks put their backpacks on their front side to decrease the chances of being robbed. my first trip to ROME (with my wife), we were victims of this but fortunately all they took from my backpack outer pocket was an Italian-English dictionary.  I put my camera in my suitcase.  

put your money and passport in an inside pocket (I had one of those thin travel pouch things that went under my clothes), and i did not wear jewelry.  Having said all this, we did not have to worry about it in all the other places.  It was only in ROMA that we had this problem.  Nevertheless, just be careful wherever you are.  

These days, i just don't carry a backpack when i travel.  everything goes in a single suitcase, and nothing goes in my jacket pockets.  Our passports and money go in the travel pouch.

Answer 2

lucky you!  pack clothing (especially socks and underwear) that you can wash yourself and that will dry quickly (overnight), and a small umbrella.  Durable walking shoes (or buy some in Florence).  beware of purse-snatchers and pickpockets, especially in Rome. Buy a couple of travel guides (Fodor's or other) to read on the flight.  If you have time to learn to speak a little Italian, that helps, especially in restaurants.  The little city of Volterra in Tuscany is the home of the Etruscans, and a treat.  Enjoy the food and drink the house wine, it's usually more than OK.  Don't try to drive in Florence unless you must; walk or take a cab.  don't miss the ponte vecchio and the leather market.

Answer 3

Congrats on picking a fabulous destination!  Spent ten days in Italy in April in Rome, Florence and Venice.  Best ten days of my life!  First of all, pack as light as you can.  Big, heavy suitcases are big drags, especially on trains.  Take comfortable walking shoes as you will walk your legs off in Rome, especially.  Take a good travel bag that goes across your body as pickpocketing in Rome is infamous.   A good camera, keep your passport with you at all times, sunglasses,  a small unbrella.  If you're flying through Paris, give yourself plenty of time to change planes as it takes forever to get through their many security checkpoints.  In Rome, be certain to see the coloseum and the city ruins behind it.  Don't miss St. Peter's Cathedral, the Vatican Museum (Sistine Chapel).  St. P's and the museum will take an entire day, at least.  Don't miss the Piazza Navona and have lunch at one of the cafe's.  Take a double decker bus tour and ride on top.  Get a good map of the city and be prepared to walk.  In Florence, be sure to check out the shopping on the infamous bridge, don't miss the Uffizi, and Pitti Palace....fabulous.  In Venice...just soak up Venice.  It's incredible.  Take a nighttime boat tour, it will take your breath away.  Shopping is incredible.  Have lunch outside the opera house while they are practicing.  Enjoy!  It will be the trip of a lifetime.

Answer 4

1st of all i hope ur not traveling w/alitalia.. every time i go 2 italy they lose my bags... dont put anything valuable in ur suitcase( just in ur carry on bag) i've had gifts that i brought w/me stolen.... o and try 2 leave some room in ur suitcases cuz believe ur gonna need it 2 bring anything u buy there. ohter than that have fun and enjoy italy, ur gonna love it!!!! ( next time try 2 get down to sicily, its beautiful!!!!)

Answer 5

Here are a selection of my previous writings on Italian travel.

Venice - Saint Mark's Square, The Doge's Palace, Rialto bridge, Bridge of Sighs, Arsenal, The Accademia, Giacomo Cassanova's house, The Grand Canal, Murano and Burano.

Rome - Vatican Museums which include the Sistine Chapel, St Peter's Basillica, Castel Saint Angelo, Forum, Colosseum, Palatine, Circus Maximus, Via Appia, Gallery Borghese, Capitoline Museums, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Pantheon and many many churches.

I can only list a few things here or I'd be going on for days.

Great guide books are the Eyewitness Travel Guides. They have photos, every attraction you can think of, opening times and great maps.

Take a look at these web sites and enjoy your trip.

http://mv.vatican.va/3_en/pages/mv_home....

http://www.polomuseale.firenze.it/englis...

http://www.whatsonwhen.com/scripts/query...

www.venere.com is great for hotels and accomodation of all types and prices Europe wide.

buona fortuna

Venice isn't that big and it's easy to navigate by vaporetto. You could visit St Mark's Basilica and the square, also the Doge's Palace is next door and if you take a tour you can see the bridge of sighs from the inside. You'll be taking the walk from the prison cells that the convicts did!! The Rialto bridge is a short walk away and there are lots of shops and markets there. If you don't fancy shelling out 90 euros for a gondola ride, take a vaporetto all the way along the grand canal and invest in an Eyewitness Travel Guide which gives you a step by step commentary on the palazzi you will see. If you like art, you could stop off at the Accademia. There are the Islands of Murano and Burano which are lovely and many winding alley ways packed with beautiful shops and cafes. Lovely cafe but rather expensive is Cafe Florian in St Marks. You can have a drink and listen to their musicians play and sing.

Oh you're talking about my favourite place in the whole world. You could spend your life there and never see everything. The central point is the Palazzo Vecchio, or old palace and its piazza. This was the seat of the Florentine government and the Uffizi is right there along with the loggia which contains many famous sculptures. There is a copy of Michelangelo's David outside the palazzo but the original is in the Accademia. If you're going to the Uffizi . The Bargello Museum is nearby and was formerly the old prison, Dante's house, the Duomo, the Churches of Santa Croce etc..... It really is endless. The Ponte Vecchio is great for jewellery and there are market stalls in many of the loggia. Loads of places to eat or grab a sandwich. The streets are set out in a Medieval plan so you can wander down tiny alleyways filled with shops and houses and emerge onto broader avenues as you find the centre of the city. There are street entertainers day and night and classical music recitals in many of the churches, especially during the hot summer months. There's a Christmas market in the winter.

I study Art History and in particular, Italian Renaissance art so I'm in heaven there. The Florentines are very friendly people and if you speak some Italian as I do, you can get far.

There's nothing better than sitting in a street cafe in the Piazza della Signora as the sun sets and the darkness comes. The statues in the Loggia seem to take on a new dimension as they are floodlit and you can watch the bats circling the campanile.

Meravigliosa

There's a lot to see in Italy. If you intend to travel from city to city then trains are the best option. They're inexpensive and very good. Here's a few places you could include and some attractions.

Milan - The Refrectory of Santa Maria del Grazie to see The Last Supper (Tickets in advance)

Venice - Saint Mark's Square, The Doge's Palace, Rialto bridge, Bridge of Sighs, Arsenal, The Accademia, Giacomo Cassanova's house, The Grand Canal and Murano.

Rome - Vatican Museums which include the Sistine Chapel, St Peter's Basillica, Castel Saint Angelo, Forum, Colosseum, Palatine, Circus Maximus, Via Appia, Gallery Borghese, Capitoline Museums, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Pantheon and many many churches.

Florence - Uffizi Gallery (tickets in advance), Accademia (Michelangelo's David is there, Bargello, Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio and the Loggia with its sculpture, various churches and family chapels, Palazzo Pitti, Fort Belvedere.

Naples- Pompeii, Herculanium.

Padua, Verona, the lakes, the Dolomites etc etc.

I can only list a few things here or I'd be going on for days.

Great guide books are the Eyewitness Travel Guides. They have photos, every attraction you can think of, opening times and great maps.

Take a look at these web sites and enjoy your trip.

http://mv.vatican.va/3_en/pages/mv_home....

http://www.polomuseale.firenze.it/englis...

http://www.whatsonwhen.com/scripts/query...

I'd recommend you take comfortable clothing and shoes. Make sure your upper arms are covered if you wish to go into any of the churches etc. It should still be warm so a t shirt and jeans or something is a good idea. I'd take a very light waterproof jacket too as many parts of Italy are prone to thunderstorms during this time of the year.

For travel information regarding the security alerts of recent I'd contact your departure airport for advice.

Answer 6

just adding to some of the other answers I saw. be sure that if you plan to visit St. Peter's Basilica, you follow the dress code. no shorts or sleeveless shirts. also--be wary of eaing near the vatican. We spent 120 euro for pizza! the menu had the price but they charged a 35% service charge!! and the drinks weren't priced on the menu...they were 8 euro for a canned coke. good luck and yes watch out for pick pockets!!

Answer 7

1. When you leave baggage claim and some men wearing suites inside the airport ask you if you need a taxi, tell them no (unless you want to get ripped off). These are more like limo drivers and I got charged 80 euros to go to my hotel (it only cost 45 euros when I went back in a regular cab).

2. Carry a money belt for your passport large bills and credit cards. Its better to be safe then sorry.

3. DO NOT wear shorts to the Vatican. They are not allowed in St Peters Cathedral which is a must see.

4. Get a good map. Roman streets weren't designed with the intent on becoming a huge city and the streets can become very confusing.

5. Don't wear white shoes. Americans are the only people in Italy who wear white shoes, and you will stick out like a sore thumb.

6. Take a day trip to Pompeii and Napoli. This was really cool. Ask the front desk agent to book a tour for you. Its about 115 Euros and was well worth the trip. Napoli was ok, but the ruins of Pompeii were a real treat.

7. If you have an IPOD you can download a walking tour of several different places in Italy such as the Colossuem and Pompeii from ITUNES....

8. If you don't have an IPOD, get one. The only english television station is CNN International and repeats its stories every 30-45 minutes.

9. Don't do to much the first day. I was so excited that I tried to see everything. Take time to smell the roses.

10. If you go to the Catacombs like San Callisto, I highly suggest taking a tour bus. I took a cab, which was cheaper but there are no cab stands when you want to leave. My brother and I decided to walk back, which ended up taking 6 hours cause we got lost.

11. Take European plug adapters and a converter. I found a multipack at frys electronics.

12. Check out Rick Steves website. He is the guy who travels to Europe on PBS. He is the master when it comes to traveling through Europe. I will use his resources every time I go to Europe. The graffiti wall message board has tons of tips you can use. You can also rent some of his dvd's on netflix

Answer 8

I'm italian and I can say to you that here the weather is hot so take spring-summer clothes but don't forget some cotton pull-over. don't forget sunglasses, toilet things and other things like that. Watch out about your bags! in rome visit colosseum, vatican, systine chapelle, spagna's square and other big and wonderful squares, museums and something similar. in venice the prices are too high so buy things in rome or in florence. in venice you don't have to go to the hair stylist, they cost too much! learn some basilars words like grazie (thanks) prego (you're welcome, you must say it after a person says to you grazie) buongiorno (good morning) buonasera (good evening) buonanotte (good night) arrivederci (bye bye) ciao or salve (hi, hello)

Answer 9

A couple of suggestions:

If you're an art lover, make reservations-NOW-at the Borghese Gallery in Rome.  You can only get in with a reservation, and it's well worth it-also take the 11 AM English-language tour if you can; the guide was great-really informative!

Go to www.va.com, click on "information", and click on excavations/"scavi" linkk, and see if you can get a tour of the excavations under St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican; these can only be done with reservations through the Vatican, and they are really amazing, going back to the first century.   While you're at the website, go to the Vatican Museum link, and request a tour of the Vatican Museum; our guide was very good.  HINT:  Leave the fax number for your hotel in Rome as well as your US info; if you get a tour, they may contact you there.  Finally, if you're so inclined, ask for tickets to the Pope's Wednesday general audience-they're free-click on the "prefeturra della casa ponifica".

Hope this helps.

Answer 10

Hi,,,, hmm ,, how long have you known about this???  

Anyway,,, take clothes... lol,,, toilet items,, but put all liquid stuff in your check in luggage...now... weather ,, probably getting cooler,, but not during the day...

Airports are the same anywhere,, just read the signs...ask if you dont know..

Rome, go to the Vatican,,, wear comfortable shoes, wear nice clothes, no shorts or mid tops, Systine Chapel, only open certain days, get their Early,, lines are long...

Colseum, and Forum,,, nice, and BE AWARE ! of the pick pockets and purse snatchers in ROME>> they are good.....

Florence, The Duermo-round chapel, the Cathedral-next to it,, the David Museum, the Pointe Vecchio bridge, the open market near the post office, with the big brass pig,, buy your leather there,, good prices,, another open market down opposite way of Duermo.. Resturante up 50 yards from the Cathedral on the right,,, Great food....small place....

Shopping is fun there,, that is where you get your best leather goods....

Have fun.....