Italy Travel Guide: How to Plan a Trip to Italy

A first trip to Italy fits into 7 to 10 days: 3 days in Rome, 2 in Florence and Tuscany, 2 in Venice, and 1 or 2 in Naples or Bologna. Italy costs less than Austria or Germany for coffee and city transport and more than either for a hotel room in Venice or Florence in June. April, May, September and October are the months to go, because July and August bring 35°C (95°F) days, the highest prices and the thickest crowds at the sights you came for.

Italy is a parliamentary republic of about 58.9 million people, made up of 20 regions running from the Alps to Sicily, with Rome as its capital and the euro as its currency. It holds more UNESCO World Heritage sites than any other country, borders France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino and Vatican City, and puts almost every kind of holiday, from ski slopes to islands, inside one train network.

This guide is written by the Wonderful Wanderings editorial team for independent travellers, and it covers timing, trip length, transport, costs, lodging, food, festivals, etiquette and all 20 regions. Founder Sofie Couwenbergh’s first-hand notes come from her trips to Rome, where she took a food tour through Testaccio, and to Emilia-Romagna, where she did a food tour in Bologna and visited the Ferrari and Lamborghini museums.

Italy quick facts

The Italy quick facts below cover the capital, language, currency, government, size, population, time zone, plugs, EU and Schengen status, driving, tap water and the emergency number.

The table stops at the practical facts. Trivia such as the number of UNESCO sites and the origin of the word “pizza” sits in our interesting facts about Italy post.

Italy guides on Wonderful Wanderings

The Italy guides on Wonderful Wanderings go deeper than this hub on Rome, Emilia-Romagna, food tours, museums and city passes. The 14 guides worth starting with are listed below, most useful first.

1. How to spend 4 days in Rome: a day-by-day itinerary for the capital.
2. Colosseum tour in Rome: what the guided tour covers and how to skip the queue.
3. Roma Pass: the sums on Rome’s sightseeing and transport card.
4. Testaccio food tour in Rome: Sofie’s review of the market district food walk.
5. Taste Bologna food tour: Sofie’s review of the food tour in Italy’s food capital.
6. Day trips from Bologna: the Emilia-Romagna towns within an hour by train.
7. Things to do in Modena: balsamic vinegar, the cathedral and the opera.
8. Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena: the birthplace house and the car collection.
9. Lamborghini Museum: the factory museum at Sant’Agata Bolognese.
10. Things to do in Parma: the home of Parmigiano Reggiano and prosciutto.
11. A day in Ravenna: 8 UNESCO-listed early Christian mosaic sites in one town.
12. What to see in Ferrara: the Renaissance city inside its walls.
13. Things to do in Rimini: the Adriatic beach resort and Fellini’s home town.
14. Umbrian hill towns: Assisi, Spello, Montefalco and their neighbours.

Two more posts cover the northeast. Gorizia is the border town where you can stand with one foot in Italy and one in Slovenia, and Grado is the lagoon beach beside it. Older posts sit in the archive; browse all Italy posts for the full list.

Best time to visit Italy

April, May, September and October are the months to visit Italy, when days sit around 18-25°C (64-77°F), the sights are walkable and room rates fall between the peaks. Italy’s high summer is the season to avoid for cities: July and August bring 35°C (95°F) and above in Rome, Florence and the south, along with the highest prices. Italy’s seasons vary sharply by latitude, and the 4 of them are described below.

• Spring (March to May): cool and showery in March, then warm and green by May, with Easter week filling Rome and Florence and pushing prices up for a fortnight.
• Summer (June to August): hot everywhere and hottest inland, ideal for the Alps and the Dolomites and hard work in the cities; many Italians take August off, so small restaurants and shops close for 2 or 3 weeks around Ferragosto on 15 August.
• Autumn (September and October): the vendemmia grape harvest, truffle season in Piedmont and Umbria, warm sea into early October and the year’s most comfortable city weather.
• Winter (November to February): mild and wet in the south, cold and foggy in the Po valley, and ski season in the Alps and Dolomites from December to March; Venice and Florence are at their emptiest in January and February.

Where you go changes the answer. Sicily and the far south stay warm year-round, the Alps run on a ski calendar, and the coastal resorts largely shut between November and Easter.

How many days in Italy and a sample route

Plan 7 to 10 days for a first trip to Italy and stick to 3 bases, because Italy is 1,200 km (745.6 mi) from the Alps to the tip of Calabria and the classic Rome, Florence and Venice triangle already involves 2 long train legs. The 8-day sample route is listed below.

1. Days 1 to 3, Rome: the Colosseum and Roman Forum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and Vatican City, with our 4 days in Rome itinerary if you have a fourth day and the Roma Pass maths to decide on a card.
2. Day 4, Florence: about 1 hour 35 minutes from Rome by high-speed train, for the Duomo, the Uffizi and the Accademia, all of which need booking ahead.
3. Day 5, Tuscany: Siena, San Gimignano or a Chianti wine day, easiest by hire car or organised day trip.
4. Days 6 and 7, Venice: about 2 hours from Florence by high-speed train, for Piazza San Marco, the Grand Canal and a morning on Murano and Burano.
5. Day 8, Bologna on the way back: about 35 minutes from Florence, and the cheapest good eating on the whole route; our day trips from Bologna guide covers Modena, Parma and Ravenna from there.

With 12 to 14 days, add the south. Naples, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast make a natural second week, and Sicily needs a trip of its own rather than 2 days bolted on.

Top things to see and do in Italy

The things to see in Italy include more UNESCO World Heritage sites than any other country holds. The 10 that most first trips are built around are listed below.

1. The Colosseum and Roman Forum in Rome: the amphitheatre opened in AD 80 and the ruins of the city that built it, with timed tickets and a guided Colosseum tour that reaches the parts general admission does not.
2. Vatican City: the world’s smallest country, holding St Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums and Michelangelo’s ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, and worth an early or late slot rather than a midday one.
3. Florence’s Duomo, Uffizi and Accademia: Brunelleschi’s dome, the Botticellis and Michelangelo’s David, none of which you should turn up to without a reservation.
4. Venice: Piazza San Marco, the Grand Canal and the glass and lace islands of Murano and Burano, reached by vaporetto rather than gondola if you want to get anywhere.
5. Pompeii and Herculaneum: the 2 Roman towns buried by Vesuvius in AD 79, with Herculaneum the smaller and better preserved of the pair.
6. The Amalfi Coast: Positano, Amalfi and Ravello on a cliff road above the Tyrrhenian Sea, reached by ferry in summer rather than by car.
7. Cinque Terre: 5 cliffside villages in Liguria linked by a coastal train and a walking path, ticketed in high season to hold the numbers down.
8. The Dolomites: the pale limestone peaks of Trentino-Alto Adige, a UNESCO site, with via ferrata routes in summer and skiing in winter.
9. Matera in Basilicata: the sassi, cave dwellings carved into a ravine and inhabited continuously for millennia, now a UNESCO site.
10. Ravenna’s mosaics: 8 early Christian buildings in one small Emilia-Romagna town, and the richest Byzantine mosaics outside Istanbul.

Two things worth booking ahead. Venice charges day visitors a Contributo di Accesso on peak days, which in 2026 covered 60 days between 3 April and 26 July from 08:30 to 16:00 at €5 ($6, £4) if you book at least 4 days ahead and €10 ($12, £9) if you book later, with overnight guests and under-14s exempt; check the city’s official cda.ve.it portal for the current year’s dates before you plan a day trip. Cinque Terre, the Uffizi, the Accademia, the Colosseum and the Vatican Museums all sell timed slots that go first.

How to get to Italy

You get to Italy by plane to Rome or Milan, by direct train from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France, by long-distance coach, or by ferry from Greece, Croatia, Spain, Albania, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco and Tunisia. The routes in and the entry rules are described below.

Flights to Italy

Flights to Italy land mainly at Rome Fiumicino, the country’s busiest international airport, and at Milan Malpensa. Milan Bergamo Orio al Serio and Venice Marco Polo take large numbers of international flights too, and regional airports at Bologna, Naples, Pisa, Catania and Palermo often make more sense than a long domestic transfer. Check Trip.com for flights to Italy once your dates are fixed, and price a regional airport against the big two before you book.

Trains and coaches to Italy

Trains to Italy run direct from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and Slovenia, and everything else involves one change. The Frecciarossa now runs Milan to Paris, ÖBB Nightjet sleepers reach Milan, Venice, Rome and Florence from Vienna and Munich, and the Eurocity services over the Brenner and the Gotthard are among the most scenic ways into the country. Compare train routes and prices within Europe before you fix dates.

Coaches reach Italy from Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Croatia among others, and they are the cheapest way in if you have the time. Check FlixBus routes and prices to Italy, which absorbed most of the operators older guides still name.

Ferries to Italy

Ferries to Italy are a genuine option, not a curiosity, because the Adriatic and Ionian crossings are working routes rather than cruises. Ferries reach Ancona, Bari, Brindisi, Ravenna, Venice and Trieste from Greece, Croatia, Albania and Montenegro, and there are further services from Spain, France, Malta, Morocco and Tunisia, plus the domestic crossings to Sicily and Sardinia. For the Greek routes, check timetables and prices for ferries from Greece, which serve Ancona, Bari, Brindisi, Ravenna and Venice. For everything else, look at an overview of ferry routes and prices to Italy.

Entry requirements for Italy

Check the current entry rules for your passport before you book, because they change. Italy is in the European Union and the Schengen Area, so EU and EEA citizens enter with a national ID card, and visa-exempt visitors such as US, Canadian, UK and Australian passport holders get up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the whole Schengen Area, with a passport valid for at least 3 months after the day you leave. Since the Entry/Exit System (EES) became fully operational at Schengen external borders in April 2026, non-EU arrivals give fingerprints and a facial scan instead of getting a passport stamp, which can add time at the airport. ETIAS, the travel authorisation for visa-exempt visitors, is not in force yet; check the EU’s official ETIAS site for the launch date. No vaccinations are required.

Getting around Italy

You get around Italy by high-speed train between the cities and by car only where the train does not go, which is most of Tuscany, Umbria, Puglia and the mountains. Italy’s 4 transport options are listed below.

1. High-speed trains: Trenitalia’s Frecciarossa and the private operator Italo compete on the Turin, Milan, Bologna, Florence, Rome, Naples spine, which keeps advance fares low; Rome to Florence takes about 1 hour 35 minutes and Rome to Milan about 3 hours.
2. Regional trains: slower, much cheaper, and the only way to reach Cinque Terre, the Umbrian hill towns and most of the coast; a paper regional ticket must be validated before boarding.
3. Rental car: worth it for Tuscany, Umbria, Puglia, Sicily and the Dolomites, and a liability in any city; compare prices on DiscoverCars or AutoEurope and book early, because Italian car hire gets expensive in high season.
4. Ferries and hydrofoils: the way to reach Capri, Ischia, the Aeolian Islands, Sardinia and the Amalfi Coast in summer, and often faster than the coast road.

One rule catches drivers out more than any other. Almost every historic centre is a ZTL, a limited-traffic zone watched by cameras that photograph your plate and post a fine months later, so never follow a satnav into an old town unless your hotel has registered your number. Drivers from outside the EU should also carry an International Driving Permit alongside their own licence.

What Italy costs

Italy costs less than Germany or Austria for coffee, city transport and a plate of pasta, and more than either for a hotel room in Venice, Florence or the Amalfi Coast in high season. The Italy prices below are country-wide averages from Numbeo, updated 5 September 2026, converted at the European Central Bank reference rates of 4 September 2026, so treat them as a planning baseline rather than a quote.

Those rows add up to a usable day rate. Two restaurant meals, two coffees, a beer and a couple of transport tickets come to roughly €48 ($56, £41) per person before accommodation, which is the biggest and most variable cost in Italy: a Venice room in June and the same room in February are not the same product. Two charges are easy to miss on top of that. Most restaurants add a coperto, a per-person cover charge for bread and the table setting, usually a euro or two, and almost every Italian city charges a tassa di soggiorno, a tourist tax collected per person per night by your hotel and often payable in cash at checkout. Compare live room rates on Booking.com for Italy rather than budgeting from an average.

Money in Italy: cards, cash and tipping

Italy runs on cards far more than its reputation suggests, and businesses are legally required to accept them, so a debit or credit card works in shops, restaurants, museums and ticket machines. Italy’s remaining cash cases are small ones: market stalls, some village bars, the tourist tax at checkout and the odd taxi. The 4 money habits worth adopting are listed below.

1. Carry €50 ($58, £43) in small notes for markets, cover charges and the tourist tax, and top up at a bank ATM rather than an independent machine in a tourist street.
2. Decline “dynamic currency conversion” when a card machine offers to bill you in your home currency, because the machine’s rate is worse than your bank’s.
3. Drink your coffee at the bar rather than at a table, since the seated price is often double the standing one and the price list on the wall shows both.
4. Check the bill for coperto and servizio before adding anything, because a service charge means no further tip is expected.

Tipping is welcomed and never obligatory in Italy. Rounding up is normal, 5 to 10% is generous, and our tipping in Italy section covers hotel staff, porters and guides.

Where to stay in Italy

Stay inside the historic centre in Rome and Florence, because both are walkable and a cheap room in an outer district costs you an hour a day on public transport. In Venice, staying overnight also exempts you from the day-visitor access fee and buys you the city before and after the day-trippers, which is the whole point of going. Book Venice, Florence, the Amalfi Coast and Cinque Terre months ahead for June to September, and expect a tourist tax added per person per night wherever you stay.

Booking sites do the filtering. Sofie books hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs through Booking.com for Italy, because its filters turn hundreds of options into a short list that meets her criteria, and she uses Vrbo when an apartment suits the trip better.

What to eat in Italy

Italian food is regional before it is national, so the right question in any town is what they make here rather than what Italy is famous for. Pasta shapes, sauces, cured meats and cheeses change every hundred kilometres, and the local answer is nearly always the better order. The 12 things to eat and drink are listed below.

1. Pasta: the shape belongs to the region, so order cacio e pepe or carbonara in Rome, tagliatelle al ragù in Bologna, orecchiette in Puglia and trofie al pesto in Liguria.
2. Pizza: the Neapolitan version, soft and blistered, comes from Naples, and the Roman one is thin and crisp; both are worth eating in their home city.
3. Risotto: creamy rice from the northern rice fields, most reliable in Lombardy and Piedmont, and the base of osso buco alla milanese.
4. Osso buco alla milanese: braised veal shank with marrow, served with gremolata of lemon zest, garlic and parsley.
5. Bistecca alla fiorentina: a thick Tuscan T-bone grilled rare and sold by weight, which is why the menu price looks alarming.
6. Arancini: deep-fried rice balls with ragù, cheese or peas inside, Sicilian and worth buying from a bakery counter.
7. Prosciutto crudo and Parmigiano Reggiano: the cured ham and the cheese, both from Emilia-Romagna, and both worth buying where they are made; our things to do in Parma guide covers the producers.
8. Focaccia di Recco: two thin sheets of dough around molten stracchino cheese, from the Ligurian coast.
9. Truffles: shaved over pasta and eggs in Piedmont, Umbria, Le Marche and Tuscany from autumn, and priced accordingly.
10. Gelato: look for muted colours and covered tubs, which mean the shop makes it rather than buys it in.
11. Aperitivo: a drink before dinner that comes with snacks, at its most generous in Milan and Venice, where the local version is a cicchetti crawl.
12. Limoncello: the lemon liqueur from the Amalfi Coast, served cold after a meal.

Two food tours on this site are Sofie’s own. Read her Testaccio food tour in Rome review and her Taste Bologna food tour review before you book one, and see things to do in Modena for balsamic vinegar at source.

Festivals and public holidays in Italy

Italy’s festival calendar runs all year, from Venice Carnival in February to the Palio in Siena in summer and the wine harvest in autumn. Italy has 12 national public holidays, and each town adds its patron saint’s day, when local shops and offices close while the rest of the country works.

The table shows what people plan trips around. Book accommodation months ahead for Venice Carnival, the Palio and any coastal town in the fortnight around Ferragosto.

Italy’s 12 national public holidays are 1 January, 6 January (Epiphany), Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, 25 April (Liberation Day), 1 May (Labour Day), 2 June (Republic Day), 15 August (Ferragosto), 1 November (All Saints’ Day), 8 December (Immaculate Conception), 25 December and 26 December (Santo Stefano). Add your city’s patron saint day: 29 June in Rome, 24 June in Florence, Turin and Genoa, 7 December in Milan and 19 September in Naples.

Culture and etiquette in Italy

Italians are warm with strangers and formal about food, which is the reverse of what many visitors expect. Italian etiquette rewards a greeting before a question and a willingness to eat the way the place eats. The 5 things worth knowing are listed below.

1. Say “buongiorno” or “buonasera” on entering a shop, bar or restaurant, because opening with a question in English lands badly and opening with a greeting fixes it.
2. Order coffee by the clock: cappuccino and other milky coffees belong to the morning, and after lunch it is an espresso.
3. Dress covered at churches, since St Peter’s, the Duomo in Florence and most cathedrals turn away bare shoulders and above-the-knee shorts.
4. Eat at Italian hours, because kitchens open around 12.30 for lunch and rarely before 19.30 for dinner, and a restaurant serving at 17.00 is aimed at tourists.
5. Validate a paper regional train ticket in the platform machine before boarding, or expect an on-the-spot fine.

Two more habits help. Learn “per favore”, “grazie” and “scusi”, which cover most interactions, and accept that queueing is loosely observed in bars, where you catch the barista’s eye rather than wait your turn.

The 20 regions of Italy

Italy has 20 regions, 5 of them with special autonomy, and a first trip covers 2 or 3. All 20 are listed below, north to south.

1. Aosta Valley: the smallest region, in the Alps between France and Switzerland, with Courmayeur and Breuil-Cervinia for skiing, medieval castles along the valley floor and hiking in summer.
2. Piedmont: Turin, the Alps and the Langhe wine hills, with Barolo, white truffles from Alba, Lake Maggiore, the National Cinema Museum in the Mole Antonelliana and the hilltop Basilica of Superga.
3. Liguria: the Italian Riviera, holding Cinque Terre, Portofino and Genoa, whose Piazza De Ferrari and old port anchor the city that invented pesto and focaccia.
4. Lombardy: Milan for fashion, the Duomo and the Last Supper, plus Lake Como, Lake Garda, Bergamo’s upper town and the risotto and osso buco that come with them.
5. Trentino-Alto Adige: the German-speaking, autonomous north, with the Dolomites, the Stelvio Pass, Bolzano’s Ötzi museum and a food culture closer to Austria’s than to Rome’s.
6. Veneto: Venice and its lagoon, Verona’s Roman arena and Juliet’s balcony, Padua’s Giotto frescoes and the Prosecco hills; Venice’s overtourism is real, so a night on the mainland or in Padua is a legitimate plan.
7. Friuli-Venezia Giulia: the quietest corner of the north, with Trieste’s Habsburg cafés, the Roman ruins at Aquileia, Gorizia on the Slovenian border and the lagoon beach at Grado.
8. Emilia-Romagna: Italy’s food region, with Bologna at its centre, Modena for balsamic and the Enzo Ferrari and Lamborghini museums, Parma for ham and cheese, Ravenna for mosaics, Ferrara for its walls and Rimini for the Adriatic beaches.
9. Tuscany: Florence, Siena, Pisa, San Gimignano and the Chianti hills, plus the Val d’Orcia landscape and the coastal Maremma.
10. Umbria: the green centre, with hill towns including Assisi on Monte Subasio and Montefalco, and Perugia’s Palazzo dei Priori dating from the early 1300s.
11. Le Marche: the Adriatic side, with Ancona as its port, Urbino’s Renaissance palace, the Frasassi caves and Mount Conero rising straight out of the sea.
12. Lazio: Rome and Vatican City, plus Ostia Antica, the Villa d’Este gardens at Tivoli and the Castelli Romani wine towns.
13. Abruzzo: mountains and national parks, with the Gran Sasso for skiing and hiking, medieval villages such as Santo Stefano di Sessanio, L’Aquila as capital and a sandy coast an hour away.
14. Molise: the least visited region, with Campobasso as capital, skiing and hiking in the Matese mountains and Roman ruins at Saepinum.
15. Campania: Naples for pizza, Pompeii and Herculaneum under Vesuvius, the Amalfi Coast, Capri and Ischia, and the Greek temples at Paestum.
16. Apulia: the heel of the boot, with Bari, the trulli houses of Alberobello on the UNESCO list, Lecce’s Baroque centre, the Gargano coast and the octagonal Castel del Monte, built for Frederick II from about 1240.
17. Basilicata: Matera’s cave city, Potenza as capital and the Pollino National Park, Italy’s largest, shared with Calabria.
18. Calabria: the toe, with Tropea’s cliffside beaches, Scilla’s fishing quarter of Chianalea, the Aspromonte National Park and the Riace bronzes in Reggio Calabria.
19. Sicily: the largest Mediterranean island, with Mount Etna, the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento, Palermo’s markets, the Baroque towns of the southeast and the Aeolian Islands off the north coast.
20. Sardinia: white-sand beaches and turquoise water, around 7,000 Bronze Age nuraghe towers, Cagliari as capital and the Neptune’s Grotto sea caves near Alghero.

For skiing, the Alpine regions run from December to March. Compare resorts and seasons on igluski’s Italy pages before you book a winter trip.

Is Italy safe?

Italy is safe for travellers, including solo women: it ranked 35th of 163 countries in the 2026 Global Peace Index published by the Institute for Economics and Peace, and violent crime against visitors is rare. Italy’s real risks are theft and scams in tourist areas, and the 4 to watch for are listed below, most common first.

1. Pickpockets on Rome’s bus 64, the Circumvesuviana line to Pompeii, Milan’s metro and around every major station: keep bags zipped, in front of you and off the back of a chair.
2. Bag snatching from scooters in Naples and Rome: carry a bag on the pavement side and across your body.
3. Bracelet and petition scams outside the Colosseum, the Duomo and Piazza San Marco: keep walking and keep your hands down.
4. Taxi overcharging from airports and stations: use the posted fixed fare to the city centre or book by app.

Italy also has real seismic and volcanic activity, and Etna and Vesuvius are monitored and occasionally close to visitors. Dial 112 for police, fire or ambulance.

What to pack for Italy

Pack for the region and the season rather than for “Italy”, because Sicily in February and the Dolomites in February are different holidays. Cover for churches matters everywhere: a scarf or a light layer over bare shoulders gets you into cathedrals that would otherwise turn you away. The 3 seasonal lists follow.

• Summer (June to August): light clothing, a sun hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, a scarf or shawl for churches, good walking sandals, flip flops for the beach and a reusable water bottle you can refill at street fountains.
• Winter (November to February): layers, a warm waterproof coat, winter boots, a scarf, gloves and a hat for the north, and a light coat only if you are staying in Sicily or the far south.
• Spring and autumn (March to May, September to October): layers with a jumper for the evenings, closed shoes for cobbles, a light rain jacket and sunglasses, because both seasons run warm and dry most days and turn cold after dark.

Two extras finish the list. A universal adapter matters more in Italy than in most of Europe, because the 3-pin type L socket is not standard anywhere else, and comfortable soles matter because every historic centre is cobbled or paved in sanpietrini.

Staying connected in Italy

You stay connected in Italy with your EU SIM, which works at home rates under the EU’s roam-like-at-home rules, or with an eSIM or a portable hotspot if you come from outside the EU. The 3 options are listed below.

1. An EU SIM: no roaming charges for calls, texts or data in Italy; UK plans vary by operator since Brexit, so check yours before you travel.
2. An eSIM bought before you fly: data from the moment you land, which matters in Italy because so much of the trip runs on ticket apps and station QR codes.
3. A portable hotspot: Sofie carries a portable hotspot and buys day passes outside the EU and as a backup when her phone plan runs low on data. If you would rather not carry a second device, an Airalo eSIM installs on the phone you already have and does the same job.

The code HARRY5578 takes €3 off a first order. Free Wi-Fi is normal in Italian hotels and cafés and patchy on trains, so download your tickets and maps before a long leg.

Travel insurance for Italy

Travel insurance for Italy covers what a health card does not: cancelled flights, lost luggage, a stolen phone and repatriation after an accident. EU citizens should carry their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), UK visitors their Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC), and everyone else needs a policy with medical cover. The insurer Wonderful Wanderings uses is SafetyWing, whose SafetyWing Nomad Insurance plans can be bought before you leave or while you are already travelling, and which reimbursed Sofie’s costs in full when she caught COVID abroad.

A short history of Italy

Italy’s history runs from Rome’s founding legend through the Renaissance to a unified country that is younger than the United States. The 4 periods that explain what you see are listed below.

1. Rome, kingdom to empire (753 BC to AD 476): the traditional founding date is 753 BC, the kingdom became a republic in 509 BC, Julius Caesar was killed in 44 BC, Augustus ruled the first empire from 27 BC, and the western empire fell in 476.
2. City-states and the Renaissance (11th to 16th centuries): Venice, Genoa, Pisa and Amalfi built trading empires while Florence, Milan and Siena fought each other inland, which is why so many small towns have walls and a bell tower; after the plague of 1348 those cities funded Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael, and the buildings and galleries that draw most visitors date from then.
3. Foreign rule and division (16th to 19th centuries): Spain, Austria and France ruled different parts of the peninsula in turn, leaving the regional differences in food, dialect and architecture that survive today.
4. Unification and the republic (1861 onwards): the Risorgimento united the peninsula under one crown in 1861 with Rome added in 1870, Mussolini’s dictatorship ran from 1922 to 1943, a referendum replaced the monarchy with a republic on 2 June 1946, and Italy became a founding member of NATO in 1949 and of the European Communities in 1957.

Italy travel FAQ

How many days do you need in Italy?

Plan 7 to 10 days in Italy and stick to 3 bases: 3 days in Rome, 2 in Florence and Tuscany, and 2 in Venice, with a food stop in Bologna on the way back. Twelve to fourteen days lets you add Naples, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast.

What is the best month to visit Italy?

April, May, September and October are the months to visit Italy, for 18-25°C (64-77°F) days, walkable cities and rates between the peaks. Avoid July and August in Rome, Florence and the south unless you are heading for the Alps.

Is Italy expensive?

Italy costs less than Germany or Austria for food and transport and more for high-season rooms: a meal at an inexpensive restaurant averages €18 ($21, £15), a cappuccino €1.80 ($2.10, £1.55) and a single transport ticket €1.70 ($2, £1.45), with a coperto and a nightly tourist tax added on top.

Is Italy safe for tourists?

Yes, Italy is safe: it ranked 35th of 163 countries in the 2026 Global Peace Index, and the realistic risks are pickpockets on tourist bus and metro routes, scooter bag snatching and street scams rather than violent crime.

Do you need a car in Italy?

No, you do not need a car for a first trip to Italy, because high-speed trains link Rome, Florence, Venice, Bologna, Milan and Naples faster than driving. Rent one only for Tuscany, Umbria, Puglia, Sicily or the Dolomites, and never drive into a historic centre, where ZTL cameras fine you automatically.

Do you have to pay to enter Venice?

Day visitors pay Venice’s Contributo di Accesso on peak days only, which in 2026 covered 60 days between 3 April and 26 July from 08:30 to 16:00, at €5 ($6, £4) booked at least 4 days ahead and €10 ($12, £9) later. Overnight guests and under-14s are exempt, and the official portal is cda.ve.it.

WonderfulWanderings Pro Tips

The 4 tips below are the Italian rules that quietly cost visitors money, checked against the cities’ and operators’ own information in 2026.

1. Book the Venice access fee, or sleep in Venice and skip it. The Contributo di Accesso applies to day visitors on peak days only, 60 of them between 3 April and 26 July in 2026, from 08:30 to 16:00, at €5.00 booked at least 4 days ahead and €10.00 after that. Overnight guests and under-14s are exempt, and the dates change every year, so check cda.ve.it rather than a blog.
2. Never follow a satnav into an old town. Almost every Italian historic centre is a ZTL, watched by cameras that photograph the plate and post the fine months later, long after you have flown home. If you are staying inside one, give the hotel your registration and let them clear it.
3. Order your coffee standing at the bar. The seated price is often double the standing one and both are on the price list on the wall, which is the most common way visitors overpay in Italy without noticing.
4. Validate a paper regional ticket before you board. Regional trains are the only way to reach Cinque Terre, the Umbrian hill towns and most of the coast, and an unvalidated paper ticket counts as no ticket. Trenitalia’s e-tickets need no validation.

About the author. This guide is written and maintained by the Wonderful Wanderings editorial team. Wonderful Wanderings was founded in 2012 by Sofie Couwenbergh, and the first-hand notes in this post come from her trips to Rome, where she took a food tour through Testaccio, and to Emilia-Romagna, where she did a food tour in Bologna and visited the Ferrari and Lamborghini museums. The team covers Italy for independent travellers, including the food tours, hotels, city passes, car rental and travel insurance worth booking, and updates this page when prices, dates and rules change.