I visited Italy before with my parents back in the early 2000’s for a few days and it was a lovely city break trip to Venice. I didn’t really know what to expect from Venice, but I really enjoyed it. I then didn’t visit Italy again until September 2025.
My god brother was getting married in Bergamo and it was also my mums 60th birthday, so we decided to tie in a trip to visit the big cities by train at the same time.
The weather was amazing for us. We had one day of rain in Florence, other than that it was 29’C and so humid. You literally couldn’t walk far without getting hot and sweaty. It was so easy to walk around the cities to get to places and using the public transport was really easy and cheap too!
INTRO & CULTURE
Italy is a major country in Central Europe with a long Mediterranean coastline. It is also the 10th largest country in Europe by area and includes 800 islands. It has left a powerful mark on Western culture and cuisine. Its capital, Rome, is home to the Vatican as well as landmark art and ancient ruins. Other major cities include Florence, with Renaissance masterpieces such as Michelangelo’s “David” and Brunelleschi’s Duomo; Venice, the city of canals; and Milan, Italy’s fashion capital.
CURRENCY
Their currency is the Euro.
Before the Euro, the currency in Italy was the Lira and was around from 1861 until 2002 before making the switch. The Euro was introduced as Italy began it’s integration into the European Union’s common currency system.
Their currency roughly works out as follows from EUR to GBP:
1 EUR = 0.87P
10 EUR = £8.72
100 EUR = £87.16
1,000 EUR = £871.58
10,000 EUR = £8,715.78
This is just a rough working out of how much things cost. By downloading the Currency Plus app below, it will really help give you an accurate daily update on the currency and its value. This currency conversion is accurate as at 19/09/2025.
Download the app “Currency Plus” to get currency conversions on the go. It updates daily and when connected to Wi-Fi or Network to give you the latest conversion and you can have multiple currencies shown in one go.
Download here: Apple App Store // Google Play Store
LANGUAGE
Italian is the official language of Italy, but they know some good English. It really does help if you know a little Italian as it really does go a long way, even knowing Hello, Thank you and Please – it really helps and is appreciated by the locals. Below are some phrases to remember and help you get by. Italian locals do speak very good English and most of them have English lessons at school and to help them in the tourism trade.
Some words in Italian are very similar to Spanish, it can help you remember some of the words if you are better at Spanish but also be careful not to drift into the Spanish language.
Greetings
Basic Phrases
1 – 10
11 – 19
20 – 100
Here you will add numbers 1 – 9 after the words below.
Restaurant Phrases
Travel and Transport
RELIGION
The main religion is Catholicism and makes up approximately 85% of Italy’s religion. It is central to aspects of Italian life, from national holidays to shop opening times and social structures to laws. There are plenty of places of worship around Poland to visit, including lots of gorgeous Duomo’s such as the ones in Milan, Florence and Rome.
This is in part due to the importance of Rome in the history of the Church, including its historical status as a leading patriarchate and the presence of the Vatican, the Catholic Church’s headquarters and the residence of the Pope.
TIME ZONE
The time zone is Central European Time (CET). From early autumn to late winter, standard time applies, corresponding to the time zone UTC+1, one hour ahead of the UK which uses Greenwich Mean Time.
At the beginning of spring, Italy enters daylight saving time: the clocks move forward by one hour (UTC+2 time zone), to enjoy more sunlight in the late afternoon-evening.
CUISINE
The cuisine in Italy is varied from around the world but you also need to try some Italian traditional dishes which include Pizza, Pasta, Gelato, Bruschetta, Tiramisu, Focaccia and Calzones. The food in Italy is insane and there are so many variations to try. They do these amazing stuffed focaccia sandwiches that you can find in a Paninoteca (Italian sandwich shops) dotted around Italy and if they are very good – there is usually a queue outside the door! They are famous for their cured meats and cheeses and make the most amazing sandwiches.
My recommended places to eat in Italy include:
• RivaReno Gelato, Florence
• Osteria Cancello Dei Macci, Florence
• Trattoria I Fratellini, Florence
• Panigacci, Milan
• Da Mimmo, Bergamo
BUDGET TIPS
Suggested Daily Budget: 108-120 EUR / 90-100 GBP – (Note: this is a rough daily budget based on what I spent on average each day.)
01. Order food that is at a reduced price – Use apps like Too Good To Go, where you can order food that is going out of date for a reduced price. This really helps reduce waste but you also get food a lot cheaper than going to a cafe or restaurant which is great if you want to save money.
02. Use the trams and trains instead of taxis – We found that using the trains and trams around the cities was a lot cheaper than booking a taxi. We travelled to the cities by train and booked Business Class seats which gave us more space for storing our luggage, this cost us £30 and also came with a snack and a drink.
03. Save money on transport by walking or renting a bike – Walking is free and a lot better for you than being driven around. You can also see a lot more walking around that you wouldn’t normally see in a car. You can also hire a bicycle or a scooter for a really affordable price that is good fun to get around on.
04. Travel during the low season – If you don’t mind the weather being wetter, you can save a lot more money when travelling during the low season, from months July to October. November to February is typically their high season, it’s more busier and the weather is a lot warmer and drier.
TRAVEL TIPS
VISAS
You do not need a visa to visit Italy, but please check with your government website or check with iVisa to make sure.
Check if you need a Visa or other travel documentation here…
With iVisa, all of your travel document requirements are all in one place. They help give you that piece of mind when checking you have everything you need to enter a country without any hassle.
You can apply for everything from visas, tourist cards, invitation letters and health declaration forms for COVID-19 differently from their website. It’s very quick and easy to use and they are very fast at processing your applications, some things can even be FREE for whichever travel document you need. You can even pay for speedy processing and delivery if you are in a rush.
INJECTIONS
You do not need any injections in order to visit Italy.
READ MORE: A Guide to Vaccinations And Visas Around The World
CAPITAL/CITY
The capital city of Italy is Rome.
The main cities that people tend to visit include Milan, Florence, Venice and Naples.
ACCOMMODATION
There are plenty of lovely accommodations to stay at around Italy, depending on your budget. You can either stay in a big hotel, a small apart-hotel or AirBnB style accommodation.
We stayed in several apartments throughout our time in Italy and they were all central to the main parts of the cities and were so easy to get to from public transport.
ACCOMMODATION I’VE STAYED IN:
EXPLORE ITALY
Bergamo | Florence | Milan | Pisa | Siena | Venice
CRIME
Italy is a relatively safe country for tourists with an exception of a few select areas or cities. Petty crimes like pick pocketing and snatching are common amongst tourists. It is always best to stay vigilant just in case and have money, valuable jewellery and phones out of sight or in a safe place. There is a heavy police presence that we saw throughout our time in the cities in Italy which made us feel safer, which is always good to see. I recommend using a phone harness and using a Foldie crossbodybag which comes with lots of safety features including RFID protection, hidden pockets and anti-slash and cut material.
DRIVING
It is pretty safe to drive in Italy, make sure you have everything you need including insurance and your driving licence. There are plenty of hire car companies to use, so be sure to research for the best one. We didn’t drive in Italy as it was so manic to drive in the big cities especially in Rome, we just used public transport to get around which was really affordable and easy to use.
FLIGHTS
To get to Italy, we had a flights to and from London Heathrow to Milan Linate and then flew out from Rome Leonardo Da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport back to London Heathrow.
There are plenty of flights in and out of the city with various budget airlines. Be sure to search through Skyscanner to find your best time to fly and the best route for you to get there.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Public transport in Italy is the best way to get around. Their public transport in Italy seriously puts ours to shame. It’s so cheap, easy to navigate and quick to get around. We booked Business Class seats on the trains as we were travelling with luggage from each city which gives you storage, a comfy seat, a hot drink or water and a snack (which you will never get in the UK) all for £30. For the shorter train journeys to Pisa and Siena, it was probably less than £10, a bus from Siena to Florence cost us £8 and was quicker than the train journey, using the funicular cost us £1.49 and using the trams cost us £1.91.
PACKING TIPS
WHAT TO WEAR
You can wear pretty much anything in Italy depending on the weather. If you are visiting any churches or places to worship, please wear appropriate clothing so you don’t offend anyone. To enter the Duomo’s you will need to cover your knees and shoulders. Research the weather before you go as well so you can pack accordingly, there could be changes in the weather at times. Luckily we packed rain coats and umbrellas, as we had one day of rain whilst in Florence.
WHAT TO PACK
You can pack pretty much anything you’ll need for how long you are going for and the weather. You can find out what I packed in my packing guide. Also be sure to download my ultimate packing list below so you don’t miss anything.
Things to pack to Italy:
WEATHER
The weather in Italy varies but it is said the best time to visit is between April to October. You can see the 7 day forecast below.
The weather was pretty good when we went in September, we had one day with a downpour and then it was sunny and bright for the rest of the two weeks, with temperatures reaching 29’C. It was very hot and sweaty walking around the cities.
ACTIVITIES
THINGS TO SEE & DO
There is so much to see and do throughout Italy especially if you love learning about a countries history and the architecture. Italy is filled with so much history.
HIGHLIGHTS OF ITALY:
• Milano Duomo, Milan
• Navigli, Milan
• Arch of Peace, Milan
• Sforzesco Castle, Milan
• Uffizi Gallery, Florence
• Ponte Vecchio Bridge, Florence
• Piazzale Michaelangelo, Florence
• Tower of Pisa, Pisa
• Colosseum, Rome
• Vatican City, Rome
• Trevi Fountain, Rome
• Spanish Steps, Rome
• Lake Iseo, Bergamo
• Citta Alta, Bergamo
