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Do you bag your own groceries in Italy?

It will print a sticker with the barcode and price of the produce on it. Bring your own bags. Grocery bags in Italian shops usually cost 5-10 cents apiece. Pack your groceries yourself.



In Italy, the "bagging" culture at supermarkets is quite different from the full-service experience often found in the United States. At almost all Italian grocery stores, such as Conad, Coop, or Esselunga, you are expected to bag your own groceries. The checkout process is very fast; the cashier scans items rapidly and slides them into a small holding area at the end of the counter. You must be prepared to bag them just as quickly to avoid holding up the line. Most importantly, plastic bags are not free and are not automatically provided; you must ask for them ("una busta, per favore") or pick them up from under the counter, and you will be charged a few cents for each. These bags are almost always biodegradable and can be somewhat fragile, so most Italians bring their own sturdy, reusable "eco-bags." Another important cultural quirk: if you are buying fruits or vegetables, you must weigh them and print a price sticker in the produce aisle before you get to the checkout; Italian cashiers generally cannot weigh produce at the register, and arriving with un-labeled fruit is considered a major faux pas that will result in you being sent back to the aisle while the line waits.

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Italian Grocery Stores Do Have Bathrooms Most larger supermarkets will have a restroom you can use. In my personal experience, they are generally on the cleaner side than in places like bars so be sure to use them before you leave! You may or may not have to ask for the key at the service desk.

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A few pieces of tissue… that can double as toilet paper You don't really need to bring this from home, of course — Italy does have toilet paper! — but it's a smart thing for ladies, particularly, to throw in their purses before leaving the hotel in the morning.

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Cheapest Grocery Stores in Italy Some of the cheaper supermarkets in Italy to look for are Lidl, Aldi, and Eurospin, Lidl being more frequently scattered throughout the country. Coop supermarkets in Italy are also fairly frequently placed, and the Coop will offer more variety of items than both Lidl and Aldi.

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If you ask locals “Do you tip in Italy?”, they'll explain that while they sometimes leave a small tip, it's generally not necessary. In Italy, gratuity (or una mancia, pronounced oo-nah MAN-chah) is considered a bonus for exceptional service. And it's not often that you'll find a tip jar at a register.

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Yes, you do also have to pay for bread. This is the “pane e coperto” charge — more on what that is in a moment. Yes, you do have to pay for that antipasto or foccacia, even if the waiter offered it rather than you ordering it outright. And yes, you have to pay for that digestivo of limoncello or amaro or grappa.

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As we said above, eating out in Italy is actually extremely cheap. At a restaurant in Italy, you can eat out for only 2.5 Euros (roughly 3 USD) per person for most meals. Grabbing a coffee and pastry for breakfast, and having all the pizza and house wine you can manage is surprisingly cheap!

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The short answer is yes. Drinking water from the tap in Italy is considered safe. Tap water in the major cities and towns around Italy is safe for consumption, and there are thousands of old-style water fountains dotted around cities, like Rome, where you can fill up water bottles.

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6 Things Not To Bring To Italy
  • A new haircut. Rushing around before your trip shouldn't include a haircut. ...
  • Running shoes/ sneakers. Really my friend, unless your actually using them to exercise: leave them at home. ...
  • More baggage than you can carry. ...
  • Too many gadgets. ...
  • Travellers cheques. ...
  • Dirty Bra Straps.


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