Food in Italy can be affordable and you can eat exceptionally well on only a small budget, but like elsewhere, prices can vary by region. For instance, it's much cheaper to eat out in Sicily than it is dine at an equivalent restaurant in Venice.
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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!
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.
You don't need to bring any cash. You might want to get 100 Euro from an ATM at the airport when you arrive in Italy and hit ATMs as needed throughout you trip. Consider getting larger sums to avoid the (roughly) $2 ATM fee everytime you use an ATM.
It's always wise to carry a small amount of cash for smaller cafes and restaurants, some public transport options, and taxis who may not accept credit card payments. We once visited the same restaurant 5 years in a row, only to discover each time that their card machine was out of order!
Definitely use credit cards as much as possible. You don't need to bring any cash. You might want to get 100 Euro from an ATM at the airport when you arrive in Italy and hit ATMs as needed throughout you trip. Consider getting larger sums to avoid the (roughly) $2 ATM fee everytime you use an ATM.
Resist the urge to buy foreign currency before your trip.Some tourists feel like they just have to have euros or British pounds in their pockets when they step off the airplane, but they pay the price in bad stateside exchange rates. Wait until you arrive to withdraw money.
Most Italians eat dinner around 8pm or 9pm. They may eat later in the summer, especially in the south of the country when dinner could be at 10pm or even later. Visitors should be aware that opening hours at Italian restaurants are limited. They open for lunch between 12pm and 1pm and close between 2pm and 3pm.
Italy's best travel months are May, June, September, and October. They're also the busiest and most expensive time to visit (with the north remaining just as busy throughout midsummer). Crowds aside, these months combine the convenience of peak season with pleasant weather.
For the majority of places, such as museums, beaches, and stores, there are no restrictions on what you can wear. Many tourists and locals will wear shorts to these places when the weather is hot. At churches and the Vatican, you can only enter if your knees and shoulders are covered and you aren't wearing a hat.
Depends on the restaurant. But in a casual restaurant 3 to 4 euros for a glass of wine is about right, 6 euros for a beer. We went to a few osterias and trattorias in Rome where the price of a liter of the house wine (vino casa) was under 10 euro.