Italy travel experts - 30 second survey?

Question

Going to Italy with my wife the first week in March. We're struggling with some planning issues, so please help with some of the following questions. FYI, we're going to Rome first, then traveling to Venice. Thanks a bunch!
1. What type of currency should we use (credit, euros, travelers checks??)
2. What 3 spots do we have to hit in Rome?
3. What 3 spots do we have to hit in Venice?
4. What foods are "gotta-haves?"
5. What should we wear during first week of March?

Answer 1

1. I recommend taking Euro and Credit Cards.

2. The top 3 things I would see in Rome are the Vatican / Sistine Chapel, the Coliseum and the Trevi Fountain.

Tour guides are available outside the Coliseum and well worth it.
Make sure the guide is official (wearing a special badge).

I suggest arriving early at the Vatican and Sistine Chapel as it is always packed.

Make sure you go away from the surround area to eat as the restaurants around are a tourist rip-off.

The Trevi Fountain is usually surrounded by tourists but still worth the visit.

The Pantheon, remains of Ancient Rome, Spanish Steps and the Piazza Navona are other things definately worth seeing in Rome if time permits.

3. In Venice, I recommend the Basillica di San Marco (Venice's magnificent basilica) and Piazza San Marco ( famous plaza in Europe, St. Mark's is in the heart of the city, surrounded by chic sidewalk cafes and boutiques), the Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale), impressive secular building in Venice, serving as the senate house, administrative center, hall of justice, public archive and prison up until the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797, as well as definately taking a gondola ride up and down the canals.

If you had time I recommend a trip to Murano to see the famous Venetian Glass.

4. The food in Italy is excellent. Some of my favorites are antipasti, lobster or Seafood Spaghetti is a must-have, any type of Risotto, stuffed vegetables, and of course, I can never go to Italy without eating a few pizzas ... and especially the desserts - tiramisu - yum. Check out http://www.stratsplace.com/rogov/restrnts_in_italy.html for great restaurants in Rome and Venice.
And don't forget to do a bit of wine-tasting with the meals...

5. Jackets in case it is cool, good walking shoes, perhaps a hat. Be sure to bring a rain coat or umbrella. Weather is a bit unpredictable at this time of year.

Answer 2

1. Euros, and bank cards / credit cards. Visa is taken everywhere. Travelers checks are to hard to cash. I suggest once you get off the plane just go to an ATM. It's way cheaper than money exchange. And ATM's are everywhere, even in small towns.

2. Coliseum, Vatican City, Roman Forum. The best way to see lot's of thing is to take a bus tour. There are like 10 companies that do this and they take you to all the popular sites, they just drop you off and they keep coming around every 30 minutes. This also helps because people are horrible drivers in Italy, (no lanes, hardly any stop lights)

3. Venice is not that great. The water smells and it's very trashy. I suggest going up the coast. There are lot's of great towns and the water is clean and beautiful. like Rapallo, Italy. It's only 3 hours on train from Rome.

4. Gelleto, Pizza, Lasagna

5. It's gonna be semi cold. And definitely cold at night.

Answer 3

Think jennstarr gave you an excellent answer with 2 exceptions:

1. Use an ATM card and credit cards. Suggest you pay for anything you can with your credit card to receive the best exchange rate. Use the ATM to get Euros as you need them. I personally don't think its ever a good idea to carry a lot of cash. ATMs are all over the place and allow you to select which language to use. The ATM will dispense Euros and will deduct the converted amount in US$. A lot of places will no longer accept traveler's checks - too much trouble and fees.

2. Visit the Vatican after lunch. All the tour buses arrive in the morning, stay for several hours, then leave. If you go there after noon, you'll miss the usual big crowds. Fantastic museum.

To maximize your time in Rome and allow you to see as much as possible I'd suggest a private car tour for at least a 1/2 day tour. Much better and more comprehensive than bus tour. Costs more, but tour guides are excellent and you don't waste your time waiting for 40 people to meet, get on and off the bus at each site. I've had th best luck with www.tourcrafters.com.

Answer 4

carry the minimal amount of currency on you (50 Euro/65 U.S). In the past, I've always gotten a better exchange rate at the ATM with a credit card. screw travelers checks.

In Rome hit the Vatican, the Trevi fountain and another place of your choosing.

In Venice (from train station) take the water ferry/taxi (a few Euro) to Piazza San Marco. in that area, take a ride in a Gondala. Go see the famous handcrafted glass in Murano which is like an island you reach by boat taxi/ferry. you can watch them make wonderful glass creations. plus you can buy the stuff there cheaper than the other souvenier shops around the city and they will even arrange insured shipping back to the U.S for the glass products they sell, so you don't have to carry/break it with you.

When dining in Italy, stay off the beaten path. tourist pizza is pretty bad. ask around, explore. Trattoria usually means a mom and pop type homemade cooking. Calamari Fritte (fried squid) is as common as french fries in the U.S. Pizza (Frutte di mare) fuit of the sea pizza if you like seafood. any ice cream parlor (gelateria) that the ice cream is displayed like a work of art.

first week of march..? kinda crazy. i've experienced both late winter storms and 90 degree weather while living here. Wear tshirt/polo with a hooded fleece pullover and a light/medium windbreaker. This applies mostly to Venice, where it will be cooler than Rome especially with the water.

Answer 5

Have fun in Italy! It's one of the most amazing countries to visit. I've never met anyone who didn't fall in love with it. A word of advice, Rome, when getting from the airport to your hotel can look a little dirty and scruffy. Give it a day or so of wandering around to get a feel for it. It took me a little while but it's one of my favourite cities in the whole world. In terms of currency, traveller's cheques aren't that great. You're best bet is credit cards, debit cards (to use in ATMs) and cash. Some American money (if you're american) is always handy as well. If you take any tours, they're happy to be tipped in US dollars. In Rome, my favourite spots were the trevi fountain, the colosseum (obviously) and the tomb of the unknown soldier. You must also see the Pantheon. A little outside the centre of Rome is Ostia Antica which is amazing as well! You can walk through ruins of Roman houses and shops. It's sensational.
In Vence, people have really covered the best hotspots- Doge's palace, St Mark's Square, obviously you should try and take a gondola ride. If you go out to Murano (the glass blowing island) don't buy anything- you can actually get certified murano glass in shops for a fraction of the price on the main island. I reckon the best food in all of Rome are the street pizzas. In shops off the main squares they sell pizza in squares- you'll see people eating them all the time. They're wonderful. I especially liked the mushroom pizzas (called funghi). In first wk of march it'll be pretty cool, so jackets are always great. When I was there I didn't find an abundance of clothing shops, so you're best not to count on buying things over there to keep you warm. A good warem jumper and a nice jacket are always good. But Romans are very stylish, so you might feel out of place wearing a Mickey Mouse sweatshirt you got at disneyland. Have an awesome time!

Answer 6

1. All of them.
2. The Gianicolo (for the views), Vatican city (skip the museums if the lines are too long; just do St. Peter's), and Trastevere to see a slice of Medieval Rome; do the archeological stuff if it really interests you.
3. La Fenice Theater, the island of Burano (skip Murano; it's a bore), and the area around the fish market.
4. In Rome, pizza (both the square by-the-slice takeaway type and the round pizzas in sit-down restaurants; very different, both sublime); in Venice, seafood, seafood, seafood (an d in Burano, "le moeche" -- soft-shelled crabs)
5. In general, a moderate-weight jacket should be plenty.

Answer 7

1. i would use a bit of everything. i would have minimal travelers checks, they were a bit of a hassle for us. using credit and having euros on hand were the best combination.

2. st peters/vatican, colosseum, and just touring the city in general

3. havent been to venice, but if you get to see florence check out the duomo, boboli gardens and the open air markets.

4. eat lots of pizza and gelato while you are walking around. its different every place you go. and be adventurous in what you eat!

5. we went the first part of march and took a combination of clothing. pants, short sleeves, long sleeves, medium weight jackets, hats, scarves, gloves, rain jackets, good walking shoes, and walking socks (the best investment by far). we dressed in layers each day and it was best. one day in rome was a cool, overcast day and the next was rainy, windy, and cold. the weather in general was either cold in the morning/evening and warmer during the day, or rainy and cold all day.

have a great trip!

Answer 8

1. euros and credit

2. Vatican, the Coliseum and the Trevi Fountain. You should visit these at night too; it's absolutely beautiful.

3. Venice.....I just wandered around. You should take a gondola ride. (very romantic).

4. Gelato, pasta, and pizza......you'll be in Italy, what else would you expect?

5. Not too sure. But have a great time!

Answer 9

You are hitting pollen season. If you have allergies look out. Watch out for the Gypsies in the airports and train stations. They are supreme pick pockets. Secure valuables in a fanny pack UNDER your clothing. The most beautiful city in Italy is Frienza (Florence). You can catch a train from Roma to Frienza for a bonus. Frienza to Venezia is a short trip. You can get some great deals on leather good there if you are willing to haggle. The canals of Venezia double as sewage system in the Winter and you may have a fragrant visit to Venizia. Romance is for the high season June-September in Venezia. All the food and wines are great. Get a guided cab tour of Rome and pick out the places you want to see ahead of time to avoid getting a run around.

Answer 10

ive been living in florence for the last 4 1/2 years, heres my advice in your future traveling:

1. if i were you, id simply bring little cash in euros and basically 2 credit cards, and 1 atm card. i highly recommend you to not do the exchange rate here in italy since you loose too much. what i do is simply use my Atm card and cash out, usually the most you can get out per one day is 300 euros, but thats good enough. however you have to check first how much your bank charges you, for me, my account in Washington Mutual only charges me $5 per cashing out. and you loose a lot less than do the doing the exchange here in italy. traveler's checks, never used them, i dont even know how they work.

credit cards are fine, however they usually use mostly master card and visa, than american express. BE CAREFUL!!..here in italy they find many many ways to steel your ATM card as well as take advantage of your credit card. if you cash out in the very center of touristy area, they tend to put a device that eats up the ATM card, you have no otehr choice but to leave the atm and get help and while your gone, they run back and take out the device along with your card. and ive seen it happen already in public. Another trick is, when paying at a restaurant, you hand them the credit card right? they leave and come back with the reciept for you to sign. you dont realize until 2 months later when you are back in the states that they have passed your credit card 5 to 6 times in the machine and you would have never guessed. it happened to my friend in venice, not kidding. At restaurants, its very common for a person to say, 'No, ill pay at the register, thank you' and when you get to the door you pay at the register. so keep your eyes open even in stores, anywhere you hand your credit card.

2. Spots to see in rome, i mean, there are tons and you cant jsut see 3 and leave, you have to see it all. and rome is large, so its not like florence where you can see it all by foot. rome is huge and with subway or bus, your doomed. in fact thats the reason why i dont really like rome, florence is 10 x more beautiful and compact.

In fact, i wanted to ask you, your not planning on stopping by florence once you are on your way to venice??? florence is right on the route to venice. from rome to florence its about 3 hours and from florence to venice, its another 2 1/2-3 hours. i mean id be surprised to hear one say they went from rome to venice without stopping in florence, not even for a one day visit. florence is small, you can see all of it in one day, i mean without counting the museums.

3. big spots in venice, all of it! i cant choose a specific spot, its all beautiful and the same. however after a certain hour everything closes, its not that lively like florence or rome at night.

4. foods, each region has its own type. im only familiar with the florentine type, like the "pannino di lampredotto" (dont really now what part of the animal that is, but tastes good) or the "bistecca" (the steak practically, its a big thing here), 'la schiacciata' (i dont like it, too salty, but everyone here eats it), "chianti wine" (its the hometown of the big Chianti), any pizza typical here, and the icecream ofcourse, ecc.

5. the weather here in itlay this year has been really odd. it usually snows this time of the year or even a little earlier, but this entire so-called winter was the warmest ever. its still kinda chilly but not enough to make it snow. some days here its raining hard, others its a sunny day. for the first week of march, bring some warm clothes and raincoats incase and also some nice sunny day outfits because we are the crack of spring with this nice winter weather.

if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.