Cost of Vacation in Italy 2020 See Food, Language, Climate, Places
Cost of Vacation in Italy 2020 See Food, Language, Climate, Places.
Vacation in Italy – Romantic Italy is a destination that many people dream of visiting. It’s rich in culture and beauty, and it’s one of those places that truly lives up to the hype.
Vineyards cloak the rolling hills in Tuscany, and in the far north beautiful lakes are surrounded by the dramatic peaks of the Alps. You can wander through the ancient ruins in Rome or get lost in the canals of Venice.
Stunning coastal villages cling precariously to the rocky coastline. You can get lost in the towns around Cinque Terre or head further south to the Amalfi Coast.
This country can easily be explored as a highlights tour, but if time allows, get off the beaten path. Many people hit the major sights like Rome, Florence, and Venice, but to truly experience all that this area has to offer you must see the countryside, the coastline, and the small villages.
Spend some time leisurely lingering in Tuscany. See a whole different side of the country in Sicily. Chat with the locals, but most importantly dine leisurely on pasta and sip wine by the vineyards.
Italy really can surpass expectations, even though those expectations have often been set high.
Because of the area’s high popularity, travel costs can be high. It’s possible to find cheaper meal options and if you’re on a particularly tight budget, order your food to go.
Most restaurants charge a sitting fee if you dine inside. Hotels are usually of high quality but the rooms are smaller than you might expect if you’re used to traveling in the United States.
Choose a hotel based on location, not size, and you won’t be disappointed.
Traveling in the off-season or shoulder season can also save you lots of money. This will also help you avoid the crowds which can be overwhelming during the summer months.
If you can visit the area during the fall or spring, then this is ideal, as the weather is pleasant, the crowds are less, and prices remain low.
Winter can be cold but is also a fun time to visit. Traveling to Italy during the winter months helps you see a whole different side to this normally touristy country.
Language of Italy
The official language of Italy is Italian, spoken by about 59,000,000 people, but regional languages do coexist with the standard language.
Therefore, part of the population is native bilinguals of Italian and a regional language, and some of them may use Italian only as a second language.
Currency of Italy
The lira was the official unit of currency in Italy until 1 January 1999, when it was replaced by the euro(euro coins and notes were not introduced until 2002).
Old lira denominated currency ceased to be legal tender on 28 February 2002. The conversion rate is 1,936.27 lire to the euro.
Popular Foods in Italy
Fegato alla Veneziana: This is a traditional Venetian dish that is made from thinly sliced veal liver and onions, sauteed, and served together.
Gnocchi: Gnocchi is a dumpling dish that is made with wheat flour, potatoes, butter, and egg. It’s usually served with any number of sauces, anything from tomato to pesto to cheese-based.
It’s a filling dish that is often part of a first course, but people many choose to make it their entire meal.
Risotto: This Italian rice dish is made with Arborio rice which is usually cooked in a broth and served with cheese. It’s often topped with vegetables or mushrooms and has a very rich flavor.
It’s a nice alternative to pasta but still has a similar Italian flavor. Unlike most kinds of rice, Arborio rice is very creamy and brothy, giving it the texture of pasta.
Climate in Italy
With its hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters, Italy experiences a Mediterranean climate. Winters in Italy are cool and humid in the north and the mountainous zone.
The summer these Winds can bring very hot, unpleasant weather, sometimes even up to the northern districts of Italy.
Food and Drink Cost
Let’s be honest, you can’t come to Italy and not eat. Food and drink are one of the main highlights of a trip to Italy, so do yourself a favor and know in advance that your food and drink budget in Italy may be a bit higher than in other destinations.
That being said, it’s easy to keep it reasonable with a few tricks.
Almost all Italian hotels offer breakfast of some sort included in your stay which is a huge help. There are also plenty of vendors that will sell you delicious paninis or slices of pizza for only a few euros to take away.
Dinner is the best time to enjoy a big sit down meal but to get the best deals (and meals!) stay away from the main tourist attractions.
Ask your hotel for recommendations for somewhere smaller and local. You’ll be surprised as to how many places you can get a delicious meal with a glass of wine for 20 dollars.
With this type of arrangement in mind, your daily meal costs will look something like this:
- Breakfast: $5 (if not included in the hotel, for coffee + pastry)
- Lunch: $7
- Dinner: $20.00
Accommodation Cost
Accommodations really range in price in Italy depending on where you are located, type of accommodation, as well as the time of year that you visit.
That being said, there are a number of options available for all budgets. For the sake of an estimate for this article, I have chosen mid-range hotel pricing during the shoulder season (approximately $120/night).
To be honest, there are cheaper options when it comes to accommodations, but I wanted to give you an average price for budgeting purposes.
Personally, I recommend not getting too caught up on location in Rome, as long as you are near a metro station or bus stop, you will easily be able to get around.
Versus in Venice, it is absolutely worth paying a bit more to stay in Venice proper rather than on the outskirts.
Activity Cost
Attractions in Italy are one of those areas where it’s really easy to go over budget depending on what you are looking for. If you are a big museum and art enthusiast, then you will want to make sure you allocate extra for this part of your budget.
Italy has plenty of museums and galleries that can keep you busy for days if you like.
I think that most of Italy’s charm lies in exploring the cities on foot and seeing the architecture and the landscapes. If this is more of your type of travel, then you can count on having a smaller budget.
That being said, there are a few ‘musts’ including visiting Vatican City, the Colosseum, and the statue of David.
For the basic attractions, I’d say allocate $150.00. If you are keen on museums you will probably want to double that.
Airfare
Rome is a popular enough hub in Europe that, if you look early enough, you can probably find a decent deal. Your best bet is to find airfare deals is to avoid traveling during the high season (May-end of September).
Average fares during the shoulder season (April or October) are approximately $600 return.
Insider tip: If you have a couple of extra days to spare, you may also want to consider flying to one of the bigger airports in Europe such as Amsterdam, Paris, or London that often offer cheaper deals.
From there, you can then catch a smaller flight with Ryanair or Easy Jet. These small flights can usually be purchased for under $100 each way including paying for checked luggage if you book early enough in advance.
Top Places to Visit in Italy:
1. Pisa and Lucca
These two nearby towns are worth visiting while you’re in Tuscany, the first for the exceptional Campo dei Miracoli complex and the other for its endearing charms.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa, actually the campanile for the adjacent cathedral, is a well-known Italian icon and forms the centerpiece of a UNESCO World Heritage site that also includes the cathedral, baptistery, and Campo Santo.
The highlight of the impressive baptistery is Nicola Pisano’s intricately carved free-standing pulpit, a masterpiece of Romanesque sculpture.
Nearby, Lucca is one of Italy’s most charming towns to explore and enjoy, surrounded by wide walls whose top is a tree-lined park. Inside are beautiful Romanesque and Tuscan Gothic churches, tower houses (one of which you can climb to the top), and a Roman arena that has been “fossilized” into an oval piazza.
2. Cinque Terre
The five towns that cling to the steep, rocky Mediterranean coast north of La Spezia were almost impossible to reach by land until the railway connected them by tunneling through the headlands that separate them.
Today, the trail along the cliffs that locals once used to travel from town to town is one of Italy’s great hikes; the shortest and widest of its sections, between Manarola and Riomaggiore, is known as the Via dell’Amore.
Riomaggiore and Vernazza, with their narrow streets dropping down to tiny rock-bound harbors are the most filled with character, and despite its recent popularity with tourists, the Cinque Terre remains one of Italy’s most appealing attractions.
As the canals characterize Venice, and the Renaissance is the essence of Florence, in Naples, it’s the sheer exuberance that will hold you spellbound. It’s a boisterous place, its narrow streets filled with color, noise, and life.
You’ll find plenty to see and do and experience here, in its treasure-filled churches, its magnificent palaces lavished in the riches of European royalty, and its premier archaeological museum displaying the finds from nearby Pompeii.
Join locals and stroll by the waterfront to savor views of Mt. Vesuvius across the bay, hop a ferry to the island of Capri or magical Sorrento, shop in the glass-domed Galleria Umberto I, and by all means, sample the pizza—Neapolitans claim to have invented it.
4. Venice
Who could fail to love a city whose streets are made of water, whose buses are boats, and where the songs of gondoliers linger in the air? It is a magic city, and its major attraction to tourists is the city itself.
The hub of the city is the broad Piazza San Marco, St. Mark’s Square, surrounded by several of its top tourist attractions. The great Basilica of St. Mark stands beside the Doge’s Palace, and overlooking both is the tall Campanile.
Gondolas congregate at the end of the plaza in the Grand Canal, and in the other direction, a gate under the clock tower leads into a warren of narrow, winding passageways, where you’re sure to get lost on the way to Rialto Bridge.
But getting lost is one of the greatest pleasures of Venice, where a postcard scene awaits around each corner.
5. Siena
At its height in the 13th and 14th centuries, Siena rivaled Florence for its arts and culture, and it still has a wealth of art and architectural treasures.
The highlight is the magnificent Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, whose inlaid marble facade and striped bell tower stand dramatically among Siena’s mostly red brick buildings.
The cathedral interior is a museum of works by great artists and sculptors, including Donatello, Giovanni Pisano, Bernini, and Lorenzo Ghiberti.
But art treasures are not its only attractions. The winding medieval streets and broad plazas are inviting places to wander. Twice each summer, the gigantic, sloping main square is the scene of a chaotic horse race known as the Palio.
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CSN Team.
