🇮🇹Italy

Decision flow

Three questions decide a short tourist stay of up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

1. Are you an EU or Schengen citizen? Then you have freedom of movement: enter on a national identity card or a passport valid for the stay, with no entry visa and no biometric tracking databases.
2. Is your country visa-exempt? Third-country nationals from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan and others need no physical visa in advance for short stays. Entry is logged by biometric kiosks at the border under the EES, and once ETIAS launches you must obtain that authorization online before departure - as of August 2026 no launch date has been announced.
3. Otherwise, a Schengen Visa (Type C). Start at least 15 days and up to six months before departure, through the Italian consular representation or an authorized visa application centre in your country of residence. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs portal (https://vistoperitalia.esteri.it/home/en) is the only primary tool for generating your personalized application checklist.

Entry formalities applicable to everyone

• No passenger locator form. Italy requires no nationwide digital arrival form.
• The EES takes your biometrics. On first entry to the Schengen Area the system records your facial image, fingerprints and digital passport details, and stores them for three years to automate later crossings. You may pre-register some data voluntarily in the official Travel to Europe app within 72 hours of arrival, but it does not let you skip the kiosk.

Customs allowances, enforced by the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli and valid as of July 17, 2026. Non-EU air arrivals may import personal effects up to €430, checked as of March 10, 2026. Tobacco and alcohol limits are strictly individual and cannot be pooled across a group.

• Tobacco - 200 cigarettes, OR 100 cigarillos, OR 50 cigars, OR 250 grams of tobacco.
• Alcohol - 1 liter of spirits over 22% ABV, OR 2 liters of sparkling or fortified wine under 22% ABV, plus a flat allowance of 4 liters of still wine and 16 liters of beer.
• Banned outright - meat, meat-derived products and dairy of non-EU origin. Counterfeit luxury goods are a criminal offence, with immediate confiscation and substantial fines.
• Cash - €10,000 or more, checked as of March 10, 2026, in cash, currency or negotiable instruments must be declared on entry or exit. Splitting it among companions to avoid declaring violates Italian Supreme Court ruling no. 1939/2024 and brings administrative penalties and partial confiscation.

Police registration is strictly enforced.

• In commercial accommodation, B&Bs or short-term rentals, the host registers your data on the Alloggiati Web state police portal within 24 hours of arrival.
• Arriving from outside Schengen, the uniform border stamp in your passport is your official declaration of presence.
• Arriving from another Schengen state and not staying in registered commercial lodging, you must file a Dichiarazione di Presenza in person at the local Questura within 8 days of entry, or be classified as irregular.

What matters in practice

• Add an hour to your arrival transit window. Under the EES protocols fully active from April 10, 2026, travelers on r/ItalyTravel report that the automated biometric kiosks at Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa are prone to systemic errors - terminal lanes rebooting mid-queue and rejecting passport scans, which forces manual clearance. Industry guides recommend at least one extra hour for a first biometric enrollment.

• Between EU countries there is no duty-free limit. Goods bought tax-paid in another member state travel with you; customs may only ask what a very large quantity is for, against indicative figures of 800 cigarettes and 10 litres of spirits.
• Arriving from outside the EU the allowance is one set of numbers: 200 cigarettes, 1 litre of spirits over 22 % (or 2 litres of fortified or sparkling wine), 4 litres of still wine and 16 litres of beer.
• Other goods are capped by value - EUR 430 arriving by air or sea, EUR 300 by land - and the allowance cannot be pooled between travellers for a single item.
• Cash of EUR 10,000 or more must be declared, counting notes, coins, cheques and prepaid cards together. The money is seized for not declaring it, not for carrying it.
• The Swiss border is a customs border. Coming back from Lugano or the Valais, Swiss limits applied on the way out and Italian ones apply on the way in - a detail that catches shoppers on both sides.

Health, insurance and where to be treated

No malaria, no preventive antimalarials, and drinkable tap water - Italy's health risks are seasonal and insect-borne rather than endemic.

• Routine immunizations - have MMR and Tdap up to date before arrival. Hepatitis A and B are recommended for select travelers.
• Dengue, West Nile virus and chikungunya transmit locally in summer, carried by daytime-biting mosquitoes in urban and rural areas. Use repellents containing DEET, Icaridin or PMD.
• Tick-borne Encephalitis (TBE) is present in forested alpine areas of northeastern Italy - take tick precautions if you plan outdoor activities.

Tap water is safe and strictly monitored under EU public health standards.

• Rome has over 2,500 nasoni, the curved iron fountains running free spring water constantly; Milan has its traditional vedovelle.
• Watch for "Non Potabile" signs, common on old trains and in some rural agricultural zones.

For minor problems, go to a pharmacy - look for the glowing green cross. Pharmacists give over-the-counter clinical advice and dispense selected medications.

For an English-speaking consultation:

• Rome - Aventino Medical Group (Via Sant'Alberto Magno 5, +39 06 5780738), FirstMed Rome (Via Giovanni Battista Morgagni 30/H, +39 06 40 06 14 02), Salvator Mundi International Hospital (Viale delle Mura Gianicolensi 67, +39 06 588961).
• Milan - FirstMed Milan (Via Laghetto 3, +39 02 8112 7935), Milan Medical Center (Via Angelo Mauri 3, +39 02 4399 0401).

Carry comprehensive travel medical insurance covering local clinical fees, hospitalization and emergency medical evacuation.

Accommodation

For the first nights, pick a well-connected, secure district. (Neighbourhood price ranges below are indicative and change with season and booking lead time - check current listings rather than treating these as fixed.)

• Rome
• Prati - structured, residential, north of the Vatican, on Metro Line A.
• Monti - historic and walkable from Roma Termini, next to the Colosseum.
• Centro Storico - around the Pantheon and Piazza Navona, no direct metro access.
• Milan
• Brera - upscale, near the Duomo, pedestrian streets.
• Porta Romana - residential, south of the centre, on Metro Line M3.
• Stazione Centrale - convenient for airport rail transfers; stay alert in the plaza and side streets late at night.

What check-in requires, and what the law requires of your host:

• Bring a physical passport or valid national identity card. Under Article 109 of the TULPS, the accommodation manager must identify guests de visu (in person, or via a live video link that genuinely verifies the guest against the document) and upload their details to the State Police Alloggiati Web database within 24 hours of arrival - confirmed directly by the Polizia di Stato's own Alloggiati Web guidance.
• Look for the CIN plaque. Short-term rental law requires a National Identification Code (CIN) on a physical plaque at the entrance and on every online listing. Under EU Regulation (EU) 2024/1028, platforms across the EU must verify and display a valid registration number for listings in jurisdictions - including Italy - that require one; industry compliance trackers report a 20 May 2026 enforcement deadline for delisting unverified properties, though the regulation's own text does not fix that exact date for every member state, so treat it as the widely-reported target rather than a guaranteed one.
• Expect to be met in person, or genuinely seen on video. A Council of State ruling published 21 November 2025 (case 9101/2025) overturned an earlier TAR Lazio decision and confirmed that handing guests a key-box code with no visual identity check at all does not satisfy Article 109 TULPS. The court left open whether a live video-link check could count as "de visu" if it genuinely confirms the guest matches their ID in real time - an unattended key box with no check of any kind does not.

The tourist tax is separate from your room price. Imposta di Soggiorno is collected by the accommodation provider at check-in or check-out, per person, per night, for a maximum of 10 consecutive nights in Rome (confirmed by Roma Capitale's own FAQ).

• Rome - short-term rentals and B&Bs are charged a flat €6.00 per person per night. Hotel rates are tiered by star rating; check the current annex table on comune.roma.it, since third-party sites disagree on the exact figures.
• Milan - from 1 April 2026, short-term rentals, B&Bs and guesthouses pay a flat €9.50; hotels pay €3.00 (1-star), €4.00 (2-star), €7.00 (3-star), €10.00 (4-star) and €12.00 (5-star), confirmed on the comune.milano.it tourist-tax page, capped at 14 consecutive nights.

SIM and eSIM: what to buy immediately after arrival

Under Italy's Pisanu Law (Anti-Terrorism Decree of 2005), buying and activating any local mobile connection requires identity verification against a physical, valid passport - a digital scan or photocopy is not sufficient. A pre-activated international eSIM bypasses this check and works the moment you land, but it is data-only, has no local number, and usually costs more per gigabyte than a local SIM.

What the operators actually sell (checked directly on their own sites)

• Vodafone - the "Dolce Vita" tourist range on Vodafone's own site lists tiers starting at €14.95/month, rising to €19.95 and €24.95 for larger allowances; confirm the current GB figure for each tier when you buy, since Vodafone revises the range periodically.
• TIM - "TIM Tourist" is €14.99 for 200 GB in 5G, valid 30 days, plus a €10.00 SIM card fee, per TIM's own tourist-offer page.
• WindTre - WindTre's own tourist-offer page currently advertises a base tourist SIM at a low monthly access fee with pay-per-GB top-ups, alongside higher fixed-data bundles; the exact current tier and price change often enough that it is worth checking windtre.it directly rather than trusting a fixed figure here.
• Iliad - sold via automated in-store "Simboxes" that scan a passport and dispense a SIM in minutes; Iliad does not run a separate "tourist" product, so you buy whatever its standard plan lineup currently offers - check iliad.it for the live price and data allowance.
• International eSIM (e.g. Saily, Holafly) - data-only, no passport check, works on landing; useful for short trips or as a backup, generally worse value per GB than a local SIM for anything beyond about a week.

Where exactly to buy

At Rome Fiumicino, official TIM and Vodafone retail outlets sit in the Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 arrivals halls. At Milan Malpensa, official operator kiosks are in the Terminal 1 arrivals hall. Buy from these corporate-branded stores or from Iliad's automated Simboxes rather than third-party multi-brand stalls, which resell the same packages with an activation markup.

Brief verdict

Under a week and don't need a local number: an eSIM bought before departure avoids any queue. Longer stays or heavy data use: a local SIM from an official Vodafone, TIM or WindTre store, or an Iliad Simbox, is better value - compare the operators' own current tourist pages before buying, since prices and data allowances change over the year.

Sockets in Italy are Type L, C and F at 230 V, 50 Hz - the distinctive Italian outlet has three round holes in a straight line with the earth in the middle.

• Type L comes in two gauges and they are not interchangeable. The 10 A version has thin pins 19 mm apart, the 16 A version thicker pins 26 mm apart. A 16 A plug will not enter a 10 A socket.
• The common bipasso socket solves this. Its figure-of-eight holes take both Italian gauges and a Europlug, which is why most modern Italian outlets look like a face with two odd eyes.
• A Schuko plug needs the larger P40 outlet or an adapter. Plenty of hotels have them; plenty of older apartments do not, and a EUR 2 adapter from any tabaccheria solves it.
• 230 V, so European and British appliances only need the right shape. American 120 V-only equipment needs a converter.
• Chile and Uruguay use the same Type L, which is the only place outside Italy you will meet it.

Local rules and cultural differences

Italy enforces strict administrative regulations to protect its historical and environmental heritage: It is illegal to sit, lie, or consume food and drink on historical monuments, steps, and fountains (including the Spanish Steps, the Colosseum, and the Trevi Fountain). Violations are monitored by local municipal police and are subject to immediate fines ranging from €100.00 to €450.00, along with a potential urban banishment order (DASPO). Drone operations are regulated under European EASA and national ENAC frameworks. Any drone weighing over 250 grams or equipped with a camera must be registered on the D-Flight platform, and the Operator ID must be physically displayed on the aircraft. Drones are prohibited within 5 kilometers of any airport, over urban residential areas, and within severe no-fly zones covering the Vatican, the Colosseum, Venice, the Amalfi Coast, Cinque Terre, and Lake Como. Unauthorized flights are subject to immediate equipment confiscation, police detention, and criminal fines of several thousand Euros. When visiting churches, basilicas, and cathedrals, travelers must adhere to a strict modesty dress code. Shoulders and knees must be fully covered; entry will be denied to individuals wearing tank tops, sleeveless shirts, or short skirts. Under Italian privacy laws, travelers must not record or publish photographs, videos, or audio of individuals without their explicit permission. Many municipal jurisdictions enforce local public order ordinances. In central tourist districts, consuming alcohol from glass bottles on public streets is typically prohibited late at night, with bans starting between 22:00 and 23:00.

Everyday practical information

• Electrical Standards: Italy utilizes Type C (Europlug, two round pins), Type F (Schuko), and Type L (three round pins in a row) sockets. The grid operates on a standard supply of 230V at 50Hz. Travelers must check the input label of their appliances; if it reads "INPUT: 100-240V", the device is dual-voltage and requires a simple plug adapter. Single-voltage appliances (such as standard US hair straighteners rated at 110V) require a heavy-duty voltage transformer to prevent shorting.
• Drinking Water: High-quality drinking water is widely available and free from public fountains (nasoni and vedovelle) throughout major city centers.
• Time Zone: Central European Time (CET, UTC+1). Daylight Saving Time is observed from the last Sunday of March to the last Sunday of October, switching to Central European Summer Time (CEST, UTC+2).
• Standard Business Hours: Traditional retail stores operate from 09:00 to 13:00 and from 15:30 to 19:30, closing on Sundays. Central department stores remain open continuously. Restaurants typically serve lunch from 12:30 to 14:30 and dinner from 19:30 to 22:30.
• Public Toilets: Public facilities are limited and usually cost €1.00. Travelers can access a clean restroom in any local café or bar by purchasing a small item, such as a €1.20 espresso.
• Wi-Fi Access: Open public Wi-Fi is rarely secure or reliable. Most cafés, restaurants, and hotels provide password-protected Wi-Fi networks for patrons.

Money and payments

Italy utilizes the Euro (€) currency. Use the converter above the prices on this guide rather than a rate written into a sentence - the euro was worth about 1.08 dollars when this page was drafted in March 2026 and about 1.17 in August, which is the kind of drift that makes a written-down rate worse than no rate at all. To withdraw cash, travelers should exclusively use official, bank-owned ATMs (Bancomat) operated by established domestic financial institutions (such as UniCredit, Intesa Sanpaolo, Banco BPM, or Poste Italiane). Independent, non-bank ATMs (such as Euronet) located in tourist zones charge high transaction fees and enforce unfavorable exchange rates. Most bank Bancomats enforce a single transaction withdrawal limit of €250.00 to €300.00. When using a foreign card at an ATM or payment terminal, travelers must reject Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC). If the terminal asks whether to bill the transaction in the card's home currency (e.g., USD) or the local currency (EUR), the traveler must select EUR. Selecting the home currency allows the merchant's bank to apply an unfavorable exchange rate, adding a hidden margin of 5% to 15% to the transaction. Travelers must avoid exchanging physical currency at airport kiosks or tourist exchange booths (such as Forexchange) due to high transaction margins. Cash exchange should be conducted at major bank branches in city centers. Cashless payments are highly integrated across Italy. By national law, all merchants must accept credit or debit cards for any transaction value, meaning card payments are standard for restaurants, transport, and retail. However, travelers should maintain a small cash reserve (e.g., €10.00 to €20.00 in small bills and coins) for coin-operated public restrooms, minor purchases at traditional bakeries, or a quick coffee at a local stand. Tipping is not customary or expected in Italian dining culture. Sit-down restaurants apply a standard coperto (table cover charge) ranging from €1.50 to €3.00 per person, which is clearly disclosed on the menu to cover bread and service.

• Solo Traveler: The dedicated airport rail services - the Leonardo Express in Rome (€14.00) or the Malpensa Express in Milan (€15.00) - are the most reliable options. They bypass road congestion and drop passengers directly at central urban transit hubs.
• Family: For families traveling with up to four members in Rome, the Leonardo Express "Mini-groups" tariff (€40.00 for 4 tickets) is highly cost-effective. Families with multiple heavy bags or small children arriving in Milan may find the flat-rate municipal taxi more practical for door-to-door transit; Milan sets the fare, but publishes it only as a scanned tariff, so confirm it with the driver before setting off.
• Late-Night Arrival: For arrivals landing after 00:30, after the rail networks close, travelers must utilize official municipal white taxis from the airport taxi ranks.
• Low-Budget Traveler: Airport shuttle buses in Rome (€6.00 to €8.00) and Milan (€10.00) offer the most economical transfers to the central railway stations.

Tap a contactless card at the turnstile and stop thinking about tickets. Both cities cap the daily charge automatically, and Milan no longer sells paper at all.

Rome, operated by ATAC:

• Single BIT ticket - €1.50, checked as of March 10, 2026, valid 100 minutes from validation for unlimited bus transfers and one metro entry. ATAC's operational plan schedules a rise to €2.00 in late July 2026, pending regional approval.
• Short-term passes - ROMA 24h (€8.50), ROMA 48h (€15.00), ROMA 72h (€22.00), CIS 7-Day Weekly Pass (€29.00).
• Tap & Go - tap a contactless bank card or mobile wallet at metro turnstiles and on-board bus validators. It applies the best fare automatically, and six or more taps in 24 hours caps the day at €8.50, the price of a ROMA 24h ticket.
• Digital tickets - the Ticket Appy or DropTicket apps, on iOS and Android.

Milan, operated by ATM:

• Single ticket - €2.20 for the central Mi - Mi zone, checked as of March 10, 2026, valid 90 minutes.
• Passes - 24-hour card (€7.60), 3-day tourist pass (€15.50).
• Paper is banned. Since January 1, 2026 paper tickets are no longer accepted anywhere on the ATM network. Pay by contactless bank card at the turnstiles, or buy a reloadable plastic RicaricaMi card at station kiosks. Daily fare capping applies automatically.
• Digital ticketing and route mapping - the official ATM Milano Official App, on iOS and Android.

For a taxi:

• itTaxi (iOS and Android) - licensed municipal taxis across 90 domestic locations.
• FREENOW (iOS and Android) - taxi bookings, with a "Taxi Go" option showing a guaranteed maximum fare.
• Expect the meter to be running when it arrives. Italian rules start the meter the moment the driver accepts the booking in the app, so a taxi dispatched by itTaxi or FREENOW reaches you with an initial charge already registered.

Tolls at barriers on the autostrade, and a ZTL fine waiting in every historic centre.

• The ZTL is the real hazard. Limited-traffic zones cover the middle of Florence, Rome, Milan, Bologna, Pisa and dozens of smaller towns. A camera reads the plate, and the fine reaches the hire company months later with an administration fee on top. If the hotel is inside one, it must register your plate in advance.
• Tolls are collected on exit. Take a ticket entering, pay by card at the white or blue lanes; the yellow Telepass lanes are for transponders.
• The alcohol limit is 0.5 g/l, and zero for drivers with less than three years' experience.
• Motorway speed is 130 km/h, reduced to 110 in rain.
• Winter tyres or chains are compulsory on many roads from 15 November to 15 April, signed at the start of the route.

Safety and the most common scams

While violent crime in Italy is rare, opportunistic petty theft is common in high-traffic tourist zones. Travelers must maintain situational awareness and guard against common schemes:

• The "Bill Swap" Taxi Scam: A scheme where a driver accepts a €20.00 or €50.00 note from a passenger and, using a sleight-of-hand trick, swaps it for a €5.00 note, claiming the passenger underpaid. To prevent this, passengers should explicitly state the bill’s denomination when handing it over, or pay exclusively with a credit card.
• The "Broken" Credit Card Terminal Scam: Drivers or merchants may claim their POS card terminal is broken to force a cash payment. Travelers should show their credit card prior to boarding or making a purchase; if the merchant refuses, they should find another operator.
• The "Friendship Bracelet" and Rose Scam: Street vendors approach tourists at major monuments (such as Milan's Duomo or Rome's Colosseum), placing a braided thread bracelet on their wrist or offering a rose as a "free gift". Once accepted, they aggressively demand payments ranging from €5.00 to €10.00. Travelers should firmly decline and refuse to let vendors place items on their person.
• The "Closed Attraction" Scam: Unauthorized tour operators stand near major entry lines (such as the Vatican Museums or the Colosseum) and falsely inform travelers that the main ticket office is closed or that the site is temporarily inaccessible. They then attempt to upsell overpriced private tours. Travelers should ignore these statements and proceed directly to the official entry gates.
• Pickpocketing Hotspots: Organized groups operate on crowded public transit vehicles, particularly Rome’s Metro Line A, Milan’s Metro Line M1, and on express airport rail links. Thieves often use distraction tactics, such as crowding doorways, dropping coins, or spilling liquids to distract travelers while an accomplice accesses their pockets or bags.
• Areas to Avoid: Plazas surrounding Roma Termini and Milano Centrale can be insecure after 22:00. Travelers should avoid poorly lit side streets in these areas.
• Official Security Advisories: The US Department of State recommends that travelers enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive localized security alerts, and maintain digital, off-site copies of passports and travel documents.

Emergency numbers

112 is free, locates the caller automatically and has multilingual operators. The direct lines below are the alternative.

In a life-threatening emergency, travelers should dial 112, the free, single European emergency number. The 112 system features automatic caller localization and multilingual operators. Alternatively, direct emergency lines can be dialed:

• State Police (Polizia di Stato): 113

• Fire Brigade (Vigili del Fuoco): 115

• Ambulance / Emergency Medical: 118

Comprehensive travel medical insurance covering hospitalisation and evacuation is essential. See the Health section for English-speaking clinics.