Italy Overview

Fast Facts

Main Languages: Italian & English. French, Latin (Vatican City’s official language), Greek, and Spanish are also widely spoken.

When to Go: With diverse geographical zones, Italy’s climate is hard to define, and differs from region to region. The inland northern areas of Italy, such as Milan, Bologna, and Turin, have a humid subtropical climate, and the coastal regions, such as Liguria and Naples, have a Mediterranean climate. The higher altitude mountainous and valley regions tend to be cold and snowy in the winter, with mild summers, whereas the coastal regions have mild winters and dry summers. Keeping all this in mind, one can still say that most of Italy can be visited all year round, with barely any extremes in weather, when compared to temperate and tropical countries. The usual tourist high season is from June to August (excepting the skiing season in the Alps), but if you want to avoid the crowds, the best time to visit Italy is from April to June, as this is also when the sun is not too sunny in most parts of the country.

Local Transport: Italy has efficient transportation systems and excellent infrastructure. Most travel in Italy is done by train or bus, though cars and ferries/boats are also widely used, and air travel is also convenient, though not a great way to see the very beautiful countryside.

Buses: Bus services are numerous, and range from regional to intercity. Note, that buses are usually more expensive than trains for the same distance, but provide vital connectivity with smaller towns. Timetables can be procured from local tourist offices. Note that a bus ticket must be validated as soon as you board the bus, doing otherwise could attract a heavy fine. Note that most of the larger cities have 24-hour tourist tickets for buses and metros.

Metro: Metro systems (metropolitane) are to be found such towns as Rome, Milan, Turin and Naples. The same rule as buses of validation of the ticket after embarkation applies.

Trains: Trains in Italy are inexpensive and efficient when compared to most other European countries. Trenitalia, is the partially-privatised state train system that offers most services, however, there are also private train systems. Intercity and Eurostar Italia trains only stop at major cities, whereas regionale or interregionale trains are slower, stopping at virtually every station.  Train passes (known as Carta Verde – for those aged between 12 and 26, and Carta d’Argento – for those aged above 60) are available at all major train stations, and offer discounts on all routes.  

Planes: Domestic air services are handled by such airlines as Air One, Alitalia, Meridiana, and Ryanair, who provide inexpensive connections to most of the main airports, such as Rome, Turin, Pisa, Naples, Venice, Catania, Milan, Bologna, Genoa, Cagliari and Palermo.

Cars/Motorcycles: If you are intending to bring your own car, or to hire a car, please note that the petrol (known as benzina) is quite expensive, as are the tolls on the highways (autostrada). Parking in the major cities is also a serious problem. Motorcycles are a great way to explore the country, with scenic roads and no parking problem in cities. Hiring small scooters is easy, and very convenient for intra-city travel, and it is equally easy to hire larger motorcycles for country touring.

Boats: Boats are a common way of travel in the coastal regions, and all the islands are connected by regular ferries. Larger ferries (navi) service such major islands are Sicily and Sardinia, and smaller ferries (traghetti) and hydrofoils (aliscafi) service the smaller islands, such as Capri, Elba, Tremiti, and Procida. Major ports include Genoa, Naples, Livorno, Villa San Giovanni, and Civitaveccha.

Bicycle: Cycling is another great way to see the countryside, and most trains (marked with a cycle logo) allow you carry your cycle full-assembled, though at a separate charge. All ferries allow free bicycle passage.

Phone Code: +39

Currency: (EUR) 1 EUR is approximately 80 Indian Rupees (INR)

Voltage: 230 V / 50 Hz

Time Zone: GMT+1 hour. IST -4:30 hours. Summer (Daylight Savings): GMT+2 hours