{"id":2322,"date":"2010-06-09T14:07:23","date_gmt":"2010-06-09T13:07:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/?p=2322"},"modified":"2014-07-07T12:34:58","modified_gmt":"2014-07-07T10:34:58","slug":"10-tourist-mistakes-when-visiting-italy-tipping-tickets-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2010\/06\/09\/10-tourist-mistakes-when-visiting-italy-tipping-tickets-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Tourist Mistakes when Visiting Italy: Tipping, Tickets, and More"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"How<\/a>Love Italy?\u00a0You should check out my book about\u00a0How to Order an Italian Coffee in Italy!\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0It’s available on Amazon! Get your copy or tell a friend!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are some common mistakes and misconceptions tourists have about traveling in Italy. After posting about how my diet changed after\u00a0moving to Italy 7 years prior<\/a>, I’ve also been reflecting on people visiting and enjoying Italy.<\/p>\n

Here’s a few words of advice for anyone hoping to visit Italy in the near future – leave your own suggestions in the comments for others!<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \"PantheonTipping in Italy.<\/strong> Though regularly discussed, argued and debated, the truth is you don’t need to tip in Italy. Really. Let me repeat that: you don’t need to tip in Italy<\/strong><\/span>. Of course most workers will not scoff or refuse a tip (though a few will), but it’s not necessary, and I think it’s a bad precedence to set for foreigners to tip in Italy for simple things like a coffee, taxi rides, or dinner in a pizzeria. Many Italians I know will only leave a tip for very exceptional service<\/strong> (think: anniversary dinner in a Michelin-starred restaurant) or will leave the change (a few euros) when paying cash because it’s easier not to wait for the waiter to make change<\/span> (think: leaving a 100-euro banknote on a 99-euro bill or a few euros), but it’s a choice of convenience rather than rewarding service, and it’s nowhere near 10 or 20% of the bill. In Rome, waiters \/ taxi drivers are getting spoiled with foreigners leaving tips and are now often\u00a0expecting them. But you don’t need to tip in Italy. You’re probably already paying a supplement through the\u00a0servizio<\/em> (service charge) on your restaurant bill and\/or the coperto<\/em> (cover charge), sometimes both. You probably still want to tip a hotel porter for bringing up your bags, a helpful concierge or a thorough tour guide, and you can consider leaving 10 cents on your receipt at the bar\u00a0when you order\u00a0a coffee, but don’t sweat it.<\/li>\n
  2. Assuming you can buy tickets for public transportation directly on the bus \/ tram. <\/strong>Most big cities in Italy (Rome, Milan, Naples, Florence) require you to buy your bus\/tram tickets before boarding. And not just that, but most bus stops will not have a ticket machine next to the stop. Rather, you’ll need to find a newspaper stand (edicola<\/em>) or a tobacco shop (tabaccaio<\/em>) to purchase your tickets. If you’re planning on using public transportation on a Sunday, buy your tickets the day before – you’ll save a lot of time not looking for an open place to buy tickets. And once on the bus\/tram, make sure you validate the ticket – put it into a machine that will print the date\/time used on the ticket (so it can’t be re-used). Save yourself a fine!<\/li>\n
  3. Calling the afternoon store closings a “siesta.” <\/strong>It’s not called a “siesta”…the stores are just closed. Some stores have a day of the week that they are closed and they will call it a day of rest (giorno di riposo<\/em>) or (riposo settimanale)<\/em>, and most stores will also be closed Monday mornings, opening in the afternoons directly. A misconception is that all stores will close in the afternoon, but it really depends on where you are in Italy, and what time of year. Especially in crowded city centers, many stores should remain open through the afternoon, but if they do close, it’s not a siesta. It’s not Spain. It’s just closed. As my friend Max reminded me, store hours are set at the Comune <\/em>(city) level, so opening times will vary from city to city.<\/li>\n
  4. Not respecting meal times, especially at lunch time.<\/strong> Most restaurants and bars have specific opening times, and they will <\/em><\/strong>close in the afternoon – that you can count on. If you have a late breakfast, visit museums through lunch and hope to get a bite to eat at 2pm or 3pm, you’re going to find a very limited selection, and some of which was prepared before the lunch rush, including those sandwiches that have been sitting there since 10am. Try to eat when Italians eat – lunch hour is usually 13-14 (some start as early as 12.30 eating) and most will be done by 14.30. Dinner is a little different – the further south you go, the later they start eating. A good rule of thumb is a reservation for 20\/20.30 (many restaurants won’t open until 19\/19;30),\u00a0and\u00a0some groups will make reservations for 21.30\/22 and will stay until the restaurant closes! If you’re hungry earlier, why not have an aperitivo (pre-dinner drink) before dinner<\/a>?<\/li>\n
  5. Expecting to be waited on very attentively in a restaurant or store.<\/strong> The culture of “il cliente comanda<\/em>” (the client dictates \/ is right) is not present in Italy. Furthermore, most restaurants may appear to be “understaffed,” that is, they will have few waiters working many tables because their main job is to order and deliver your food. They probably won’t ask “how are you folks doing?”, if you like the food, if you want a refill (this concept doesn’t exist) or other general “friendly” requests that are in reality superfluous to your main dining experience – they just don’t have the time. So, sit back, be patient, and flag down your waiter when you need something, but be patient in knowing they are probably working very hard. The good news is, you’ll rarely be presented with the check until you ask for it. [Update: someone made a comment to me that I’m wrong here, and the service is fast in Italy. I am not debating the speed of the service but rather the amount of attention that is given to the patron who may be accustomed to a high level of attention throughout the dining experience. I think the quality of service is relatively high, but it’s not conveyed in terms of client attentiveness but in other ways.<\/em>]<\/li>\n
  6. Ordering peperoni on your pizza<\/a> and expecting hot\/spicy salami. <\/strong>Peperoni<\/em> in Italian are bell peppers, not pepperoni in the US which is hot salami. So if you want hot salami on your pizza, don’t order a pizza with peperoni<\/em> (note the spelling – just one p) order a pizza<\/em> diavola<\/em> or look for a pizza that has salame piccante<\/em> as one of the ingredients.<\/em><\/li>\n
  7. Thinking you have to order an antipasto, primo e secondo at every meal.<\/strong> Most Italians don’t eat an antipasto<\/em>, primo<\/em>, secondo<\/em> and dolce<\/em> at every meal – you don’t have to, either. If you eat like this at every meal, you will definitely feel full! Feel free just to pick a primo<\/em> or secondo<\/em> for your lunch and maybe splurge at dinner with a more robust meal.<\/li>\n
  8. Ordering before paying, paying before ordering in a bar<\/strong>. Many bars require that you get a receipt (scontrino<\/em>) before ordering, especially if you see the cash register (cassa<\/em>) sitting apart from where you’ll pick up the food or coffee, and you don’t see immediate table service. When in doubt, observe for a few minutes or just ask at the cash register how to proceed – you might say, “scusi, si paga o si ordina prima<\/em>?” (Does one pay or order first?)<\/li>\n
  9. Drinking a coffee<\/a> during a meal (other than breakfast).<\/strong> Coffee is used mainly to help digestion and to finish off a meal, and therefore at lunch or dinner it is ordered after the meal and dessert have been consumed. If you order a cappuccino<\/em> to go with your spaghetti carbonara<\/em>, expect a nasty look…from everyone.<\/li>\n
  10. Touching fruit & vegetables with your bare hands in a street<\/a> market<\/a> or supermarket.<\/strong> In a supermarket you should see plastic gloves and bags near the scales or throughout the fruit\/veg section. Use them. In an open-air market, you won’t see these gloves because you are not expected to handle anything yourself unless explicitly told to – the people working in the stall will do everything. Don’t touch the goods! Also, it’s considered pretty rude to tell the fruttivendolo <\/em>exactly which fruit he should put in your bag.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Here’s a few to start….any tips you have for tourists in Italy?<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \"How<\/a>Love Italy?\u00a0You should check out my book about\u00a0How to Order an Italian Coffee in Italy!\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0It’s available on Amazon! Get your copy or tell a friend!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Love Italy?\u00a0You should check out my book about\u00a0How to Order an Italian Coffee in Italy!\u00a0\u00a0It’s available on Amazon! Get your copy or tell a friend! Here are some common mistakes and misconceptions tourists have about traveling in Italy. After posting about how my diet changed after\u00a0moving to Italy 7 years prior, I’ve also been reflecting…<\/p>\n

    Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,103,2,101],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-italian-culture","category-discovering-italy","category-italy","category-tips","entry","has-post-thumbnail"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4uB1-Bs","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":385,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/09\/05\/help-how-do-i-live-and-work-in-italy\/","url_meta":{"origin":2322,"position":0},"title":"Help! 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