InterRail tips...Italy

Italy oh Italy, where art thou.... Whenever I think of Italy, the famous play Romeo and Juliette comes to mind. The city of Verona plays an important part in the play! But Italy has a lot more to offer than dramatic love sceneries.

Italy is easy to recognize on a map of Europe thanks to the ´boot´ shape of this country.
Must see cities are ofcourse, Rome, Milan, Venice and Florence.
Rome, for its the capital of Italy and houses the amazing Collaseum which is a must see sight! Also don´t forget to visit the Vatican, maybe you´ll even see Pope Benedict XVI, you never know.

Milan is the city of extremes, its well known for its business climate, is the fashion capital of Europe and is very artistic. Milan is located in the north of Italy.

Venice is just a dream that shines on waters. I mean that quite literally for the best way to explore Venice is by ´gondola´. Although these gondola trips are a bit expensive, I believe it´s really worth it! So  plan it in to you budget!

Florence is the part of Italy where they have miles of beautiful and large vineyards, rolling hills and it actually is the Renaissance capital of the world. So the scenery is amazing. If you are into museums, make sure you visit the Uffizi, which houses work of Michelangelo, Titian and Rubens. Also Leonardo Davinci is from Florence! (nice to know for the Davinchi Code readers)!

Italy has much more to offer than the big cities, the Italian Tourist Board, has all the information you need. Also very informative is the Italy Travel Guide.

Taking the train is by far the best way to know Italy, so your InterRail pass is of good use here! Whatever your destination the train will take you there quickly (1000 trains running daily). You can check the site of TrenItalia for timetables, it is in Italian, but quite easy to use.

The cost of living in Italy is different, for the north and central regions are very properous, the south is comparatively poorer. The luxury products are usually pretty expensive as products like wine(!)are inexpensive. Shopping hours in Italy are different from other countries in Europe. Shops open their doors at 9 am, are closed between 1 and 4 pm and are then open again till 8 pm! The ATM machines are called Bancomat! Might be good to know!

It also might be useful to bring an Italian phrasebook, in the big cities you´ll be able to communicate in English, but when you go to the smaller villages some knowledge of Italian will come in handy!

Before you go to Italy make sure you read into the available information so you know where to go or not to go!! In my previous post about Croatia I gave a usefull link to whatonwhen. Here you can find out what there´s to do in Italy during your stay! The picture of the leaning tower of Pisa on the right was taken in Pisa, Italy, by chripstopher.

I hope you´ll enjoy la vita Italiana!
Sheena