Visas & entry
Italy is in the Schengen Area. EU/EEA/Swiss travelers can enter with valid ID; many visitors from the US, Canada, UK, Australia and similar visa-waiver countries can normally visit for up to 90 days in any 180-day Schengen period, but verify current entry and ETIAS requirements before travel.
Getting in
Getting around
For a first trip, use the Venice–Padua–Vicenza–Verona rail spine: trains make these cities far easier than driving, and Padua is the best-value central base. Use ACTV waterbuses in Venice and the lagoon; buy a pass only if you will make enough rides to justify it. Rent a car only for the Prosecco Hills, scattered Palladian villas, the Po Delta or the Dolomites; avoid driving in Venice and the rail cities because parking, ZTL restricted-traffic fines and one-way streets turn it into an expensive nuisance. Cortina is a separate mountain base: public transport means rail to Calalzo plus bus, while a car is much better for trailheads and changing weather.
Money
Italy uses the euro (€). Cards are widely accepted in cities, but carry some cash for small bars, markets, rural businesses and public toilets; contactless payment is normal. Service is usually included, though a coperto cover charge is common at sit-down restaurants; round up or leave a small extra tip for notably good service rather than calculating a US-style percentage.
Daily budget · EUR (€)
Eating well
Book before you land
Entry rules change — verify visa requirements for your passport before booking this region.
December–February
Venice, Padua and Verona are cold, damp and often foggy, with short days and low city-hotel prices outside Christmas, New Year and Carnival; Cortina and the Dolomites are instead in expensive peak ski season.
Lowland weather can be bleak, while rural, coastal and seasonal businesses may reduce hours or close; Carnival makes Venice crowded and costly.
March–May
March is changeable, but April and May bring mild city-walking weather, green vineyards and longer evenings, with Venice daytime temperatures broadly rising from about 12°C in March to 21°C in May.
Rain remains possible, Easter and Italian holiday weekends sharply raise crowds and room rates, and high Dolomite hiking is unreliable until snow clears.
June–August
The lagoon and Po Valley cities are hot, humid and busy, while the Dolomites are in their prime hiking season from roughly late June and Verona’s opera season fills summer evenings.
Venice, Garda and beach towns are at peak prices; August—especially Ferragosto around 15 August—is poor for spontaneous bookings, and lowland heat can make sightseeing draining.
September–November
September retains warm lake weather and good mountain walking, October is excellent for cities and harvest-season vineyards but wetter, and November is quiet, moody and noticeably darker.
Autumn rain is real, Venice can experience acqua alta, and by November mountain lifts, beach properties and some rural hotels are between seasons.
Venice Carnival · Usually late January or February · Venice
Central rooms become markedly more expensive and scarce, and the city is far busier; go for the costumes and spectacle, not an unhurried first experience of Venice.
Arena di Verona Opera Festival · Usually June–September · Verona
Opera nights make Verona more compelling but tighten hotel availability and raise prices; reserve the performance and accommodation together, especially for weekends.
Venice Film Festival · Generally late August to early September · Venice Lido and Venice
Rooms and transport around Venice and the Lido can tighten considerably; book early if your dates overlap.
Venice Biennale · Recurring exhibitions; art and architecture editions alternate by year, with dates varying · Venice
In major Biennale years Venice is busier and more rewarding for contemporary-art travelers; check the current calendar before committing to dates.
Eat Veneto as a region of rice, polenta, beans, bitter radicchio, pork, game, Alpine cheese and fish—not as a generic pasta-and-tomato version of Italy. In Venice, make cicchetti and a small glass of wine an informal meal; elsewhere, look for the local wine and the cooking of the plain, hills or mountains you are in.
Venice and the lagoon: Cicchetti · Baccalà mantecato · Lagoon seafood · Bacaro culture and ombre
Treviso, Conegliano and the Prosecco Hills: Radicchio · Cicchetti · Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG
Vicenza province: Breganze wine · Rural cooking
Verona, Valpolicella and Soave: Valpolicella red wines · Soave white wines
Chioggia and the southern lagoon: Seafood · Fish-market cooking
Italy
Researched Nov 14, 2026
