Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Top-end hotel : €2, for porter, maid, room service.
Taxi : Round up to the nearest euro.
OPENING HOURS
BUSINESS
TYPE
GENERAL HOURS NOTES
8.30am-1.30pm &
3.30-4.30pm Mon-
Fri
Banks
Exchange offices usually keep longer hours.
Bars, pubs
& clubs
May open earlier if they have eateries on the premises; things don't
get seriously shaking until after midnight
10pm-4am
Cafes
7.30am-8pm
.
Central
post offices
8am-7pm Mon-Fri,
8.30am-noon Sat
Smaller branch post offices often close at 2pm on weekdays
noon-2.30pm &
7.30-11pm or mid-
night
Sometimes even later in summer and in the south; kitchen often
shuts an hour earlier than final closing time; most places close at
least one day a week
Restaurants
9am-1pm &
3.30-7.30pm (or
4-8pm) Mon-Sat
In larger cities, department stores and supermarkets may stay open at
lunchtime or on Sundays
Shops
Post
Le Poste
(
www.poste.it
)
, Italy's postal system, is reasonably reliable.
Francobolli
(stamps) are available at post offices and authorised tobacconists (look for the big white-on-
black 'T' sign). Since letters often need to be weighed, what you get at the tobacconist for international air-
mail will occasionally be an approximation of the proper rate. Tobacconists keep regular shop hours.
The cost of sending a letter by
aerea
(airmail) depends on its weight, size and where it is being sent. Most
people use
posta prioritaria
(priority mail), Italy's most efficient mail service, guaranteed to deliver letters
sent to Europe within three days and to the rest of the world within four to nine days. Letters up to 20g cost
€0.85 within Europe, €2 to Africa, Asia and North and South America, and €2.50 to Australia and New Zea-
land. Letters weighing 21g to 50g cost €2.60 within Europe, €3.50 to Africa, Asia and the Americas, and
€4.50 to Australia and New Zealand.
