Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Natale
(Christmas Day) 25 December
Festa di Santo Stefano
(Boxing Day) 26 December
Taxes & Refunds
VAT (value-added tax) of around 20%, known as Imposta di Valore Aggiunto (IVA), is slapped onto just about
everything in Italy. If you are a non-EU resident and spend more than €155 in a single transaction on selected purchases,
you can claim a refund when you leave, or sometimes at the time of purchase. The refund only applies to purchases
from affiliated retail outlets that display a 'tax free for tourists' (or similar) sign. For more info visit
www.taxrefund.it
.
Telephone
National and international numbers can be requested at
1254 or online at 1254.virgilio.it.
Domestic Calls
Italian telephone area codes all begin with 0 and consist of up to four digits. The area code is an integral part of the tele-
phone number and must always be dialled. When calling Venice land lines, even from within the city, you must dial the
041 city code.
Mobile phone numbers begin with a three-digit prefix such as 330. Toll-free (freephone) numbers are known as
nu-
meri verdi
and usually start with 840, 841, 848, 892, 899, 163, 166 or 199.
International Calls
The cheapest options for calling internationally are free or low-cost computer programs such as Skype, cut-rate call
centres or international dialling cards, which are sold at newsstands and
tabacchi
. All of these offer cheaper calls than
the Telecom payphones.
If you're calling an international number from an Italian phone, you must dial 00 to get an international line, then the
relevant country and city codes, followed by the telephone number.
To call Venice from abroad, call the international access number for Italy (011 in the United States, 00 from most oth-
er countries), Italy's country code 39, then the Venice area code 041, followed by the telephone number.
Mobile Phones
Italy uses GSM 900/1800, so GSM and tri-band mobile phones can be used in Venice with the purchase of a local SIM
card. Buy these at Vodafone and Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM) outlets across the city. However, be sure to check with
your provider before you leave home, as some phones may be code blocked. Prepaid plans are fairly reasonable, and
most offer the option to have internet access for an additional fee.
US mobile phones generally work on a frequency of 1900MHz, so your US handset will have to be tri-band to be us-
able in Italy.
Pay-as-you-go SIM cards are readily available at telephone and electronics stores. Once you're set up with an Italian
SIM card, you can easily purchase recharge cards at many tobacconists and newsstands. Of the main mobile phone com-
panies TIM and Vodafone have the best coverage in Venice.
You'll need your passport to open any kind of mobile phone account, prepaid or otherwise.
