Rome

Esselunga / Coop — quality at fair prices

Lidl / Eurospin — the discounters

Mercato comunale — produce + lunch counters

Best: Apr – Jun & Sep – Oct · Wet: Oct – Dec

Fees: Bank 'bancomat' machines add no local surcharge; independent boxes (Euronet and friends) at stations and sights do.

Limits: Commonly €250–500 per pull.

Best machines: Intesa SanpaoloUniCreditBPER

Vaccines: Routine only.

Health: Tap water is excellent — Milan's is alpine. Pharmacies (farmacia) handle minor everything. August heat in Florence is real: museums at noon, piazzas at dusk.

Tap water: ✅ Excellent everywhere — Rome's 'nasoni' street fountains are free, safe and delicious. Refill constantly.

Safety: Violent crime toward visitors: statistically tiny. Pickpocketing near Milano Centrale, the Duomo and Florence's buses is professional-grade — money in front pockets, backpacks worn forward on transit, and you're invisible to them. That's the whole briefing.

Plant-based: Pasta al pomodoro, pizza marinara, contorni (side vegetables), and the whole aperitivo spread — vegetarian Italy is effortless; vegan needs 'senza formaggio'.

Gluten-free: The pasta country is also a coeliac leader: 'senza glutine' pizza and pasta are certified (look for AIC signs) in most cities.

This is a Schengen-area country. Most US, UK, EU, Canadian, Australian, NZ, Brazilian, Japanese and Korean passports enter visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the whole Schengen zone. From 2025 the EU's ETIAS pre-authorisation applies to visa-free non-EU visitors — check before you fly.