Money and Costs

Euro basics

Italy uses the euro. Notes come in €5, €10, €20, €50, €100 and €200 (the old €500 is still legal but rare), and coins in €1 and €2 plus cents. ATMs mostly dispense €20 and €50 notes. Small bars, newsstands and market stalls may struggle to change a €50 for a €2 coffee, so break big notes at supermarkets, train stations and restaurants.

Prices on shelves, menus and price tags include VAT (IVA, Italy's sales tax, 22 percent on most goods). What you see is what you pay, apart from the cover charge at restaurants and the tourist tax at hotels, both explained below. Italy no longer mints 1- and 2-cent coins, and many shops round cash totals to the nearest 5 cents; card payments are charged to the cent.

This guide converts at €1 = US$1.12, the rate on October 27, 2026. Rates move, so check before you go and treat dollar figures as approximate.

Cards and contactless

Cards are now the normal way to pay in Italy. Businesses are legally required to accept card payments, and since 2022 they face fines for refusing, so even a small bar should take your card for a coffee. In practice, a few small places still prefer cash, and some terminals mysteriously "aren't working" for small sums. Carry a little cash as backup.

• Bring a card with no foreign transaction fee. Many US cards add 3 percent to every purchase abroad; on a $5,000 trip that is $150.
• Visa and Mastercard work everywhere. American Express is accepted at most hotels, chain stores and many restaurants, but less often at small trattorias and shops. Discover is spotty.
• Contactless is standard. Tap your card or phone (Apple Pay and Google Pay work widely). Larger amounts sometimes prompt a PIN.
• Know your PIN. Unattended machines (train ticket machines, autostrada toll booths, gas pumps after hours, parking meters) may need a PIN or may reject some US cards. Have one card with a four-digit PIN.
• Tap to ride. In Rome and Milan you can tap a contactless card or phone at metro gates to pay a single fare. Use the same card for every ride so the system can cap your fares where caps apply.
• Tell your bank you are traveling if it still asks, and save its international phone number in case a card is blocked.

Cash and ATMs

An ATM in Italy is a Bancomat. Your US debit card works in any ATM displaying the Visa, Plus, Mastercard, Cirrus or Maestro logos. Use ATMs attached to real banks, such as Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit, BNL, BPER or Banco BPM, ideally inside or at the wall of the branch. Freestanding ATMs in tourist zones run by independent operators, such as Euronet, tend to charge high fees and push poor exchange rates.

1. Choose English on the screen.
2. Pick "withdrawal" and an amount. Take €200–300 at a time to limit per-withdrawal fees.
3. If the ATM shows its own fee, it must say so before you confirm. Some Italian banks now charge foreign cards a few euros; cancel and try another bank if it is high.
4. When offered a conversion to dollars, decline it ("without conversion" or "continue in euros"). See the next section.
5. Take your card first, then the cash. Shield the keypad.

Where cash still matters: some family-run trattorias, coffee bars in small towns, markets, public toilets (often €1–1.50, about $1–2), coin-operated lights in dark churches, small tips, and some tourist taxes. A ceiling of just under €5,000 applies to cash payments in Italy, which rarely affects visitors, and anyone bringing €10,000 or more in cash into the EU must declare it.

Dynamic currency conversion: always pay in euros

Dynamic currency conversion (DCC) is the offer, on a card terminal or ATM, to charge you in US dollars instead of euros. It sounds helpful because you see a dollar figure. In reality the merchant's bank sets the exchange rate, usually several percent worse than your own card's, and you may still pay your bank's foreign transaction fee on top.

• On a card terminal, you may see two amounts, € and $. Press the euro option. If a server hands you the terminal already set to dollars, ask for euros: in euro, per favore.
• At an ATM, the screen may offer a "guaranteed rate" or "conversion." Decline it and choose to be charged in euros.
• At hotels and car rentals, check the currency on the slip or folio before you sign. You can ask to have a dollar charge reversed and redone in euros.
• Online, Italian sites such as Trenitalia and museum booking pages sometimes offer to show the total in dollars. Pay in euros there too.

Restaurant bills: the coperto and servizio

An Italian restaurant bill (il conto) usually has one line that surprises Americans: coperto, or pane e coperto (bread and cover). It is a per-person cover charge, typically €1.50–4 (about $2–4.50) per person, higher in fancy places and tourist hubs. It covers bread, table linens and setting, and it is legal as long as it is printed on the menu. You pay it whether or not you eat the bread.

A separate servizio (service charge) of 10–15 percent appears at some restaurants, mostly in tourist areas of Rome, Florence and Venice and for large groups. It too must be stated on the menu. If you see servizio incluso or a service line on the bill, you have already tipped.

How a meal is billed

• Ask for the bill. Servers will not bring it until you ask: il conto, per favore. Rushing you out is considered rude, so a long, slow dinner is normal.
• Water is not free. You will be asked naturale o frizzante (still or sparkling) and get a bottle, usually €2–4. Tap water is safe; you can ask for acqua del rubinetto, though some restaurants are reluctant.
• Fish and steak by weight. Menu prices marked all'etto (per 100 grams), al kg, or S.Q. (by quantity) mean the final price depends on weight. A whole fish or a Florentine T-bone (bistecca alla fiorentina, often sold by the kilo with a minimum of about 2 pounds) can cost far more than the menu figure suggests. Ask the price before they cook it.
• Splitting. Many restaurants will not split a bill by item. Dividing it evenly is called pagare alla romana; offer one card or work it out among yourselves.
• Keep the receipt. Shops and restaurants must give you a scontrino (receipt), and it helps with any dispute.

Coffee at the bar or at a table

Italian bars post two prices: al banco (standing at the counter) and al tavolo (seated with table service). An espresso at the counter typically costs about €1.20–1.50 (about $1.35–1.70) in most cities. Sit down and the same coffee can cost two to four times more, and on Venice's Piazza San Marco or near the Pantheon a table coffee can top €10 (about $11), sometimes with a music surcharge. Neither price is a scam; both should be posted. In busy bars, pay first at the cassa, then hand the receipt to the barista.

Tipping

Tipping in Italy is modest and optional. Servers are paid a salary rather than relying on tips, and Italians often leave nothing or round up. A small tip for good service is always appreciated, especially from visitors, but the 18–22 percent American habit is unnecessary, and leaving it can flag you as an easy target in tourist zones.

For more on manners around money, see etiquette.

Tourist taxes by city

Almost every popular town in Italy charges an imposta di soggiorno or tassa di soggiorno (tourist tax) per person per night. It is set by each comune (municipality), usually varies by hotel star rating or lodging type, and is often capped at a set number of nights. Children under a certain age are exempt. Rates have been rising, with more than 1,400 municipalities now charging one.

Most lodgings collect it at checkout, separately from your room rate, often in cash, even if you prepaid the room through a booking site. Apartments and B&Bs collect it too. The receipt should list it.

To estimate: two adults spending four nights in a Rome 4-star hotel at €7.50 each per night pay €60 (about $67) in tax. These are mid-2026 rates; cities revise them often, so check your hotel's confirmation or the city's website for the current figure. See where to stay for more.

Venice's day-tripper access fee

Venice also charges an access fee on selected peak days to visitors who are not sleeping in the city. In 2026 it applied on 60 days between April 3 and July 26, mostly Fridays to Sundays and holidays, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. It costs €5 (about $6) if you book at least four days ahead and €10 (about $11) if you book later. Children under 14 and overnight guests in Venice are exempt, though overnight guests should register for the exemption. You book and get a QR code on the official portal. See Venice.

Other new fees

Paid access has spread to a few famous free sights. The Pantheon has charged admission since 2023, now €7 (about $8), and the area around the Trevi Fountain basin has required a €2 (about $2.25) ticket for non-residents since February 2026. Some churches charge for entry to specific chapels or museums, and many ask for a small donation. See Rome sights.

VAT refunds for visitors

As a US resident, you can reclaim the VAT on goods you take home, as long as you spend more than €70 (about $78), tax included, in one store in one transaction. That threshold dropped from about €155 in 2025, so it now covers a pair of shoes or a nice leather belt. Italy's standard VAT rate is 22 percent; after the refund company's commission, expect to get back very roughly 11–15 percent of the price on standard-rate goods. Services, meals and hotel stays do not qualify.

1. At the store, say you want to shop tax-free (tax free, per favore) and show your passport. The shop issues an electronic invoice registered in Italy's customs system, OTELLO, plus a form from a refund company such as Global Blue or Planet.
2. Keep the goods unused and with their receipts. You must take them out of the EU by the end of the third month after the month of purchase; a purchase in March must leave by June 30.
3. At your last EU airport, get the export validated before you check bags if the items are in your suitcase. Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa have customs validation points and refund desks in their departure terminals. Since July 1, 2026, Italy uses a single digital customs validation. If you connect through another EU country with the goods in your carry-on, validate at that last EU airport.
4. Collect the refund at the refund company's desk (cash refunds carry extra fees) or have it credited to your card. For 2026 purchases, validated invoices must reach the retailer or refund company within six months.

Coming home, each US traveler can generally bring back $800 worth of goods duty-free. The shopping and customs page covers what to buy, counterfeit fines and US limits.

What things actually cost

Prices vary widely: a pizza in Naples can cost half what it does in Venice. These are typical 2026 prices away from the most touristy squares.

Museum ticket prices change often and many vary by season; check the official site when you book. Hotel prices follow this site's tiers: $ under €120, $$ €120–250, $$$ €250–450, $$$$ over €450 per night for two.

Daily budgets

These are per person per day for two people sharing a room, not counting flights. They include lodging, food, local transport, one or two paid sights and a share of intercity trains.

Adjust by region. Venice, Capri, the Amalfi Coast, Lake Como and Portofino run 30–50 percent higher than these figures in summer. Puglia, Sicily, Naples, Umbria and smaller towns in the north can run 20–30 percent lower. Winter city trips cost noticeably less across the board.

A sample 10-day trip for two

For the classic Rome, Florence and Venice route on the planning page, at a mid-range level in May or September, expect roughly:

• Nine nights in $$ hotels at about €220 a night: about €2,000 (about $2,240)
• Food and drink at about €120 a day for two: about €1,200 (about $1,345)
• Sights and museums: about €300 (about $335)
• Two high-speed trains, an airport transfer and local transport: about €300 (about $335)
• Tourist taxes: about €100 (about $112)

That totals about €3,900 (about $4,370) for two, before flights and shopping. Use the budget tool to build your own.

Ways to save

• Eat lunch as your main meal. Many trattorias offer a fixed-price weekday lunch, and a tavola calda (hot buffet counter) or a pizza al taglio (pizza by the slice) shop feeds you well for €8–12 (about $9–13).
• Stand at the bar for coffee and pastries.
• Use aperitivo. In Milan, Turin and Bologna an evening drink often comes with a generous snack spread.
• Free first Sundays. Many state museums and archaeological sites are free on the first Sunday of the month; expect crowds and check whether advance booking is required.
• Book trains early. Trenitalia and Italo discount advance fares heavily.
• Travel in shoulder or low season. Hotels in Rome and Florence can be a third cheaper from November to March.
• Drink the tap water and refill a bottle at public fountains.
• Walk. The historic centers of Rome, Florence and Venice are compact, and taxis add up.

Common overcharges

Outright scams are less common than small overcharges aimed at visitors. Watch for menus without prices, a waiter "recommending" the catch of the day without a price, bread or extras you did not order showing up on the bill, taxis without the meter running (Rome and other cities have fixed fares from the airports, so confirm the fare before you get in), and street vendors who hand you a bracelet or rose and then demand money. If a bill looks wrong, ask politely for an itemized one. The safety page covers pickpockets and scams in more detail.