Tourism in Italy

tourists_book Italy may not take up much space geographically on the globe, but it consistently ranks among the top vacation destinations on the planet. When last I checked a couple years ago, there were just under 40 million people spending some of their hard-earned vacation money (not to mention time) in Italy. And while you might suspect that all of those 40 million people are in the country at the same time you are, as you fight the crowds at the biggest attractions in Italy, in reality there’s a steady stream of visitors all year long and throughout the country.

Because of this constant influx of tourists, tourism in Italy is one of the country’s biggest income sources. But because it’s Italy we’re talking about, things don’t always work the way you’d like them to… You might think, for instance, that the official Italian tourism website would be a wealth of information and staffed by attentive and responsive people eager to answer your every question. But you’d be wrong. Yes, there’s some good information there, but if you manage to get a reply from anyone in the tourism department you’re doing better than I am.

So, toward that end, I’m going to put some links here to articles I’ve written that assist you in planning the perfect Italian vacation. I could write about Italy travel for the rest of my life (and probably will), so this list isn’t comprehensive, but I think it’s a good place to start. If you have a question that isn’t answered by one of the articles on this list, please send me a message and let me know – it’s possible I’ve already covered the topic but forgot to link it up here, and it’s also possible your question will make a great topic for a new article!

Getting Travel Deals to Italy

Italy is definitely an expensive place to visit, so smart travelers will look for ways to save money on their trips to Italy – some of which are things you’ll do in-country, and some of which are things you’ll do before you even leave home. Here are some tips to getting a good deal on an Italy trip.

Travel Tips for Italian Cities

There is some information on this site that’s applicable to the entire country, but I’ve also written city-specific articles for many of Italy’s top destinations. From each of the destination articles linked below, you’ll be able to find many more articles about that destination either on the menu on the right-hand side or linked from within the article.

What to Do in Italy

You may not think you need help figuring out what to do in Italy, but it’s so easy to get overwhelmed by the vast number of options that it pays to do at least a little bit of strategizing before your trip. You may not want to do the same things I want to do, and that’s fine – it’s great, in fact – I’m all for tailoring a trip to your personal taste. Let these suggestions be a starting point, and make your experience your own.

Getting Around in Italy

Most of the time I recommend traveling through Italy by train, but there are all manner of transportation options for the country – and good reasons for choosing one over the other, or combining a few of them during one trip.

Eating in Italy

The food in Italy is such a big reason why many people make the trip in the first place that I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that eating out in Italy is responsible for a huge part of that tourist income the country enjoys. I’m a big fan of eating in Italy, which is why I end up writing about it so often!

>> If you’re looking for more, click over to my Italy travel tips page and also this basic Italy information – and again, if you don’t find the answer to your question from these links or by using the search box at the top of the page, let me know!