From The Student Room
TSR Wiki > Life > Gap Years and Travel > TSR Travel Guide > Italy
Italy is the cradle of civilisation; home of gladiators, the Renaissance, the Pope and the best food in Europe - the experiences are endless. Whether you are looking for a Russell Crowe moment or perhaps wish to indulge in the masterful creations of Michelangelo, Titian, Leonardo and Raphael, Venice, Florence and Rome all offer tantalising access points back to the past. Theses cities are centres of European history and artistic enlightenment and the responses to the 'David' in Florence, the excavations of Pompeii near Naples and the Sistene Chapel of Vatican city, equal, if not better, bungee jumping, skiing and jungle trekking.
Italy has been a major Gap Year destination since the 1700s! Young gentlemen and ladies, artists and architects travelled to the peninsula as part of their 'Grand Tour' which they took at any age after 18, as part of their coming of age or university scholarship. Italy still holds the charm of the past, with it's incredible churches, paintings and unbeatable cuisine. Reading Tobias Jones' 'Dark Heart of Italy', perhaps put a few rosy romantic notions to bed, but don't be fooled into thinking that Italy only has superficial charm - Italians know how to make their guests feel welcome night and day.
When in Italy, don't eat fast food. It is cheaper and more rewarding to find the small back street 'paninoteca' where you can have a ciabatta filled with porchetta (roast pig), rocket and italian tomatos. Places to eat out vary in cost and quality as in any country around the world. Enoteca's are usually off-licenses that have a limited menu best washed down with a glass of home-made chianti. Trattoria are family run kitchens that will serve local, seasonal dishes, and ristorante are the more usual eateries, where the best one are found by asking the locals. Dishes to look out for on top of the brilliant pizza and pasta are 'frittura mista' (fried seafood with lemon), 'bistecca fiorentina' (vast steaks to share, usually cooked rare) and 'saltimbocca alla romana' (slices of veal and ham cooked in lemon with sage or bay leaves).
Temperatures are extreme in the summer, but the small coastal towns of Italy offer extreme relaxation with fabulous beaches (if you don't mind a the sun-bed and umbrella culture), excellent trattoria's and hidden away grottoes. Beaches and boat hire can be expensive, but can be nicely balanced out by camping near to the resort. Going off-the-beaten-track is getting harder and harder in Italy, but the tiny villages dotted around Veneto, Lombardy, Tuscany and Lazio regions, are always a concentrate of Italian culture and hospitality.
When in Italy - open your mind. Although close to home, it isn't a warmer extension of Britain, it is another culture, another nation and most importantly an environment of encounter mind-blowing adventure.
Rome
Recommended things to do
- Colosseum – a must-see, even if it’s just a wander round the outside. I highly recommend paying to go inside though and letting your imagination run wild with everything that used to go on there. Apparently there are often local students hanging round outside, who you can pay for a more personalised tour, though we didn’t opt for that. Be careful, as there are groups of gypsy children in the area, who hang round to pickpocket – we saw someone very nearly get her bag pinched.
- Vatican – also a must-see. If you want to see the Sistine Chapel when it’s relatively quiet, get to the museum really early and accept you’re not going to be able to see everything else in the museum before you get there (though there is some great stuff). Then approach St Peter’s Square through the backstreets, rather than heading up the big avenue put in place by Mussolini – the scale really hits you more from that angle. I’d recommend going up the tower in St Peter’s as well as just looking round the inside, as there are fantastic views from the top.
- Roman Forum – like the Colosseum, you have to use your imagination, but this was probably my favourite ‘sight’ in Rome and is completely free!
- Trevi Fountains – another popular tourist spot. You’re supposed to throw coins in for good luck, though everyone looked a bit perplexed when we started emptying our purses!
- For eating, I’d really recommend Brek, either for lunch or dinner. It’s one of a chain of self-service restaurants in Italy and is really cheap and quick. They make fresh pizza, pasta, salad etc right in front of your eyes, so if your Italian isn’t great, you can at least point at something that looks good! There are loads of really nice restaurants, best found by just wandering the streets, but don’t forget that Italians tend to eat late.
Recommended places to stay
My travelling companion didn’t want to stay in a hostel, so we stayed at Hotel Virginia, which is fairly near the Termini station. The staff were friendly and the room was clean with good facilities, so I’d definitely recommend it. Breakfast is a voucher for the café next door, but I loved that, as the place was full of locals on their way to work rather than tourists. The restaurant opposite is also good.
Other
If you get a flight with Easyjet or Ryanair, you'll arrive at Ciampino airport, rather than the main one. Get the airport bus to and from the centre - details are available from the Easyjet website. It is possible to travel by bus and train, but it takes forever!
Venice
- Piazza san Marco - Very expensive - I wouldn't eat in the restaurants around the edges because they charge riduculous prices - I saw a Coke advertised for over 8 Euros! If you want to eat the Italian food then head in towards the smaller streets and explore, as there are little restaurants dotted about everywhere which are cheaper. If you're really on the cheap then there's a choice of 2 McDonalds to choose from!!!! Also, pigeons are disgusting... there are so many and you get people selling food so you can feed them (reminds me of Mary Poppins... tuppence, tuppence a bag Except it's a bit more expensive than tuppence!) We got out of there as soon as we could, we didn't want to get pooed on!
- Gondolas - Every tourist wants a ride on a gondola, but it's extremely expensive - over 60 Euros for a half hour trip. If you want to go on a gondola but don't have that much money, head to the Rialto bridge... along the banks the canal is widest here and there gondolas that ferry you to the other side for only 1 Euro!!! Bargain! Ok, they're not the lovely painted shiny ones with flowers and a bloke that sings to you in a stripy top, but iwhat more can you want from 1 Euro!
- The Basilica - We didn't go in here because it was so busy (lots of tourists!!!) and we could see that they did not give you a chance to stop to look, you were just hurried through - not a good experience. If you really want to get in, then get there early.
- Campanile - This is the big tower... you can queue up to get up to the top.. it might be a bit of a wait, but it's definitely worth it, the views are amazing - don't go up there without a camera!!! You can see all the major landmarks and much more, it's great and definitely worth the money.
- The Ghetto - Head further into the backstreets and you'll (probably!) get to the original Ghetto - this is where the Jews were all sent, as they weren't allowed to mix with the other Venetians. In WWII many of the Jews were taken by the Nazis, but a few still live there today. It is a very run down area and looks very poor, but it's good to go there to get a feel of history and imagining how they lived there.
Also See
Destinations
Travel Help and Advice
