You’ve been planning on coming to Italy for as long as you can remember, but when you hear about the never ending scammers that try to take advantage of first voters in the beautiful country it does make you think twice about coming to visit, and nonetheless to study. With a student budget you definitely don’t want to find all of your soundable cash wasted in a couple of meals, that aren’t even going to be that good. So whether you are Rome sightseeing or wondering where to go in Italy for you studies, keep this mini list in mind on how to avoid the infamous tourist trap.
The Main Attractions
There are many many Italy tourist attractions and with all of those places to go in Italy you need to be careful of all of the places that serve food in those areas, mostly because they know that they can get any tourist to eat there, even if the food can sometimes be frozen – a trick for this one would be when checking the menu you can see if there are stars* next to the food you wish to order, most of the times that means the food may be frozen if out of season, if you see a lot of them you might as well not sit down. So main advice to find some good food is go off the beaten path Italy. Be a little careful at night, cause you might get lost, but try nonetheless. So, the recap is be wary about eating around Italy tourist spots in tourist cities in Italy.
Be wary of Pictures and displays
Now I’m a big fan of Japan – and you’re wondering why is he starting this way He should be talking about Italian tourist traps, well before you jump to conclusion give me a second – and in Japan there is a tradition of showing in your restaurant window fake reproductions of the food you serve to your patrons “shokuhin sampuru”, born out of necessity in the place of menus. Now you’re visiting Italy and not Japan, and if you walk next to a place that is displaying all of it’s food in pictures and displaying a variety of plates that they are going to serve, that is probably more of a tourist cash grab than a proper Italian restaurant. Non touristy places in Italy don’t show their food, they just serve it to you and if you’re wondering what it looks like you can ask the waiter, but you have to hope that someone at another table ordered it so the waiter can point at it.
Gambero Rosso and Slow Food Stickers
This is a tip I got from somewhere else, but it’s one of those great tips on travelling in Italy no doubt, you see every country has it’s esteemed reviews in Italy it’s Gambero Rosso, sometimes it might be a bit expensive to eat at a Gambero Rosso location, but you’ll receive great service and food when there. While the other one of the many Italy travel tips is the Slow Food sticker, because this makes you know that the location sells locally sourced and fresh ingredients, something that a tourist trap wouldn’t do.
Service Charges
In Italy you have to know that service charge is always included in your check, someplace might not have it, but that is usually if it’s a “take your food to the table” situation. A good thing is to always check the “Coperto” charge that varies from place to place. That charge in most cases covers your service, but also your bread that is brought to the table. The bread part is something you need to check in every place cause in some establishments they will charge for extra bread. One thing that I’ve been told by many Italian waiters is that if you wish to tip extra they would be more than happy to accept :D.
Read our recommendations on our main website
As you know, or maybe don’t but soon you will, StudentsVille keeps in mind the needs of students and tourists that wish to visit Italy while giving you some great information about the places you’re about to visit. In our website you can find some lists based on the city you wish to visit, from restaurants to clubs. Pretty much you’ll find all the things to know when travelling to Italy.
We hope our Tourist trap article will help you avoid them and that you’ve learned some Italy travel tips and advice while checking this out.
