Short answer: On the ground in Italy, plan on roughly €70–115 (about $80–130) per person per day on a hostel-and-pizza budget, €165–210 (about $185–235) in a mid-range city hotel shared by two, and from about €330 (about $375) for four- and five-star comfort. A week therefore costs about €490–805 ($555–910), €1,155–1,470 ($1,305–1,660) or from about €2,310 ($2,610) per person, before flights, intercity trains and shopping. For a reality check, Americans spent an average of €178 (about $200) per night in Italy in 2025, over stays of about ten nights, according to the Bank of Italy.
Italy costs about what the United States does for travelers, with big differences inside the country: Venice, Florence and the Amalfi Coast are dear, while Naples, Puglia and Sicily are much easier on the wallet. Your bed, your choice of cities and the number of museum tickets you buy decide most of the total. This guide breaks it all down with figures from official sources, so you can build a realistic budget for your own trip to Italy. Italy uses the euro, which was worth about $1.13 (about €0.89 to the US dollar) in the Federal Reserve’s rates for the week to 2 October 2026; dollar figures here are rounded at that rate. Use our Money exchange tool for today’s rate.
Italy daily costs at a glance
These example days are built from the prices further down this page: one person, one sightseeing day in Rome. Florence and Venice come out higher for beds, Naples and the south lower. They leave out intercity trains, flights, shopping and city tax.
| Per person, per day | Budget | Mid-range | Comfort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bed | Hostel dorm bed: €30–50 | Half of a city hotel room at €170–220: €85–110 | Half of a four- or five-star double from about €350: from €175 |
| Food | Bar breakfast and two inexpensive meals at about €15: €35–45 | One inexpensive meal plus half of a €60 dinner for two, coffee and gelato: €50–60 | Lunch plus half of a €120 dinner for two, with wine: about €100 |
| Local transport | Two 100-minute tickets: €3 | Roma 24H pass: €8.50 | Pass plus a taxi: about €20 |
| Sights | Free churches and squares, Pantheon or Trevi: €0–10 | Colosseum plus the Pantheon, or the Vatican Museums: €20–30 | Headline sights with a guided tour: about €40 |
| Total | About €70–115 ($80–130) | About €165–210 ($185–235) | From about €330 ($375) |
The hotel range is built around 2024 average room rates of about €178 in Rome and €203 in Florence from the Italian Hotel Monitor; hostel prices are typical 2026 Rome dorm rates; meal prices are typical October 2026 Rome prices from the crowd-sourced Numbeo index. Treat them as typical ranges, not quotes.
What visitors actually spend in Italy
The Bank of Italy interviews and counts travelers at Italy’s borders every year to measure tourism spending. Its survey for 2025 found that foreign visitors spent €56.7 billion in Italy. The 61.4 million who stayed overnight spent an average of €139 per night and stayed 6.4 nights. Americans spend more and stay longer:
| Bank of Italy survey, 2025 | Visitors from the US | All foreign overnight visitors |
|---|---|---|
| Overnight visitors | 3.6 million | 61.4 million |
| Average stay | 10.2 nights | 6.4 nights |
| Average spend per night | €178 (about $200) | €139 (about $155) |
| Average spend per trip (about) | €1,830 (about $2,070) | €890 (about $1,005) |
These figures cover spending inside Italy, not the flight to get there. Canadians spent a similar €185 a night. The Bank of Italy also notes that 2025 was boosted by the Catholic Jubilee year in Rome, when about 1.4 million visitors came for the Jubilee, Americans the largest group among them at 17%.
On our Travel costs by country scale, which compares hotel, restaurant and transport prices with the United States (US = 100), Italy scores exactly 100. In plain words, a hotel night, a meal out or a train ride costs about the same as in an average American city, and everyday living costs are lower. Italy is cheaper for travelers than France, Germany or the UK, but dearer than Spain, Portugal or Greece.
Accommodation costs
Hotel rates vary a lot by city. The Italian Hotel Monitor, compiled by the research firm Trademark Italia, found these average daily room rates in 2024:
Rates rose 7.8% nationally in 2024 and kept edging up in 2025. A dorm bed in a Rome hostel typically costs about €30–45 in quieter months and more in June and around holidays. Agriturismi (farm stays) in Tuscany, Puglia and Sicily and family-run B&Bs in smaller towns are often the best value.
Almost every Italian city also charges a city tax (imposta or contributo di soggiorno) per person per night, set by the type and star rating of your accommodation and usually paid at the hotel in cash or by card. In Rome it applies for up to 10 nights and children under 10 are exempt; four-star hotels in Rome, Florence and Milan charge roughly €7–10 per person per night. Budget it on top of the room rate.
Food and drink costs
Italy is one of the great places to eat well for little money. Numbeo’s October 2026 figures for Rome show a typical meal at an inexpensive restaurant at €15 (range €12–20) and a three-course dinner for two at a mid-range restaurant, without drinks, at about €60 (range €50–80). A cappuccino costs about €1.85 and a half-liter of draft beer about €5. Florence is dearer, at about €24 for an inexpensive meal and €70 for a mid-range dinner for two, and Venice is close to Florence; Naples is cheaper, at about €15 for an inexpensive meal.
Two things surprise first-time visitors. Many restaurants add a coperto, a cover charge per person for bread and the table, and some add servizio, a service charge; both must be shown on the menu. And coffee drunk standing at the bar costs less than the same coffee brought to your table.
Getting around: trains, city transit and ferries
Fast trains link the main cities: Rome to Florence takes about 1 hour 25 minutes, Florence to Venice about 2 hours and Rome to Naples under an hour. Two companies, Trenitalia and Italo, run high-speed trains, with separate tickets. Since 1 January 2026, Trenitalia’s high-speed fares change with demand, so booking early is the simplest way to save. Regional trains are cheaper, with fixed fares; paper regional tickets must be validated before boarding, while digital tickets need no validation.
- Rome airport: the Leonardo Express train from Fiumicino to Termini costs €14 and takes 32 minutes; a taxi costs a fixed €55 to anywhere inside the Aurelian Walls, supplements included.
- Rome transit: a single BIT ticket costs €1.50 for 100 minutes (one metro ride); passes cost €8.50 (24 hours), €15 (48 hours) and €22 (72 hours), and you can tap a contactless card at the gates.
- Venice: a 75-minute vaporetto (water bus) ticket costs €9.50, so passes pay off fast: €25 for 24 hours, €35 for 48 hours, €45 for 72 hours and €65 for 7 days.
- Cinque Terre: the local train between Levanto and La Spezia costs €5–10 per single ride depending on the date in the 2026 season.
- Bay of Naples: state ferries from Naples to Capri cost €14.80 (fast ferries €21.50), plus a €5 landing fee for Capri.
A car is useful for the Tuscan countryside, the Dolomites and Puglia, but not in cities: historic centers have limited traffic zones (ZTL) watched by cameras, and driving in without a permit brings a fine.
Sightseeing fees and free things to do
Italy’s headline museums cost €15–30, and many need booking ahead, but churches, piazzas and fountains are mostly free.
| Sight | Adult entry, October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Trevi Fountain (close-up area, 9:00–22:00) | €2 |
| Pantheon | €7 (free under 18) |
| Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine (24-hour ticket) | €18 |
| Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel | €20 at the door, €25 online |
| Pompeii (ancient city) | €20 |
| Uffizi Gallery, Florence | €25 on the day, €29 booked ahead |
| Florence Cathedral (Brunelleschi Pass with dome) | €30; the cathedral itself is free |
| Musei di Piazza San Marco, Venice (includes the Doge’s Palace) | €35 (€30 online more than 30 days ahead) |
| St Peter’s Basilica, Rome | Free |
Ways to see more for less: Italy’s state museums are free on the first Sunday of the month, and the Vatican Museums are free on the last Sunday morning, though both get very busy. Walking Rome’s piazzas, Florence’s Oltrarno, Venice’s quieter neighborhoods and the hill towns costs nothing.
Taxes and visitor fees
- City tax: per person per night in most cities, by hotel category (see above).
- Venice access fee: in 2026, day-trippers aged 14 and over paid €5 (or €10 if booked within four days) on 60 set days between 3 April and 26 July; overnight guests were exempt. The 2026 trial has ended, and the 2027 calendar had not been published as of October 2026.
- Trevi Fountain: €2 for the close-up area since 2 February 2026, free from 22:00 to 9:00.
- Capri landing fee: €5, added to your ferry ticket.
- Entry to Europe: the EU’s Entry/Exit System is free; the ETIAS travel authorization (€20) was not yet running as of October 2026.
Tipping in Italy
Tipping is optional. Service staff are paid a wage, and many bills already include a cover charge or service charge. If the service was good and no servizio is on the bill, rounding up or leaving a few euros, or up to about 10% in a nicer restaurant, is appreciated. Our tip calculator does the sums for you.
Money-saving tips for Italy
- Travel in the off-season. November, January and February are the quietest, cheapest months in the cities. See our best time to visit Italy guide.
- Book fast trains early and use regional trains for short hops.
- Mix pricey and good-value cities. Pair Venice or Florence with Bologna, Naples or Palermo.
- Stay overnight in Venice rather than day-tripping on access-fee days, or base yourself on the mainland.
- Eat like locals: coffee at the bar, pizza al taglio, set lunch menus and aperitivo snacks.
- Plan free museum Sundays and buy only official tickets, from the museums’ own websites.
- Pay in euros when a card machine offers your home currency, and use bank cash machines.
For a classic first route through Rome, Florence and Venice, see our Italy itinerary, and for help choosing where to go, our list of the top places to visit in Italy.
Plan your trip: our free trip planner can build a day-by-day plan for Italy from our guides, including Rome, Florence, Venice, the Amalfi Coast and Cinque Terre. Then use the Money exchange tool to turn euros into your own currency, and the Destination weather tool to pick your dates.
Frequently asked questions
How much money do I need for a week in Italy?
Using the example days above, seven days on the ground cost roughly €490–805 (about $555–910) per person on a tight budget, €1,155–1,470 (about $1,305–1,660) mid-range, and from about €2,310 (about $2,610) in comfort, before flights, intercity trains and shopping. American visitors spent about €178 a night in 2025, or roughly €1,250 for a week.
Is Italy expensive?
About as expensive as the United States for travelers: Italy scores 100 on our cost scale, where the US is 100. Venice, Florence, Milan and the Amalfi Coast cost more; Naples, Puglia and Sicily cost less.
Do I need cash in Italy?
A little. Shops, restaurants and taxis must accept card payments, and contactless works almost everywhere, including at Rome’s metro gates. Carry some cash for small cafés, market stalls, rural bars, tips and the occasional broken card machine.
What is the coperto on an Italian bill?
A per-person cover charge for bread and the table setting. It must be listed on the menu. Some restaurants add a service charge (servizio) instead or as well, in which case you do not need to tip.
What is the cheapest month to visit Italy?
November, January and February are usually the cheapest months for city hotels, with the smallest museum crowds; Venice is the exception during Carnival. Many beach resorts close in winter, so for the coast, May and early October are better value than summer.
Do I have to pay to enter Venice?
Only day-trippers on set dates. In 2026 the fee was €5 (€10 booked late) on 60 days between April and July, and overnight guests were exempt. The trial has ended, and Venice had not announced 2027 dates as of October 2026.