Down to the Wire….budgeting for meals

Okay, since no one else has replied. From our trip to Italy in May, we found, for the two of us, lunch usually ran about 20 euros. dinner was in the 50 to 60 euro range. We had a 1/2 liter of house wine with our dinner most nights. We did not eat all courses and often would share the antipasto and/or the pasta course. However, for Venice all bets are off. It was much more expensive by at least 50%. Also, if you do a search there was a recent thread on this subject.

We are in the range of 100 to 125 Euro/day. So for 15 days, I would budget 2000 Euro.

Both of the previous posters gave pretty good ideas. I will say, however, that you can spend pretty much ANY amount on food, depending on whether you want high end meals, or are content with Panini and pizzas. I don't stress too much about the food budget, because I also need to eat at home. Sometimes I eat in, sometimes out, sometimes cheaply, sometimes indulge.

I've been to Spain three times. Lodgings are much less expensive, but we've found that we spent much more for food. That evened out the price of the trip with Italy. In France, the entire trip cost more -- both lodgings and food.

Italy is one of the least expensive countries to enjoy really good food for very little money if you're willing to eat Panini for lunch and pizza for dinner. So -- you can realistically spend -- understanding breakfast is included -- 40eu a day if you stick to pizza/Panini, or eu200+ a day if you drink good wine, and indulge in better restaurants for dinner. I usually do a little of both.

Both of the previous posters gave pretty good ideas. I will say, however, that you can spend pretty much ANY amount on food, depending on whether you want high end meals, or are content with Panini and pizzas. I don't stress too much about the food budget, because I also need to eat at home. Sometimes I eat in, sometimes out, sometimes cheaply, sometimes indulge.

I've been to Spain three times. Lodgings are much less expensive, but we've found that we spent much more for food. That evened out the price of the trip with Italy. In France, the entire trip cost more -- both lodgings and food.

Italy is one of the least expensive countries to enjoy really good food for very little money if you're willing to eat Panini for lunch and pizza for dinner. So -- you can realistically spend -- understanding breakfast is included -- 40eu a day if you stick to pizza/Panini, or eu200+ a day if you drink good wine, and indulge in better restaurants for dinner. I usually do a little of both.

I average about €40 per day for food, breakfast is included with room rate, traveling solo. I have one rstaurant meal every day, often two, but sometime I'll opt for a picnic or a slice of pizza. You'll find wine is cheaper than soft drinks. Five-course meals are a thing of the past.

Your food expenses will be lunch, dinner and snacks. You can alternate splurges with simpler meals to get an average day. Pizza, salad, beer/wine/water should run less than €20 per person. Antipasto and either a first or second course with beverages and dessert will be closer to €30-50, depending on degree of poshness. In Venice, you can find small, back-canal places. Burano is easy on the budget. In other cities there are more price-range options. Watch for meat or fish dishes sold by weight, they can add up fast, but are easy to share. House wines are perfectly good instead of the pricier vintages, but in some places the bottled wines are worth the splurge (Montalcino and Orvieto).

Thanks everyone. Again, thanks to this site to give us the information and tips to be as ready as we want to be. We'll write a trip report when we return.