Food budget

Where you eat makes such a difference. For example, if you decide you want two sit-down meals a day, it's going to be much more expensive than if you snack on pizza and tramezzi for several meals. Drinking also adds to the cost, but doesn't need to. House wine is cheap. I think 200 Euro for 4 adults is a reasonable budget. It's more than we typically spend.

Definitely favor lunch over dinner. And if you go to restaurants, go at lunch. And make reservations.

I don't know if I would expect much for breakfast in Italy...you may end up going out for better coffee and pastry as you go exploring. I remember some places in Venice having lunch specials for less than 15 euros. Menus posted outside so you can see the prices also. Wine can be affordable too. I ate pizza some times for lunch. You can always get some paninis too. Depends on how much you want to drink and what sort dining experience you want really. Florence, we went to the Golden View for lunch one day. That was pretty nice. Ended up eating at the Trattoria Za Za twice for dinner. I think a lot the entrees were less than 20 euros...seemed to be a lot of Italians there too. Wanted to try Il Latini in Florence but didn't make it there...maybe next time. I liked having a little snack some days too. Gelato or a little panini...a slice of pizza...

$260 a day - $65 each per day? That is in an entirely different class of daily food expense than my wife and I budget. We load up on the hotel conti-breakfast.
And do plan a few strategic, nice sit-down meals; but mostly buy fruit, cheese, veggies, cured meat, bread, wine by the bottle, and other foods at the markets in the morning like the Italians do. It is an adventure since the local market vendors don't normally speak English and my Italian is laughable. We usually have no idea what we are buying most of the time, but so far it has all tasted good as picnic lunch fare and for snacking through out the day.

10 Euro's each, average a day. And we are never hungry.
This may be a different form of travel than you are doing.

Thanks everyone,

Francis, haha - we definitely want to do this cheaply (like I said, minus maybe one really nice meal in each city) but I'm just afraid of budgeting too conservately and being ill-prepared for the cost. And I've never been so I don't what is extravagant vs realistic.

So maybe ill bring it down to 150EURO/day. I mean I know here in the US a casual dinner out usually costs us about 60USD, and I know italy is more expensive than Miami..plus the loss we're taking in the USD-EURO..

The market sounds like a great adventure, but we speak NO Italian, so it probably isn't a gamble we want to take everyday.

Randy, thanks for the specific suggestions!

Also, do you make reservations by calling, or do you typically stop by a place a few hours before you want to eat? Do most hotels allow free local calls?

Try shopping for picnic type foods at the in-town supermarkets, especially for soft drinks, snacks etc. At least you get lots of time to examine and select the goods before you go to the checkout!

While we were in Florence last November, our favorite place to eat was Nerone's. It is WONDERFUL. I think we ended up having dinner there 4 times. The atmosphere is great, food delicious and the house white wine was so good. It is also very REASONABLY priced. We still talk about how much we enjoyed our meals there and will certainly go back if we ever have the opportunity to return to Florence. Hope you will take my recommendation and enjoy a meal at Nerone's. I believe they are only open for dinner. Susan

When in Italy, budget for your daily gelato--at least 1 or 2 Euros each. Some cafes are open all day, where you can get salads, pizzas, or other pasta dishes. Figure on 7-10 Eu for lunch if you eat lightly. The standard "breakfast" of cappuccino and brioche runs about 2-3 Eu at the local bar or cafe. I hardly ever eat dinner out, but it is possible to have a simple meal for 10-15 Eu (and on up). "Nice fancy" dinners can cost anything, just like at home. I would aim for "nice" and forget the "fancy." Go where the Italians eat; ask at your hotel for recommendations. Since meals are ordered by course in Italy, order only what you want. The "secundo" or meat course costs the most usually and you may feel full after only the first one or two courses, which usually includes a pasta course. You will be charged for bread and appetizers brought to your table even if you didn't order them.

I think your budget sounds about right - those cities are VERY expensive food-wise for Italy (IMHO) my family of three (and one is only 8yrs old)spends anywhere from 80-150 on a rather casual dinner out in Rome or Venice (I don't go to Florence much, so not sure there)...we usually order a bottle of water, a 1/2 liter house wine...I get a pasta, my husband gets a pasta and meat, and my kid usually gets a second/meat dish (he's not a fan of pasta) - sometimes we get coffee. (that same meal in the south costs us under 30euro btw, which is why I find it so expensive!) Pizzas will be less - don't know the going rate now in cities. For lunch, I suggest just grabbing a pizza slice or sandwich at a stand-up bar like the locals...or...buy sandwich stuff and picnic (especially in Venice where I find the food SO expensive and not terrific at budget prices) 3 Sandwiches and three sodas from a take-away bar in Rome (standing up) cost us about 25 Euro if that helps any.

Well, I don't know about you, but in Italy, I refuse to compromise on food. It is an attraction for me that rivals ancient Rome. I too think that 200Euro is a reasonable budget, and hey, if you do better, it's a bonus. However, do not equate "fancy" and especially a spot on a famous Piazza with great food. By heading into the sidestreets, finding a smaller restaurant, your 100 Euro for dinner will leave you far more stuffed and in an ecstatic state far beyond that meal on the Piazza, and probably for far less than the 100 Euro. Also, by having a group, you can get a wider variety of dishes, and please, do not forget the contorni. Order a couple of the vegatable side dishes, some of the freshest, best dishes you may have, plus they are cheap and filling.

in general i usually would buy fruit, cheese, meat in a store (or several stores) for either lunch or dinner and try to find a local place for the other meal. I happen to enjoy browsing in local stores and it's cheaper. If you don't like that then just find a street stand for 1 meal per day and you wil do fine. I found really good food as long as I was not in a tourist area. menues in 3 different languages is usually a tip off.

My husband & I eat the hotel breakfast if it's offered and then wander into a little deli type stand up bar or cafe in the middle of the day when we get hungry. In these little cafes that you see, the locals eat their panini or sandwich standing up.
If there are also tables, you need to know that it's a little more expensive if you sit and eat. But we're talking have a panini or pizza, so it's not much, we usually split one of those & share a 1/2 carafe of house wine. We also drink the tap water, which when they ask if you want water, they will automatically bring bottled water. Rick suggested the tap water, and it's always been good for us.
I think 200E will be plenty, and if you don't spend it all, that's even better! The most expensive meal was the bistecca florentine in florence, but it was great! Not the kind of meal we could eat every night.

I hope you all have a great trip, and come back and let us know how it went, and how the budget worked out!

I am here in Italy right now we took advantage of breakfast at each hotel
Lunch was pizza or panini. Pizza was 6-7 euro each. Panini fast food 2-3.5 euro each
Vine was good- order the house red or white to save money. It is very good

Dinner was expensive in some places. One night we spent $120 US just for 2 of us

Take fruit from breakfast as a snack for later. I'd buy some at a market or store too.

Gelato. Well. So many choices. We had not great gelato in Turin and fantastc gelato in Acqui Terme. Prices are 2-3 euro for a medium cup ( and those have false bottoms so it looks like you are getting more than you really get). Panna is extra, but oh so good!

Today we had Chinese food in Genoa. Chinese food in Italy us so much better than any I've had at home! Just had enough gnocchi, spaghetti, pizza ! It's OK to consider something other than Italian food when in Italy.

There are lots of cares that have take away food choices. This is a cheaper way to go. And don't overlook insalata misti. Order with egg and tuna (tonno) for a filling meal

Bring a water bottle from home like a small Nalgene or metal one and fill up for free at public fountains or in your room. Soda is pricey and not that great for you

Hi all,

I just returned from the big 3 a few days ago, and since this thread was still kind of active, I wanted to share my experiences.

My family of 4 (60, 60, 25, and 22) spent about 150-200E per day. In Rome when we began, we did cheap lunches of pizza and salad, then only sat-down for dinner. However, we realized that the pizza wasnt enough to satisfy us until dinner came around (all the walking, heat, etc, burns way more calories than we imagined) so starting in Florence we began to have sit-down lunches as well.

For an 10 day trip, 8 days had breakfast included. So we only needed to get breakfast a few times.

Also though, unless you don't mind carrying around heavy day-packs, you will wind up buying cold drinks sometimes, and gelato other times when you just need to take a sit-down break in a cafe. Those things add up, so that 200Eu also included some light snacking.

Hope that helps!

Ashley

I will tell you from first hand experience that prices are coming down a bit in Florence. There are two places in the center for lunch where you really get a deal - Trattoria Anita - first, second and contorno (side dish) for 8 euro (usually too much to eat).

The second is fancier - I would say the food is a cut above - but the portions are not as large - and that is the Cafe Italiano very near to the famous gelateria Vivoli. They have a first course lunch special of euro 5.70 which includes a first course (usually a choice from a pasta, rice dish and a couple of others), bread, bottle water, wine and coffee! It isn't a huge meal, but the quality and price are pretty amazing. Also Vivoli has first courses (pasta, frittata, etc.) that is very reasonable and for me better than their gelato!

Another inexpensive option is the Cafeteria (self serve) Leonardo sort of near the Duomo. You can feed four for lunch there for less than 30 euro.