How much money to plan for food

Drink enough water in the morning (the tap water in Italy at your hotel room is fine) as many mistake hunger for thirst and overspend wasting money and then not eating all the food, while being overweight.

I think 60 to 100 dollars a day for 2 people. Alcohol consumption is the thing that can sneak up on the budget. Also unlike here in America the quality of bread a staple (stuff that fills you up) is better and the price is a lot cheaper in Italy and Europe in general.

Keep in mind that, if you were home instead, you'd be spending X amount on food anyway for 12 days - so your only focus is to try to "guesstimate" how much marginally more you'd spend while traveling. As far as eating out goes, think about what your current eating out patterns/style is and imagine if it will be either same, similar, or likely higher when you're traveling (for example, are you likely to get dessert more often? Or wine with dinner more frequently?). Take what you spend eating out domestically now during lunches and dinners and convert it into EUR for get some basic figures on what to expect. You'll probably spend some percent more than that - say 20% or so (that's just a rough guess). Except maybe for Venice, you can probably eat at any price level if you choose wisely...so set a budget and offset some more expensive meals with less expensive ones.

Last word of advice: stick to house wines by the carafe, they are pretty affordable.

Thanks for the great advice.

Last word of advice: stick to house wines by the carafe, they are pretty affordable.

And really good!

Meals out there, are pretty similar cost to meals here, at comparable type restaurants

That's great info! I'll plan how much I would set aside here in the US for this type of vacation.

We typically have a picnic for lunch. We get some great bread and cheeses, fruit, sometimes ham or salami, maybe some pastries, wine or juice. You'll have a fridge so it would be quite easy for you. We actually enjoy the picnicking, its relaxing and it does save a lot of money. There have been some restaurants that we wanted to try that were much more affordable at lunch. When we do that, we'll picnic for dinner and then maybe go out for some wine, pastry or gelati.

I'll plan how much I would set aside here in the US for this type of
vacation.

Just be sure to take the exchange rate between USD and EUR into account (knowing the conversion rate ahead of time will be helpful so when you see local prices, you'll gauge roughly how much that is in USD). Good luck with your planning!

Picnic sounds amazing! Favorite picnic sites in Rome and Florence?

Restaurant prices don’t vary between lunch and dinner at Italian restaurants.
A meal will cost you 25€ to 35€ on average at sit down restaurants.

My 2 cents: if we have an apartment we eat breakfast in the apartment, eat lunch in a restaurant while out sightseeing (as much to rest our legs as to get a full meal), often just buy something for a picnic/dinner in the apartment sitting with our feet up :-)

In Venice we would then go to Piazza San Marco for a glass of wine while we enjoy the music.

In Rome and Florence we don't have a set routine - yet.

Note that many Italian cities prohibit eating in many places where it would create a block or just looks messy. I hope somebody else can help you with places where it is allowed.

Italian cities prohibit camping (on stairs, bridges, benches and monuments), not eating. You can have a pic-nic in Parks.

Generally we like to make 1 meal a day a nicer sit-down restaurant type, either lunch OR dinner. Breakfast is always in the apartment or hotel (either "free", or I don't budget for it because I'd be buying groceries at home too). In Italy I do like to go stand at a bar (coffee shop) for a morning coffee. Standing is cheapest - its somewhere around 1 euro for a cafe, more for a cappuccino, but still not expensive as long as you stand. Often I will do this a couple times during the day.

The meal that isn't at a restaurant may be a picnic, or may be street food, or may be pizza from a counter shop. A few times in Rome it was an aperativo buffet - buy a drink for a bit more than a normal drink and you have access to a buffet - 1 trip, usually, not all you can eat. Do this at 1 or 2 bars depending on what's offered and you have a light dinner. Or a wine bar might also sell reasonably priced meat and cheese plates - that could be dinner if lunch was on the bigger side. Or a very simple cafe where I can just order a salad and wine. Basically, it's not a binary choice between restaurants or cooking. Even when my budget is looser I do this, because 2-3 full sit down restaurant meals is just too heavy for me (and makes me too heavy!)

It takes a awhile to get it right, and on our 3rd trip to Italy it worked out great for us when we rented an apartment for a week in Rome near the Campo de' Fiori market in February 2017.

We'd shop at a nearby small grocery and the markets for coffee, meats, cheese, breads. Then we'd shop the Campo market daily for their wonderful array of fruits & vegetables. By the way, if you can't handle espresso all day, every day, bring a Melitta plastic cone to fit atop a coffee cup, bring some paper filters, and make sure you have a hot pot at the apartment. At the grocery buy some Lavazza coffee--a breakfast blend, not espresso, and voila!--American coffee each morning. It was great with our meats, cheeses & fruits while we would plan the day.

Lunch was usually take out panini, or maybe an insalata, but nothing big and certainly cheap. Dinner was the big thing, but it was never expensive. Our cost for one app, two pastas, one or two secondi (carne), one dessert and a half-carafe of house wine was only around 50 Euro, never much more. Of course, you could spend more than that, but where we were staying there was never the need, especially in Rome where there are so many great places to eat.

Like Jazz Travels, says, I would say 80-100 Euro a day total for two, probably less than that if you wanted. You will not starve in Italy!!

Don't forget to budget for gelato-for us, it's more than one each per day.

One way to reduce meal costs is to look for restaurants offering fixed price lunch specials. These are different from tourist menus and usually include 2-4 choices that change from day-to-day. Prices can be substantially lower than similar a-la-cart menu items, with portion sizes typically being smaller (i.e. lunch size) but same quality. Some restaurants will have a fixed price for 2 courses and others allow you to select a first course, second course or both, with a single course often costing only 6-8 euro and a discount if you order 2 courses. Most of these specials come with water and occasionally an espresso, but not wine or another beverage. Florence has many such restaurants, and I suspect there are also some in Venice and Rome. They're a great way to eat a nice meal each day without spending a fortune. Rick's guidebooks mention some restaurants offering such lunch specials, but there are many others (at least in Florence).

On our recent trip to Trieste, Venice, Florence, and Rome, we had a budget of about $140 per day for food, drink, etc. It was well more than enough. Not that we brought any of that money home, but we didn't hold back at all and ate what we wanted, when we wanted. Most dinners out were under 80 euro even when it included a shared antipasta, a primo or secondo for each of us, a half liter of the house wine, and desserts with coffee.

Oh, and yes, gelato at least once a day...

We kept commenting on how a meal of equal quality back home would cost quite a bit more. The Italians love their food, and if you can avoid the restaurants that cater mostly to tourists, you can get some amazing food at very decent prices.

Just like home, you can eat at any price-point you choose. You can always find less expensive food sources - the market, street food, fast food, etc. Just gauge how much you are spending and move down the scale if you think its going too fast. We've found that its the unplanned incidentals where you hemmoraghe money - pay toilets, bottle water, toiletries, newspapers, trinkets, unexpected pharmacy trips, laundry, postcards and postage, tickets to sights we hadn't planned on, cab rides, etc. And yes, th gelato.

I usually have either a sit-down lunch and then picnic in my room at night in pj's with my aching feet up, or I take snacks like cheese and crackers or a sandwich and some fruit or veggies to hold me for the day and then have a nice dinner in the evening. Get a couple 1/2 liter bottles of water and then refill them from the tap or when you're out from a fountain. Excellent water.

House wines are usually quite good. You can ask to taste it before you commit. You can order it by the glass but it's cheaper to get a carafe, either 1/4 or 1/2 liter. A coffee standing at the bar is very cheap even in the poshest places, like the cafes in St Mark's Square. Sitting at a table inside costs more, sitting outside even more.

2 years ago, here are some of my costs (including generous tips).
In Venice, €12 for lunch, really good pizza and a mixed drink in Campo Santa Margherita. €20 for dinner, main course and wine in Cannareggio, €18 for another dinner and wine near the Academia.
In Rome. €10 for beer and pizza in Trastevere, €18.00 full lunch with wine in Tivoli, €21 for 2 course dinner with wine.
The expensive meal I had was in Salerno at a top-rated restaurant, 2 courses, wine and dessert for €40.

I read somewhere that Venice costs about 20% more as everything needs to be brought in. Whether too blunt a statement or not, why not accept that as 'fact' and budget accordingly.
As mentioned, an aparetivo with 'free' food can be light dinner. In Venice, you hit a bar and order ciccheti - appetizers. If you have done a stand up tapas bar in Spain, same concept, but much smaller and items are more funny looking (squid for example).
What is your apartment like? does it have a balcony or patio? I like the picnic dinner idea if you don't make it for ciccheti, with bigger meal at lunch.
Sometimes, I don't like to give up the time during the day to stop for a long lunch, and then I just would stop at a bakery for a fresh bun, then a deli shop for meat and cheese. They sell mayo (and I think mustard) in a squeeze tube like toothpaste, so add that to the bun for a sandwich on a bench somewhere. Perhaps reduce the spread out picnic if public squares - the pigeons and gulls will quickly figure out there is food around.

Look for restaurants in more nontouristy neighborhoods for your sit down meal of the day. We typically eat breakfast where we are staying, lunch or dinner out, and our third “meal” of the day is gelato whenever we feel the need.

I always plan €100/day for the two of us and often underrun that in Italy. We eat breakfast in our apartment, but a 10am pastry and cappuccino are often in the day plan. 😉

Picnicking can be tough due to restrictions on where you can do it and weather does not always cooperate. Instead, drop into an Italian bar, which is an informal cafe serving sandwiches, pastries, coffee, and every kind of drink. You can get a panino for €3.00. Sometimes you may have to pay a bit more to sit and eat it, but in some bars it matters not. I know several in Rome where there is no charge to sit, or where it is very reasonable to do so. Another option, which Rock Steves mentions a lot in his book, is the tavola calda or rosticceria. In these cafeteria#like places you get a meal for €8-10 per person. Often filled with Italian white collar workers and very busy between 1300 and 1400, but lunch is available earlier, usually at least by noon.

Philosophically, the amount of money one spends on food, drink, and incidentals can give rise to a false economy, one that tends to elevate thrift over experience.

As an example, I ate dinner in a Brasserie in Paris some years ago on the Left Bank. It was a famous place, and I expected the experience to be really good. Because the prices seemed high, however, and because I wanted to stick to a budget, I ordered by price, rather than by which dish I actually wanted. The result was a lackluster dinner, and a "meh" experience overall.

I returned to the same Brasserie on a subsequent trip, and this time, I concentrated on getting what I wanted, rather than what was cheaper. This time, the meal was memorable, and the experience was wonderful. The difference in price between the two dining experiences was less than $15, and I have never regretted that expenditure.

Similarly, a panini from a small salumeria in Rome may be all I want, or I may decide that a splurge is in order. Set your budget, but don't panic when you actually spend more for a memorable meal. Some years ago I heard about a small trattoria in the Jewish Quarter of Rome, Sora Margherita. It was an incredible experience, although the price seemed high--about 30 euro each for lunch. Today, the prices have shot through the roof. Would the experience be as memorable? Probably not.

I love making my own breakfast in an apartment. Standing at a bar for a coffee in the morning just isn't my preference. I will, however, use a coffee break as a way to get access to a restroom on site. I don't curtail my gelato cravings, nor do I refrain from sampling street food when the urge arises.

Just remember that food and eating (and drinking) are part of the experience. Would I go to a Michelin starred restaurant in Venice or Rome? Probably not, because that's not how I eat at home. Would I balk at spending 15 euro for a bowl of cacio e pepe at a renowned local trattoria in Trastevere? Absolutely not.

Do some research into "the best restaurants" in each city. Often these guides can single out the hidden gems where your Italian adventure can be made even better.

A word on drinking. Alcohol is a personal choice, but in my world a glass of wine or two at dinner makes the meal complete. I also like a cocktail from time to time. Little markets stock all kinds of booze, and rather than haunting the nightclubs or bars for a post dinner drink, I buy my own spirits, beer, or wine in those markets for consumption in my apartment.

Have a wonderful trip!

Thank you all for your excellent advice! I wish I knew how to respond to individual comments, but unfortunately I will have to respond to everyone here.

These all sound interesting: stand-up bar, apartivo buffet, and fixed price lunch special.

The neighborhoods where we are staying in each city are: Florence – very close to the Santa Maria train station; Venice – Cannaregio; Rome – Travestere.

What are some of your favorite stand-up bars, and restaurants where they offer aperativo buffets and fixed price lunch special in those areas?

Can you tell me what to look for when finding these types of restaurants? We do not speak any Italian, but will have a phrase book and will utilize google translate as much as possible. So it would be helpful to know what to look for.

Thanks again for all your help!

A favorite in Florence is Self Service Leonardo, a few blocks from the Baptistry (see Rick Steves' book) -- cafeteria style service with ambiance and prices to match, basic Italian standards -- we go there several times each trip. And you can get free ice water.

You will find that small towns are typically much less expensive than big cities. Also factor in streets/restaurants that cater to tourists (especially American) vs. side streets/allies that cater to locals.

In the town we live in we can go out to dinner for two for under €30 -appetizer, pizza, wine, beer. Ordering the “menu” (2 or three courses) tends to be more food than we want to eat and more than we want to spend. If you want to order a few courses, share. Use “uno per due” to mean 1 order for two people. If we order an appetizer, two entrees, and bottle of wine, we might spend $35.

You can buy paninis for lunch at bars or cafes for under €6 and they are Good! Again look for the off the beaten path a block or two off the main tourist drag. If you get To go, share a panini, then a few hours later stop for another snack, coffee, or glass of wine.

Wine is cheaper than beer, and house wine available as a glass (100 ml or 200ml). Or a 250 or 500ml carafe. The 500ml is good for two people if you don’t want a whole bottle (700 or 750ml)

We also tend to not order bottled water as that can add 2-4€ to the bill, depending on the restaurant. Unless of course we are dieing of thirst.
Buy you bottled water for your day at the local market as it’s really inexpensive (paid .30 a few days ago)

In Venice the cafes sell tramezzini (small pre-made sandwiches) from the counter, that you can take away for lunch or a snack later. Take a look at the Travel Tips tab on the menu on the left of this page, under Sleeping and Eating, and you'll see a few tips looking for places to eat.

To find restaurants serving a fixed price lunch, look for signs (often hand-written) outside or in a window that show a set price and list the day's selections. Although written in Italian (avoid those written only in English), you should be able to figure out the price and what is and isn't included. If you're unfamiliar with a dish, just ask what it is. Almost everyone working in that area speaks some English.

In the SMN area, here are a few places where I've eaten that I can recommend. On Via Palazzuolo, just a short walk towards the river from the train station, you'll find Trattoria da Giorgio and Trattoria il Contadino close to one another. Both serve inexpensive fixed-price sit-down lunches and dinners with several dishes from which to choose. Their food is simple but good, and both have English versions of the menu available. On the first floor of the central market, there are some places serving inexpensive food at lunch hour. I especially like the fresh pasta stand (pick your type of pasta and sauce for about 5 euro - cooked to order). The stands in the second floor food court are more expensive, but it can be a fun experience. Near the Central Market, there's a great Turkish place named Ayasofya Istanbul with inexpensive and delicious food (some dishes are spicy). The original location is on Via Panicale and they have a second more-touristy location on Via Sant'Antonino. My favorite fixed price lunch places are in other parts of town, but these are good too.

On the first floor of the central market, there are some places
serving inexpensive food at lunch hour.

Nerbone, a 150-year institution of Mercato Centrale. Delicious boiled beef sandwich on a roll with pesto is no more than 4 euro, same with a lampredotto sandwich, if you dare. Cow's stomach--tasty!

Thank you all, so much!

Question off topic. How do you reply to an individual message?

You click on the person’s name and then follow the link to Send a Private Message.

Oh I'm sorry I wasn't clear. I meant like what Joe32 did at the top of the string. Reply to or call out a certain message.

Oh I'm sorry I wasn't clear. I meant like what Joe32 did at the top of the string. Reply to or call out a certain message.

You copy the text and reply, then click the quotation marks for a quote and paste the copied text.

You copy the text and reply, then click the quotation marks for a quote and paste the copied text.

Like this??

Thank you!