One month stay in Italy that is reasonable price

Somewhere that has everything we would want to see and need to do.

What exactly do you want to see and do?
There are dozens of places in Italy where a month long stay would work but we have no idea if you have been to Italy, what your interests are, is that budget just for lodging or does that mean for everything??

Have you narrowed it down by looking at some guide books or watching some videos?

7000 Canadian = ~4350 euros.

Is the 7000 the budget for the entire trip or what you have available/allocated for housing?

How many bodies to be sheltered?

You'll need to provide a lot more information if you want some reasonable responses. Italy is very diverse. What attracts you to Italy?

• Have you been to Italy before, If yes, where and what did you like/not like about it?
• Do you speak Italian?
• Do you plan to rent a car or strictly use trains and buses?
• Do you prefer city or town? Mountains, coastal, islands?
• You say not hot weather. What does this mean to you? What about snow in the winter?

These are just a few things to think about.

We are totally lost where we want to go in Italy. Just 2 of us seniors. So, hopefully not a lot of hills to walk up and down!
Here is one idea we have been thinking about.
Maybe Puglia area.
Flying from Canada to Rome for a few day 5 days maybe, catching a train to Bari renting a nice place for 21 days. Then heading back to Rome to fly home.
We have researched Bari and like it. It is close to the train station and we could visit other close cities like, Giovinazzo, Lecce and Ostuni and Monopoli.
We have about 30 days total.

What do you think about this trip?
We have never been to Italy.
We do not speak Italian at all.
Thinking February 15 to March 15 2027

That time of the year is cheaper and less crowded as November through March is low season.

However you need to research things you are interested in first.

You have never been to Italy and Italy has a lot to offer, probably more than any country in the world. So you need to do some research to find out what can interest you, there is no place that can be used to visit everything. Italy is not that small

Check the resources available on this website.
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy
Also look at the places Rick Steves’ tours go to:
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/italy
You can also peruse some travel guide resources at your library.

You don’t need to stay put in one place only, you can split your stay in multiple locations and have a separate base for each area.

Travelling out of season in Italy you have a handsome budget to get a decent place. Puglia is my favourite part of Italy and you can't go wrong with staying there. The weather will still be coldish midFeb to midMarch in puglia but nice when the sun is out. Bari would make a good base, or if you want somewhere smaller and more relaxing where people remember if you go to the same bar for coffee two days running, Trani.
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2023/04/why-i-love-trani.html?m=1
Both are on the east coast trainline for easy day tripping to places like Monopoli Brindisi Giovinazzo. ....You could maybe spend a night in Lecce as a holiday within the holiday without changing base.
However from Bari it would be easier to get to Matera by public transport again maybe for one night.
I'm a slow traveller myself but since you have never been to Italy I would start off with a week in Rome to see the big sites and then spend the rest of the time in Puglia.

Hi, Giangilberto from Milan, to give you the best possible answers, I need a bit more information.
That said, in my opinion your budget might not be enough for a couple to spend a month in Italy, even during the off-season.
You need to factor in accommodation for the month, I’d estimate that cost at around 1,500 to 2,000 euros or more, and then manage the rest for the duration of the trip, of course, it all depends on your plans, especially regarding shopping.
One more thing: is the cost of flights included in that 7,000 CAD budget, or is it separate?
In any case, there are too many variables involved, I need more details to provide a more accurate estimate.

CAD 7,000 is just above 4,000€. If you want a furnished home/apartment with a patio in the city center of any major city half of that amount won’t even be enough for the rent, even if just one bedroom. Then you need money for food and transportation. Food is not expensive if you cook at home, but dinner out at any restaurant in any major city is likely to set you back at least 80€ (CAD 130) per couple. If you eat out just one time a day, you need 3,500 CAD for a month. If you eat at home only you can get away with under 200€ a week, so maybe CAD 1,200 for the month.
I hope 7000 CAD does not include also the airfare.

Welcome to the forum -
As above, it's important to know what that $7000 Canadian/€4,356.86; (today) is expected to cover. Just the accommodations? The whole enchilada (accommodation, airfare, in-country transport, sightseeing, restaurants, attraction tickets....??). There's a big difference.

Somewhere that has everything we would want to see and need to do.

What sorts of things are you thinking you want to see?

Help us out here?

hobsonbb, welcome to the forum. After you give us more information regarding budget and expectations, we can help you.

I am in Italy now. It’s my fourth trip here since retirement. Last trip was two years ago. I noticed that food is more expensive than previous.

I travel solo and on a budget. For 3 1/2 weeks this year, I’ll fall in the $10,000 range, inclusive of all costs. I often stay in monasteries to offset the hotel price. Lowest this trip was €70/night for a single room, double room rate was €85/night. Hotels for one are not much less than hotels for two. I do not stay at AirB&Bs. I will spend €€€ for concerts and horse related activities.

While you digest all the information given, I suggest you plan your total budget, inclusive of airfare, trains, hotels etc. I read once on the forum to budget €400 per day, which I think is fairly accurate when everything is included. Since you’re travel off season, costs will be less.

Then grab a guide book and a calendar and start planning how many days where and what you want to see. Write it all down. Remember that Italy is larger (longer) than you expect. If you want winter stay north; if you want warmer stay south.

Good luck with your planning. Keep asking questions.

First off--February 15 to March 15, depending on where you go, is a great time to travel to Italy. We've done it multiple times and will be there early March in 2027. The trade off with fewer tourists is the weather. Northern climes from Florence north can be chilly, brisk, sometimes rainy in that time frame, with occasional snow.

If you are set--and I think you might be--on staying put in one place and really doing a deep-dive there...I think if you opt for a small town you could meet your budget but may end up being a captive audience of sorts, even if you are near the train station and can get away for daytrips. In that case you can meet the 7000 Canadian criteria...we're staying at a B&B in northern Italy in Bra for 3 nights at $80/night. But I wouldn't want to do a month there.

We're also staying a week in Rome's Testaccio neighborhood @ $200/night for a nice 2BR, 2 bath, and I'd gladly reside there for a month and not come close to running out of things to do or people coming to visit and stay with us. In fact, I plan to do that one winter in the next few years. And weather in Rome Feb 15/Mar 15 is surprisingly temperate...40-60, occasional rain, almost never snow. I'll take it.

So...yes, if you pick someplace like Rome, you can get a 1 BR place that's not over 7000 Canadian for the month, but you would have to start scouring AirBnB's starting now. The good places go quickly! Living expenses while you're there, I think you could keep it to 175-200 Canadian per day, maybe less if you eat in a lot (which is half the fun sometimes!). Enjoy your planning!

Bari is a very busy but interesting city. I would not plan to find a place with a patio within your budger. But many apartments have balconies. Best wishes with your search.

Spotahome.com is a good site for mid term rental (over 1 month), but I’ve never used it.
For less than a month you fall under the realm of the “affitto breve” (brief rental), therefore VRBO, AirBnB, Booking, are the main players. Those are significantly more expensive and even one bedroom apartments will require at least 75€ a day.

A couple can possibly get away with under 400€ a day for lodging, food and incidentals (airfare obviously excluded) but I doubt you can go under 300-350€ a day (500+ CAD). With CAD 7000 you can probably stay a couple of weeks, although without splurging too much.

Normally I would recommend the well trodden classics such as Rome, Venice and Florence for a first trip to Italy, but for this one, consider Sicily, in particular (but not limited to) Palermo. The weather will be the best you can find in Italy that time of year, and Sicily is quite a bit easier on the wallet than northern or central Italy. Palermo has a reputation as noisy and dirty, but I didn’t find it so, at least no more than any other Italian city. I think that reputation is somewhat based on how Palermo was in the past rather than what it is now. Lots to see and do, a variety of good neighborhoods, great food, a number of good day trips by public transport or local tour.

I’d consider looking at Dimora D’Amare an apartment near the waterfront in Trani. It is a 10 minute walk to the train station. The train to Bari is about 30 minutes. Trani is a scenic, charming small city which is worth exploring; a good homebase for a first time to Italy trip. The apartment is large with 2 bedrooms and an outdoor space. The apartment runs around $140 per night and can be reserved on several sites including Booking.com. Right now, it looks available for 3+ week stays this winter and next spring.

I think the patio requirement severely limits your options. If the $7,000 Canadian is for accommodations, and you eliminate the patio requirement, then you’ll have lots of options.

Booking.com has this apartment in Florence from 3/1 to 3/31 for two people with a kitchen, a washing machine and free cancellation for $5700 Canadian.

https://www.booking.com/Share-f93hxC

Thank you everyone for your help. We are now realizing $7000 canadian is definitely not enough money for 1 month.
We are not sure but we might change our plans to 3 weeks.
Also, we have been thinking about going somewhere cheaper this year and then go next year to Italy.
Italy looks so beautiful!!!
Thanks again!

Beautiful it is, but I doubt Italy will be any cheaper the following year.
If that is your budget just curb your expectations and stay for a shorter amount of time. With CAD 7,000 you can for sure have a vacation in Italy for at least 10 nights, comfortably.
Just select 3 star hotels and limit your travels to just a few cities (maybe 3 locations), and maybe pre-purchase train tickets at a discount.
For example you could do 3 nights in Venice, 3 nights in Florence and 4 nights in Rome. Those cities are not the cheapest but in March you can easily find 3 star hotels with breakfast included under CAD 300 a night, even in the city center. That would be less than CAD 3000 in total.
If you have a substantial breakfast at the hotel (generally a buffet breakfast is included in most hotels) and limit yourself to a quick lunch on the go and one dinner out at a restaurant in the evening, you need less than CAD 200 a day for food and the occasional drink. Food in Italy is not that pricey. For 10 nights that's less than CAD 2000.
Maybe 600-700 additional CAD will go for ground transportation (intercity trains, taxicabs, buses, vaporetti), but you are still left with well over CAD 1000 for museums, and those rarely cost more than CAD 30 per person. You might be able to stay even an extra couple of days and make it a 12 nights vacation.
I think 12 nights for CAD 7000 (excluding airfare) is doable without too much effort.

As others have mentioned you need to figure what sites you want to see and if that falls within your budget. If you are staying in one accommodation for the entire month then you need to factor in the cost of travel to nearby places for day trips- bus/train/ car rental?

I'm leaving for northern Italy soon. I've purchased many of my site tickets before departure: Milan Duomo, St Mark's Venice, museums, etc. Many tickets are in the $20-30 range for one ticket. If you are over 65, there may be a discount. I have read the 2025 editions of the RS Venice book and Italy book for the cities that aren't covered in the Venice book. Prices in the books are out of date. Many of the tickets have gone up 2-5 Euros since the 2025 printing.

If you want to sit on a patio and be comfortable then we are guessing that means spring or fall?

If you have an apartment presumably you will eat in some of the time. We (husband and wife) travel a lot in Italy and spend nowhere near €400 a day!

I am a frugal solo traveler and have visited Italy many times...short term and long term stays. The past few visits (from one month or more). Last several years, I stay in a small town about 20-30 minutes from Florence by train (Pistoia). I rent a one bed condo with elevator, Air conditioning etc...all I require. Very close to train station, flat town and not touristy or crowded at all. Since Florence is close, it is very easy to get there for more activities plus the Ligurian beach is only about an hour away by train. Have NEVER spent that amount of money including food and air....and side trips to other cities and countries! I'm sure you can have a comfortable stay for far less money unless you want to be treated like royalty .....seriously, you can do it!!! Enjoy your first (of hopefully many) visits to Italy.

7,000 CAD for a month = €4,350 for a month
That is 145€ a day for lodging, food, transportation, and incidentals, for a couple.
I don’t know how one can do that, even in Pistoia. I go to Pistoia every year to visit relatives, but a restaurant near Piazza della Sala or the Duomo will cost you at least 60€ for a couple. As far as accommodations are concerned, there isn’t much, if anything at all, in the city center of Pistoia for under 90€ a night, both on VRBO or AirBnB.
The only way to survive with 145€/day is not to go out to eat and stay put in town. You can probably buy groceries for a week at Coop or Esselunga for under 150€, but if you stay in the city center there are no large grocery stores and you’ll pay a bit more.
But who wants to travel across the world to eat only at home and not do anything but stay in town?
400€ a day is a bit much for my frugal travels, but 150€ a day is not enough in Italy if one needs accommodations. A couple would need 250€/day or more to be able to call it a vacation.

And Roberto's analysis is only for the 'in country' expenses.

OP has not made it clear if the airfare to/from is a separate or included item in the $7000CDN budget..