Tap water not free??

You may have been reading my sarcastic comment. Tap water may be free but unlike what you are used to here, you will not be automatically offered free tap water (and NEVER with ice) and if you ask for it, you may get a dirty look.

If you ask for free tap water with ice and a little lemon, they drag you to the Coliseum and make you fight the Lions (or Packers).

tap water is fine in Italy - especially Venice (according to Rick, it's shipped in from the Alps) but even in Rome I found it perfectly fine. In places I felt comfortable enough asking for it (I used my trip to try to expand my horizons and try local drinks and wine anyway), sometimes they'd give it to me, sometimes they wouldn't. My favorite little pizzeria in Rome wouldn't give me tap water at all, for free or for a cost. Don't know why, didn't ask more, because the drinks there were so cheap I didn't care. Other places gave me a carafe (and yes sometimes with ice - without me asking!) with no hesitation at all - it really depended on the place and I found no rhyme or reason to it all (except that I would venture a guess that places more used to catering to tourists are more willing to give tap water and are more used to the request).

My Italian cousins when we visited them always mixed their wine with the bottled water with gas. Like a Sangria?

In any case, it reduces your alcohol intake, makes the water and wine taste better for those not used to it (like my wife), costs less (bottled water was typically €1.5 to €2 for 1.5L and wine €2 to €5 for 0.25L) and is good for you to be drinking a lot of water when walking so much.

Pat, really the best way to do this is to get yourself a Nalgene and fill it religiously. Drink water during the day and then you can either go without a beverage at dinner or order a wine/beer. I find this is a much more comfortable and socially acceptable way of doing things.

That being said, I've never been given a hard time for asking for tap water. But I have had the communication of "tap water" be very difficult. There have been times when I asked a local how to ask for tap water only to have a waiter bring bottled water to the table after I used the exact phrase I was told to use. It's just not something that's often done in Europe in general, but I've never been treated rudely when asking for it. It's best to just order a beer/wine and drink your water during the day.

There is a little Pizzeria (Da Sina) in Wengen Switzerland that REFUSED to give us tap water. We also had a small Italian restaurant in Mestre (Venice) that DID give us tap water and CHARGED us for it! No Rhyme or Reason.

In Italy, it's aqua naturale. If you ask for water in an Italian restaurant, they will bring and charge you for sparkling or plain bottled water (delivered opened), unless you specifically tell them not to. I'm not sure if it's a rip-off of tourists or just an unusual thing to order in an Italian restaurant.

We always order the house wine, vino della casa (some was really good, some not so good) at restaurants. It's about half the price of a cola.

Rome has the best tap water in the world. There are fountains all over called nase. You plug the spigot with your finger and a hole in the top turns it to a water fountain. The water is cold and great. Keep your empty half liter water bottles and fill up whenever you see one.

"Aqua Naturale" could be also be non-carbonated, bottled water. I usually use the term "Aqua Rubinetto" when asking for tap water.

Traveling is part of experiencing other cultures and customs. The whole tap water thing with americans can get out of hand in my opinion (nevermind the ice!). Youre spending $1000s to travel there - a few extra euros a day for bottled shouldnt be bad. On some large tours the proprietors know they guests expect tap water - but youll get more respect I feel trying to fit in and order a bottle. In many counties - the mountain-springs feed the public water fountain/troughs and can be nice during the day to fill up the bottle (like in the alps)- but if you sit down for a meal - go local and pay for a bottle. Skip the 3$ latte for a week at home - and save up for europe! but have fun!

By the way - i might add if you like beer and are on a budget - beer is USUALLY cheaper than soda or water in may Euro countries! enjoy!

It's just cultural :-) Italians LOVE their bottled water...they all have favorite brands and will debate which is THE best. It also happens to be VERY cheap in the groceries compared to here in the US (I've seen large bottles for about $.15)...so they get used to drinking it. they will look at you like you have two heads if you order tap water to drink. It is TOTALLY safe to drink and I do it all the time all over Italy...but, it is true, they will think you tacky and odd. Think of it as the tip - which is why the bottles with meals cost SO much (!) and order the water if you want water...otherwise, order something else to drink; it is considered tacky to not order a drink with a meal.

Well I know tap water IS easy to get in Paris , and I KNOW many locals ask for it, my french family drinks tap water at restaurants, we thought that most tourists seem to think they NEED to get bottled water as maybe they think the tap water is not good.
I also think that buying bottled water does not make one look like a local anymore then wearing all black.

Now Italy I am not sure about, but you seem to be saying that they WANT you to buy bottled water, but that the tap water IS drinkable? I feel no need to buy water to appease a restaurant where I am ordering and paying for a meal and wine already. It is not an " American" thing,( note I am not American) but a common sense thing.

I have also read about Italians charging extra for bread at the table, is this true. Seems like eating in Italy will be much more expensive then in France.

I don't know abou tap water,but have a couple of other not so nice experiences to share.August,Rimini beach,at a three star hotel(otherwise very nice)the front desk didn't know what an ice machine was and why we were asking for one.Me and my brother had a bottle of brandy,and wanted to enjoy it in our room.After spending 1 hour up and down the beach for some ice,we gave up.NO ICE.Janary 08,the Galeria at the d'uomo(Milan).After paying 6.20 euro for a double cheeseburger meal,i was charged .20 cents for 2 katchups.ICE and KATCHUP,2 things we americans take for granted.

gezim, I knew about ice, it is considered expensive as electricity is expensive in Europe and most people have tiny little freezers and I have never even seen an ice machine in any hotel there at all..

but charging for ketchup is just cheap and sad.

pat - You asked about being charged for bread in Italy. The practice is called "pane e coperto" - literally, bread and cover. It's a standard charge and takes the place of tipping. It's usually quite small and makes equivalent restaurant checks a better deal than in North America.

Doug, thanks, so it is not like France where tip is included "servis compris" but the bread charge is in fact a service charge? So would one round up a bit to add to tip a bit like one would in Paris?

Europeans don't really drink tap water in restaurants. When you ask for water they bring you bottled water or sparkling water which is called mineral water in Europe. Mineral water is naturally carbonated, it comes like that from springs.

Pat,
nope. I have never, ever seen an Italian order tap water in a restaurant. ever. now...I don't think they think it's not good to drink or anything, it's just not done...they think the "good" water helps digest and compliments the food (actually, good tip too...if you are ever in need of an antacid i.e. Tums in Italy, it will usually be found with the bottled water as that's the "digestivo" part of the store ;-) That's why you see poor, 80 yr old women lugging cases of bottled water up lots of stairs...it's just what they think is "good" for you. (although I have seen them drink directly from fountains...in Rome and all over) I always order "frizzante" - then, at least I feel like I'm paying for SOMETHING with the bubbles. In non-touristy places, the water should not be more than a euro or two anyway...like I said, I don't tip there...so all comes out in the wash and I get to taste lots of fizzy water (and we now have our favorites too)

At home in the USA, my neice is convince she can't drink tap water and even though she is on a tight budget insist on buying bottled water (she grew up on tap water.) We drank tap water in Rome and Venice this past Sept. even though at restauants they always seemed to try to push bottle water on us. (They would ask "Gas" or "No Gas"). My husband carried a water bottle with him that he refilled from the fountains in Rome when needed to during his daytime touring. I think if someone thought to bottle Roman water from the fountain and market it correctly - people like my neice and her friends might buy it - just because it is from a foriegn country and a botttle.

Well Bea that may be true in Italy, but it isn't true of all of Europe, at the very least not in France, my family on my fathers side is all french and let me tell you they drink tap water and ask for it in restaurants if they want it, where do you think I learned it from? LOL

Bea- you can order "acqua minerale" "con gas" or "senza gas" - with bubbles or without ;-) sometimes w/ bubbles is called "frizzante" ("fizzy") both are forms of "mineral" water - just depends if you like the carbonation in them or not...so still or sparkling...like I said...I like the bubbles ;-)

Pat-it is TOTALLY drinkable - I have been drinking tap water in Italy for years....I have just never seem an Italian drink tap water before...at home or in a restaurant...it's just a weird Italian thing :-) I have also never had anyone push buying water on me...but I like Aqcua Minerale Frizzante - so I don't mind buying it. (I have also seen families of Italians buy a litre of Coke instead, BTW - mostly wih pizza ;-) ) The tap water would be find to drink..I have never ordered it before, nor have I seen anyone order it, so I don't know what the reaction would be ;-) probably just chalk it up to crazy Americans :-) no one would really care.
As for "bread" charges...

It depends where you eat...some have bread charges and some do not...some cover charges and some not...just like in some places you must pay a table price to sit (i.e. a cafe in Venice)...but in a non-tourist town, they will let you sit all day and the price is the same as if you stood at the bar :-)

Casa del Cipresso, I did not know about the table charge, thanks for mentioning it.
I was a young women on a budget the last time I was in Italy, over 20 yrs ago, LOL, and I just remember paying bills and trying to figure out Lira,, which I never did master,, so I paid whatever it said without a clue...LOL
At least now I know what I am paying.

hahah :-) yes, at least there aren't so many zeros now I guess.
table and bar prices are always listed on a sign (usually by the bar) - it is regulated so that they must be. Some places, the difference is very small...some, it is HUGE i.e. 1.50 for a cafe at the bar....and maybe 4.50 if you sit down at a table (!) this even applies if there is no waiter/table service in some places. (and some not - if you buy something at the bar, just pay and ask if you can take it to sit..."Posso sedersi??" or "may I sit?"and they'll let you know if it's not clear)You'll be able to tell though - if the bar is PACKED with Italians standing...there is probably a hefty table charge...the standing room at the bars is tight in the cities around 10am for a coffee break and at luchtime since most Italians will stand to eat their sandwich.

laugh although the fancier places with a table charge usually DO give you a free glass of water with your coffee ;-) and nuts or potato chips in the evening wiwth your wine ;-)