Are there any restrictions on carrying water bottles into sites with artwork like the Vatican, Uffizi, Accademia, etc? Should I just take a plastic water bottle that can be disposed of rather than an expensive one I bought in a sporting goods store?
Thanks in advance.
I don't think you can ever be 100% sure the policy will not have changed the week before your arrival, so I wouldn't take an expensive water bottle to any indoor sight. I take a couple of disposable ones with me on each trip and use those when I'm sightseeing. This time I also threw a reusable bottle in my suitcase, and I've used it almost exclusively in my hotel rooms.
On the other hand, virtually all indoor museums have lockers where you can stash belongings. The only potential issue is locating an empty one at busy times; you might have to hang around for a few minutes until someone empties a locker. Fancier lockers are sometimes broken, I find, which doesn't help with availability.
If the place isn't doing careful bag checks, you'll likely get by if you stuff the water bottle into a purse, assuming the purse isn't too large to be admitted. The Borghese in Rome either bans all bags or enforces a very small size limit, just as one example.
A large 2 liter plastic water bottle costs less than 25 eurocents at a grocery supermarket. You can buy small ones in a case of 6 for next to nothing. Why bother carrying an expensive one? Bottle water is cheap in Italy and actually you can refill your plastic bottle for free in the streets at the many fountains.
Billie,
As I recall, one place that does have a restriction on water bottles is the Uffizi Gallery. That restriction is listed on their website - https://www.visituffizi.org/museum/services/ (scroll down to the "Cloakroom" section). It would be prudent to empty your water bottle prior to entering the gallery.
I don't remember encountering any restrictions at other sites I visited in Italy.
You don't have to dispose of the bottle, just empty it out. Like when you go through security at the airport. I have two tiny plastic bottles I rescued from a friend's recycling, one that had Gatorade in it and one that had apple juice in it, that I like because they are very sturdy plastic instead of the thin and flimsy little water bottles you can buy in grocery stores. And, yes, fill from the many public drinking fountains.
Thanks, everyone, for your replies. I hadn't thought about just emptying the bottle out and still being able to carry it.
