In this week’s #TravelTipTuesday, the ITTN team head to Italy and gives our top tips for visiting the foodie hotspot.
When to drink coffee Italians do love their coffee. But did you know there is a perfect time in the day for drinking it? You never drink coffee during a meal, but you can have one after eating.
Cappuccino is only for breakfast and you should never drink it past 11:00 am. If you ask for a cappuccino after a meal at a restaurant, or with a meal, don’t be surprised if they look at you like you come from Mars!
Breakfast is served sweet Italians normally have a sweet breakfast rather than savoury. If you go to international hotels you will find English breakfast or cold meat, but please don’t be disappointed by the choice and embrace the local culture that Italy has to offer. Breakfast in Italy is normally a cappuccino, pastry and orange juice.
Use an Italian menu If you want to eat really good Italian food, avoid any restaurants that display an English menu outside. Small, hole-in-the-wall restaurants are where you want to go for a genuine taste of Italian cuisine.
This tip mainly works well in tourist hotspots such as Rome or Florence, where visitors will be tempted to go for English menus instead.
Dinner is served later If you are going out for dinner at 6:30 pm and you see an empty restaurant, it doesn’t mean that restaurant isn’t popular. It just means no one in Italy is eating that early. Most restaurants don’t even open before 7:00 pm or later.
Italians normally go for a pre-dinner snack (or ”aperitivo”) between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm. You can sit down in a piazza and most bars will serve you some crisps, pizza, nuts, and nibbles.
Always find time for gelato The most famous ice cream in the world is Italian gelato, and there is a reason for that! It’s simply amazing and you won’t be able to stop eating it.
So there is no reason to resist. Just go for it at any time of the day. You can have gelato for breakfast, after lunch, morning or afternoon snack or after dinner.
Any time is good for gelato in Italy.
Be sure to use this list of top tips if you head to Italy!
If you would like to share your #TravelTipTuesday, send them to [email protected].
