General Information
1. Italian State Tourism Board
Provincial tourism boards control most information and ENIT (Ente Nazionale Italiano per il Turismo), the national tourist office, has links to the local Lombardy tourist boards on their website.
Italian Tourist Board • www.enit.it
2. Tourist Offices in Lombardy
Local informazioni turistiche offices, often indicated as “IAT” or “Pro Loco”, are good for free maps, sight and museum opening hours, hotel directories and cultural events. Milan’s tourist office is at Piazza del Castello 1 (02 7740 4343), with a branch in Stazione Centrale (02 7740 4318).
Lombardy • www.turismo.regione.lombardia.it
Milan • www.visitamilano.it
3. Immigration Laws
Citizens of the UK, Ireland, US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia need only a valid passport to visit Italy for up to 90 days for tourism.
4. Customs
You may bring personal items into Italy with the following quirky limits: 400 cigarettes (or 550 grammes of tobacco), 2 cameras, 10 rolls of film, a pair of skis, two tennis rackets, one shooting gun with 200 cartridges and a litre of alcohol.
5. Opening Hours
Food shops open at 8:30am, while other shops and businesses open at 9:30am, shut for riposo from about 1pm to 3pm or 3:30pm (state museums and churches, too), and close around 7:30pm. Hairdressers are closed on Mondays. In larger cities, the riposo is disappearing in favour of orario continuato, working straight through.
6. Electricity and Outlets
Italy is on 220V/50 cycles. To operate a 110V device you need a converter (most laptops and camcorders have this built in). To plug it in, you need an adapter from your pronged plugs to Continental Europe’s two round pins.
7. TV & Newspapers
Most hotels with three stars and above get satellite TV with CNN and BBC news. Train station and central piazza news-stands are best for finding English-language news-papers (the International Herald Tribune comes with an Italy Daily insert). Informer (www.informer.it) is Milan’s expat English-language magazine.
8. When to Go
Lombardy has a mild climate, hotter and with less rainfall than most of the UK. August heat can be oppressive, while January snow is common. Spring’s middle ground keeps hotels booked in the cities, but summer is the season for the lakes. There is winter skiing in the Alps with an all-year ski resort at Bormio.
9. High Season and Holidays
High season is Easter–Jul and Sep–Oct. But while cities are deserted mid- to late Aug, lakeside resorts are packed through Jul–Aug. Milan’s trade fairs (Mar, Apr, Oct) make finding hotel rooms and dinner reservations difficult. National holidays are: 1 & 6 Jan, Easter Sun & Mon, 25 Apr, 1 May, 2 Jun, 15 Aug, 1 Nov, and 7 (Milan only), 8, 25 & 26 Dec.
10. What to Pack
Italians dress well, so it’s a good idea to take at least one smart outfit, though few restaurants require jacket and tie. Many churches do not allow bare knees or shoulders (no shorts, miniskirts or vests).
