Many tourists or future travelers worry about culture shock in Italy. While it’s always easy to spot foreign visitors, Italians are well aware that there are tourists and Tourists. Let’s see the easiest ways to blend in once you are in Italy.
- What if I make embarrassing mistakes?
- What if I come across as an ignorant tourist?
- What if my clothes scream “foreign tourists”?
I often come across such questions and doubts from tourists so don’t worry, you are not alone. Actually, good thing you found me! I’m going to give you a few super easy tips to not look too much like a tourist while in Italy.
Pick the right clothes
By this, I don’t mean that you need to be dressed gala-style from early morning. In Italy, we like to look after our style, but everyone has their own. It doesn’t really matter if we don’t like a style that we see someone is wearing.
There are a few things to keep in mind though:
- Avoid gym clothes. Sorry, but this really screams “foreign tourist”. There is nothing wrong with wanting to dress comfortably, it’s actually recommended because in Italy you will be walking a lot. But if you are worried about looking like a tourist, this is the first thing we think when we see groups wearing gym clothes wandering around the historic centers. I also always wear sneakers, but to walk in the city, I choose fancier ones and match them with a nice pair of trousers instead of gym leggings.
- Avoid beach style. In Rome’s city center, I have come across this too, mostly young girls wearing shorts so short or T-shirts so sleeveless that it looked like they were on the beach rather than in a museum. Nothing wrong if you want to wear a miniskirt or a sleeveless T-shirt (unless you are going to church!), just a “city” one rather than a “beach” one.
- Avoid forced elegance. Here is the stark opposite of what I’ve said earlier. You would look like a tourist if you were TOO elegant when it’s really not necessary. In Rome, it’s not a rare sight to see women posing in front of fountains or landmarks wearing little summer dresses even in winter when temperatures don’t allow this. You won’t see Italian women wearing a summer dress when the temperature is 5°C. I have also seen many tourists in Milan wearing long gala-style dresses from early morning while sightseeing. All I think of in these cases is how uncomfortable that should be!
Pay attention to your voice volume
I know, Italians are known to be loud, and we are. But in some way, we also pay attention not to bother who’s next to us (at least most of us do).
An example that I happened to see in Rome even quite recently was a group of tourists who occupied a few tables in a restaurant and then started communicating very loudly with each other. This made it difficult for anyone else to talk and even order.
The same applies to museums, landmarks, and even the streets, especially when tourists are in large groups.
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Understand dining etiquette
Here we should open a long chapter that would make this article way longer than planned. It’s quite obvious that each country has its own dining etiquette and eating style so it’s impossible to really keep in mind all the differences.
But if you want to avoid looking like a tourist in Italy, there are a few things you can start considering that are also the most spoke-about.
For example, the famous no-cappuccino-after-11 rule that in English language blogs and forums seems law approved by the Italian Parliament in an emergency session with united Chambers. Wow, you can relax. Do you want a cappuccino at 11.10 am? Enjoy. I wouldn’t have cappuccino so late (or ever in general because I find it too heavy on my stomach) because in my mind I feel closer to lunch than breakfast.
So yes, having a cappuccino at lunch to accompany a steak or a dish of pasta does scream “tourist”. But if you would like a cappuccino in the afternoon instead of straight coffee, why not?
Another hot topic in our dining culture is the eating time. If I see a family eating pasta at 5 pm, I immediately understand they are not Italian. In fact, usually, only touristy restaurants serve full meals so early in the afternoon.
I know it’s hard to change such habits, especially if your body is used to it, but you will find these restaurants only around the largest tourist landmarks. If you are traveling to other cities or towns out of the classic tourist routes, you will need to adapt.
For example, if you are hungry at 5 pm, you can have a sandwich at a bar or buy groceries in a shop, and then have dinner later in the evening when restaurants open.
Understand the tipping culture
Another hot topic about culture shock in Italy is the tipping culture. I know in the US is customary to tip and to tip A LOT. In Italy, usually, receipts come with a ten percent extra charge for the service so we don’t *have* to tip, but if we do, it would be an extra ten percent, not the whole 100 percent of the bill.
Unfortunately, some waiters in tourist traps expect large tips from tourists and mainly American tourists because I doubt European or Asian tourists leave huge tips.
As a general rule, I would say if you are happy with the service, there is nothing wrong with leaving a tip and also leaving the amount you prefer. Just don’t feel obliged to do so if you don’t want to.
Be aware of the language difference
Sometimes, I have noticed tourists become annoyed and run out of patience when Italians don’t speak English. While I know that English is widely spoken around the world and somehow expected, if you decide to visit Italy, a good thing to remember is that Italian is the official language and we are not obliged to learn English.
Of course, learning a new language is always something to be encouraged (I’m fluent in English and French, and I studied Chinese), but in our language schools, we get to choose which languages we want to learn. Some choose English, some French, some Spanish, some Russian, some Chinese, and so on.
In Italy, you will likely be able to easily communicate in English in the touristy areas and restaurants of the historic centers. But if you go beyond the classic itineraries and venture to lesser-known towns and regions (which I highly recommend!), you won’t find as many people speaking English.
I’m not implying that you will need to be fluent in Italian before arriving, but carrying a dictionary or learning some basics for greeting goes a long way and will make you more confident also to explore offbeat destinations.
All this being said, we all look like tourists when we are abroad. When walking around the narrow alleys of Rome’s city center for the first time, you will definitely need to check on the map, you will likely look lost, and you probably won’t speak Italian.
These are all cues that make us understand you are a tourist, but this is also how we look when we are abroad!
Italy is the country of dolce vita, so relax and venture out of the famous tourist spots to discover a more intimate and authentic side of the Belpaese.
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