Good to know before your trip — Italy

Driving into the historic centre of an Italian city often doesn't look prohibited — yet a fine can arrive months later through the car rental company. A ZTL (Zona a Traffico Limitato) is a restricted traffic zone that only vehicles with a permit are allowed to enter; access is monitored by cameras that read number plates. The rules and operating hours vary from city to city, so permission that applies in one city means nothing in another — always read the sign at the actual entrance. If you are staying at a hotel or using a car park inside the zone, the hotel can in principle register your number plate, but this must be arranged in advance, not after you have already driven in. If you are stopped by police for a traffic violation, a foreign driver has the right to pay the fine on the spot at a 30% reduction; if no deposit is paid, the vehicle may be held for up to 60 days.

The colour of the lines in an Italian car park is not decorative — it determines whether you are allowed to stop and whether you have to pay. Blue lines indicate paid parking, charged by the hour; the rate varies from one municipality to another, and your proof of payment must be displayed visibly inside the vehicle. White lines indicate free parking, though often with a time limit set by the local authority — in that case, you are required to use a parking disc showing your time of arrival, so check the sign before you walk away. Yellow spaces are not off-limits to tourists; they are reserved for categories pre-authorised by the municipality, such as people with disabilities, local residents, and municipal or city services.

In Italy, card payments are accepted almost everywhere, so the real question is how much cash it actually makes sense to carry. Card payment is widely available in Italy — the most common cards are accepted, and contactless payment is standard. Our recommendation, not a rule: bring a small amount of cash as a backup, in case a terminal is temporarily out of service. There is no need to carry large sums; all major expenses can be paid safely by card.

Entering Italy as a non-EU traveller from 2026 no longer looks the way it used to — there is now a step at the border that did not exist before. The Entry/Exit System (EES) is an electronic system that records the entries and exits of non-EU nationals making short stays, and it has been fully operational across all Schengen countries since 10 April 2026. Instead of a passport stamp, your travel document details and biometric data (fingerprints and a photograph) are recorded at the external border, which means your first crossing takes longer than it used to. The system is still being refined and the rules are being updated — before you travel, check the current situation and exactly what is required at the border on the official EU portal for the EES.

In an emergency in Italy, you don't need to remember which number reaches the police and which reaches the ambulance service. 112 is the single European emergency number, available throughout the European Union, free of charge from both landlines and mobile phones, and it connects you to ambulance services, the fire brigade, and the police. In Italy it operates alongside the existing national emergency numbers, so you don't need to know them. Operators in Italy are also available in English.