American Express -- The Rome offices are at Piazza di Spagna 38 (tel. 06-67-641; Metro: Spagna). The travel service is open Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm, and Saturday from 9am to 12:30pm. Hours for the financial and mail services are Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm. The tour desk is open during the same hours as those for travel services and also Saturday from 2 to 2:30pm (May-Oct).
Babysitters -- Most hotel desks in Rome will help you find a babysitter. Inquire as far in advance as possible, and be sure to ask for an English-speaking sitter. You won't always get one, but it pays to ask.
Banks -- In general, banks are open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 1:30pm and 3 to 4pm. Some banks keep afternoon hours from 2:45 to 3:45pm. There's a branch of Citibank at Via Abruzzi 2 (tel. 06-478-171; Metro: Barberini). The bank office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 1:30pm.
Currency Exchange -- There are exchange offices throughout the city, and they're also at all major rail and air terminals, including Stazione Termini, where the cambio (exchange booth) beside the rail information booth is open daily from 8am to 8pm. At some cambi, you'll have to pay commissions, often 1 1/2%. Likewise, banks often charge commissions.
Dentists -- To find a dentist who speaks English, call the U.S. Embassy in Rome at tel. 06-46-741. You might have to call around to get an appointment. There's also the 24-hour G. Eastman Dental Hospital, Viale Regina Elena 287B (tel. 06-844-831; Metro: Policlinico).
Doctors -- Call the U.S. Embassy at tel. 06-46-741 for a list of doctors who speak English. All big hospitals have a 24-hour first-aid service (go to the emergency room, Pronto Soccorso). You'll find English-speaking doctors at the privately run Salvator Mundi International Hospital, Viale delle Mura Gianicolensi 67 (tel. 06-588-961; Bus: 44). For medical assistance, the International Medical Center is on 24-hour duty at Via Firenze 47 (tel. 06-488-2371; Metro: Republica). You could also contact the Rome American Hospital, Via Emilio Longoni 69 (tel. 06-22-551 ), with English-speaking doctors on duty 24 hours. A more personalized service is provided 24 hours by MEDI-CALL, Studio Medico, Via Salaria 300, Palazzina C, interno 5 (tel. 06-884-0113; Bus: 53). It can arrange for qualified doctors to make a house call at your hotel or anywhere in Rome. In most cases, the doctor will be a general practitioner who can refer you to a specialist, if needed. Fees begin at around $100 per visit and can go higher if a specialist or specialized treatments are necessary.
Drugstores -- A reliable pharmacy is Farmacia Internazionale, Piazza Barberini 49 (tel. 06-487-1195; Metro: Barberini), open day and night. Most pharmacies are open from 8:30am to 1pm and 4 to 7:30pm. In general, pharmacies follow a rotation system, so several are always open on Sunday.
Electricity -- It's generally 220 volts, 50 Hz AC, but you might find 125-volt outlets, with different plugs and sockets for each. Pick up a transformer either before leaving home or in any appliance shop in Rome if you plan to use electrical appliances. Check the exact local current at your hotel. You'll also need an adapter plug.
Embassies/Consulates -- In case of an emergency, embassies have a 24-hour referral service.
The U.S. Embassy is at Via Vittorio Veneto 119A (tel. 06/46-741; fax 06/467-422-17).
The Canadian Consulate and passport service is at Via Zara 30 (tel. 06/445-981 ). The Canadian Embassy is at Via G. B. de Rossi 27 (tel. 06/445-981; fax 06/445-98754).
The U.K. Embassy is at Via XX Settembre 80A (tel. 06/482-5441; fax 06/4890-3073).
The Australian Embassy is at Via Alessandria 215 (tel. 06/852-721; fax 06/852-723-00). The Australian Consulate is in Rome at Corso Trieste 25 (tel. 06/852-721 ).
The New Zealand Embassy is at Via Zara 28 (tel. 06/441-7171; fax 06/440-2984).
The Irish Embassy is at Piazza di Campitelli 3 (tel. 06/697-912; fax 06/679-2354). For consular queries, dial tel. 06/697-91211.
Emergencies -- Dial 113 for an ambulance or to call the police; to report a fire, call 115.
Internet Access -- You can log onto the Web in central Rome at Thenetgate, Piazza Firenze 25 (tel. 06-689-3445; Bus: 116). Summer hours are Monday through Saturday from 10:30am to noon and 3:30 to 10:30pm; winter hours are daily from 10:40am to 8:30pm. A 20-minute visit costs 2.50€ ($2.25), and 1 hour (including mailbox) costs 5€ ($4.45). Access is free on Saturday from 10:30 to 11am and 2 to 2:30pm. Another excellent choice is TreviNet Place, 103 Via in Arcione (tel. 06-6992-2320 ), between the Trevi Fountain and Via del Traforo. It offers a wide variety of computer services, including Internet access, digital picture downloading, CD burning, direct connection in LAN for laptops, e-mail access, scanning, fax, photo and laser printing. You can kill two birds with one stone just north of Stazione Termini at Splash, Via Varese 33 (tel. 06-4938-2073; Metro: Termini), a do-it-yourself laundromat (6.50€/$5.80 per load, including soap) with a satellite TV and four computers hooked up to the Internet (2.50€/$2.25 per half-hour).
Legal Aid -- The consulate of your country is the place to turn for legal aid, although offices can't interfere in the Italian legal process. They can, however, inform you of your rights and provide a list of attorneys. You'll have to pay for the attorney out of your pocket -- there's no free legal assistance. If you're arrested for a drug offense, about all the consulate will do is notify a lawyer about your case and perhaps inform your family.
Liquor Laws -- Wine with meals has been a normal part of family life for hundreds of years in Italy. Children are exposed to wine at an early age, and consumption of alcohol isn't anything out of the ordinary. There's no legal drinking age for buying or ordering alcohol, and there's almost no restriction on what kinds of stores or what days of the week wine or liquor can be sold, as in the United States.
Luggage Storage/Lockers -- These are available at the Stazione Termini along Tracks 1 and 22 daily from 5am to 1am. The charge is 2.50€ ($2.25) per piece of luggage per 12-hour period.
Mail -- Mail delivery in Italy is notoriously bad. Your family and friends back home might receive your postcards in 1 week, or it might take 2 weeks (sometimes longer). Postcards, aerogrammes, and letters weighing up to 20 grams sent to the United States and Canada cost .75€ (65¢); to the United Kingdom and Ireland, .60€ (55¢); and to Australia and New Zealand, .75€ (65¢). You can buy stamps at all post offices and at tabacchi (tobacco) stores, but it's easiest just to buy stamps and mail letters and postcards at your hotel's front desk. You can buy special stamps at the Vatican City Post Office, adjacent to the information office in St. Peter's Square; it's open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 7pm and Saturday from 8:30am to 6pm. Letters mailed at Vatican City reach North America far more quickly than mail sent from within Rome for the same cost.
Newspapers/Magazines -- You can get the International Herald Tribune, USA Today, New York Times, and Time and Newsweek magazines at most newsstands. The expatriate magazine (in English) Wanted in Rome comes out monthly and lists current events and shows. If you want to try your hand at reading Italian, the Thursday edition of the newspaper La Repubblica contains "Trova Roma," a magazine supplement full of cultural and entertainment listings, and Time Out now has a Rome edition.
Police -- Dial 113.
Restrooms -- Facilities are found near many of the major sights and often have attendants, as do those at bars, clubs, restaurants, cafes, and hotels, plus the airports and the rail station. (There are public restrooms near the Spanish Steps, or you can stop at the McDonald's there -- it's one of the nicest branches of the Golden Arches you'll ever see!) You're expected to leave .10€ to .25€ (10¢-20¢) for the attendant. It's not a bad idea to carry some tissues in your pocket when you're out and about, either.
Safety -- Pickpocketing is the most common problem. Men should keep their wallets in their front pocket or inside jacket pocket. Purse snatching is also commonplace, with young men on Vespas who ride past you and grab your purse. To avoid trouble, stay away from the curb, and keep your purse on the wall side of your body and place the strap across your chest. Don't lay anything valuable on tables or chairs, where it can be grabbed up. Gypsy children have long been a particular menace, although the problem isn't as severe as in years past. If they completely surround you, you'll often virtually have to fight them off. They might approach you with pieces of cardboard hiding their stealing hands. Just keep repeating a firm no!
Taxes -- As a member of the European Union, Italy imposes a value-added tax (called IVA in Italy) on most goods and services. The tax that most affects visitors is the one imposed on hotel rates, which ranges from 9% in first- and second-class hotels to 19% in deluxe hotels.
Non-EU (European Union) citizens are entitled to a refund of the IVA if they spend more than 150€ ($133.95) at any one store, before tax. To claim your refund, request an invoice from the cashier at the store and take it to the Customs office (dogana) at the airport to have it stamped before you leave. Note: -- If you're going to another EU country before flying home, have it stamped at the airport Customs office of the last EU country you'll be in (for example, if you're flying home via Britain, have your Italian invoices stamped in London). Once back home, mail the stamped invoice (keep a photocopy for your records) back to the original vendor within 90 days of the purchase. The vendor will, sooner or later, send you a refund of the tax that you paid at the time of your original purchase. Reputable stores view this as a matter of ordinary paperwork and are businesslike about it. Less-honorable stores might lose your dossier. It pays to deal with established vendors on large purchases. You can also request that the refund be credited to the credit card with which you made the purchase; this is usually a faster procedure.
Many shops are now part of the "Tax Free for Tourists" network (look for the sticker in the window). Stores participating in this network issue a check along with your invoice at the time of purchase. After you have the invoice stamped at Customs, you can redeem the check for cash directly at the Tax Free booth in the airport (in Rome, it's past Customs; in Milan's airports, the booth is inside the Duty Free shop) or mail it back in the envelope provided within 60 days.
Telephone -- To call Italy from the United States, dial the international prefix, 011; then Italy's country code, 39; and then the city code (for example, 06 for Rome and 055 for Florence), which is now built into every number. Then dial the actual phone number.
A local phone call in Italy costs around .10€ (10¢). Public phones accept coins, precharged phone cards (scheda or carta telefonica), or both. You can buy a carta telefonica at any tabacchi (tobacconists; most display a sign with a white T on a brown background) in increments of 2.60€ ($2.30), 5.20€ ($4.65), and 7.80€ ($6.95). To make a call, pick up the receiver and insert your card (break off the corner first). Most phones have a digital display that tell you how much money you've inserted (or how much is left on the card). Dial the number, and don't forget to take the card with you after you hang up.
To call from one city code to another, dial the city code, complete with initial 0, and then dial the number. (Note that numbers in Italy range from 4 to 8 digits in length. Even when you're calling within the same city, you must dial that city's area code -- including the 0. A Roman calling another Rome number must dial 06 before the local number.)
To dial direct internationally, dial 00 and then the country code, the area code, and the number. Country codes are as follows: the United States and Canada, 1; the United Kingdom, 44; Ireland, 353; Australia, 61; New Zealand, 64. Make international calls from a public phone, if possible, because hotels almost invariably charge ridiculously inflated rates for direct dial -- but bring plenty of schede to feed the phone. Calls dialed directly are billed on the basis of the call's duration only. A reduced rate is applied from 11pm to 8am Monday through Saturday and all day Sunday. Direct-dial calls from the United States to Italy are much cheaper, so arrange for whomever to call you at your hotel.
Italy has recently introduced a series of international phone cards (scheda telefonica internazionale) for calling overseas. They come in increments of 50, 100, 200, and 400 unita (units), and they're usually available at tabacchi and bars. Each unita is worth .15€ (15¢) of phone time; it costs 5 unita (.65€/55¢) per minute to call within Europe or to the United States or Canada, and 12 unita (1.55€/$1.40) per minute to call Australia or New Zealand. You don't insert this card into the phone; merely dial tel. 1740 and then *2 (star 2) for instructions in English, when prompted.
To call the free national telephone information (in Italian) in Italy, dial tel. 12. International information is available at tel. 176 but costs .60€ (60¢) a shot.
To make collect or calling card calls, drop in .10€ (10¢) or insert your card and dial one of the numbers given below; an American operator will shortly come on to assist you (because Italy has yet to discover the joys of the touch-tone phone, you'll have to wait for the operator). The following calling-card numbers work all over Italy: AT&T tel. 172-1011, MCI tel. 172-1022, and Sprint tel. 172-1877. To make collect calls to a country besides the United States, dial tel. 170 (free), and practice your Italian counting in order to relay the number to the Italian operator. Tell him or her that you want a carico del destinatario.
Don't count on all Italian phones having touch-tone service! You might not be able to access your voice mail or answering machine if you call home from Italy.
Time -- In terms of standard time zones, Italy is 6 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time in the United States. Daylight saving time goes into effect in Italy each year from the end of March to the end of September.
Tipping -- This custom is practiced with flair in Italy -- many people depend on tips for their livelihoods. In hotels, the service charge of 15% to 19% is already added to a bill. In addition, it's customary to tip the chambermaid .50€ (45¢) per day, the doorman (for calling a cab) .50€ (45¢), and the bellhop or porter 1.50€ to 2.50€ ($1.35-$2.25) for carrying your bags to your room. A concierge expects about 15% of his or her bill, as well as tips for extra services performed, which could include help with long-distance calls. In expensive hotels, these lire amounts are often doubled.
In restaurants and cafes, 15% is usually added to your bill to cover most charges. If you're not sure whether this has been done, ask, "È incluso il servizio?" (ay een-cloo-soh eel sair-vee-tsoh?). An additional tip isn't expected, but it's nice to leave the equivalent of an extra couple of dollars if you've been pleased with the service. Checkroom attendants expect .75€ (65¢), and washroom attendants should get .35€ (30¢). Restaurants are required by law to give customers official receipts.
Taxi drivers expect at least 15% of the fare.
Water -- Most Italians take mineral water with their meals; however, tap water is safe everywhere, as are public drinking fountains. Unsafe sources will be marked ACQUA NON POTABILE. If tap water comes out cloudy, it's only the calcium or other minerals inherent in a water supply that often comes untreated from fresh springs.
