
The hotel garage will often be far costlier than a nearby public garage or other parking option
OK, that'll be €120 ($145) for your room, and €45 ($54) a day for parking...
Sound familiar? All of a sudden, you're looking at a triple-digit daily charge just for you and your wheels to spend the night.
With rare expectations, hotel parking (whether on-site or using a local garage) costs far more than the municipal garage or public lot. I've actually run into hotels charging $80 a night, just for the car!
The catch, of course, is that if you do pick the public garage/lot, you have to then shuttle yourself between the hotel and said lot—and the most reasonable lots (ones costing under $25 for 24 hours) are usually on the edges of town. Private garages in the historic center will be closer to the hotel, but usually not nearly as cheap (figure on $35 to $60 a night).
Then again, keep in mind that most cities have crazy traffic, arcane driving rules, narrow streets, and a mindbogglingly large percentage of one-way or pedestrian-only roads, and suddenly paying a bit extra to just get rid of the car at your hotel door starts looking pretty tempting.
Contact the tourist office or look in your guidebook to find out the going rate at the city garage, and then ask your hotel what their charge would be, as well as whether it's on-site (garage, lot, or just a few spaces on the streets around the hotel) and DIY, or if it's nearby and requires a valet (and, if so, how much that service costs).
Oh, another random tip: If it is on-street parking (the case with many smaller, cheaper hotels), make sure you tell them you have a car when checking in and exactly where you parked it. The desk clerk will know whether you're in a legal space, and whether he needs to give you a special temporary "residents" parking disc or something so you can run down and stick on your dashboard before getting ticketed.
Back to garages: Long experience—and much driving frustration—has taught me that, unless you're carefully scrimping on every penny, if the hotel's parking only costs up to about $10–$20 more than the municipal lot, it's worth it if only to relieve yourself of the hassle. If the difference is significantly more than that (which it often is), well, then it's up to your take on how much extra time versus money you have to spend, and how wiling you are to get (ahem) taken for a ride on the parking fees.

- Accessibilitacentristorici.it - Information about ZTLs across Italy.
- Urbanaccessregulations.eu - Information about ZTLs across Europe.
- Amazon.com - A link to get road maps of Italy.Partner
- Autostrade.it - Nifty official site of Italian Motorways Association that lets you quickly caclulate distance, time, tolls, gas costs, weather, and traffic conditions on any route in Italy.
- Sabait.it - find parking lots all over Italy
- Parkopedia.com - Search for lots, garages, and other public parking options.
- Parkatmyhouse.com - Like Uber for parking, a "sharing economy" site allowing individuals and private entities to offer parking, often just a space or two but for far than garages and lots (plus it is reserved in advance and gauranteed).
- Urbanaccessregulations.eu - Central clearinghouse for information on every city in Europe (most, nowawdays) that has some sort of limited access to the city center, congestion charging, Low Emission Zones, or other wrinkle you need to be aware of.
- Aci.it - Italian AAA
- Theaa.com - The British version of AAA provides good intel on driving rules and norms in countries across Europe.
- Ztl-italia.blogspot.com - A bit outdated, but handy, with links to cities' traffic-free zones
- Autoeurope.com - Wholesale prices on rentals (and short-term leases) from major rental companies. You end up picking up the car at the local Avis, Hertz, Europcar, or whatever office; you just pay less than the rack rate from those companies.Partner
- Rentalcars.com - Comparison shop the rates at multiple rental companies all at once.Partner
- Momondo.com - Comparison shop the rates at multiple rental companies all at once.Partner
- Europebycar.com - Offers both short-term rentals and short-term leases, making it easy to compare prices on a single site.
- Priceline.com - Actually finds good prices on European rentals.Partner
- Carrentals.com - This Expedia.com property searches about a dozen major rental companies at once.Partner
Useful Italian for car travel
English (inglese) | Italian (italiano) | Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun |
car | automobile | ow-toh-MO-bee-lay |
scooter/motorboke | un motorino | oon mo-tair-EE-no |
gas station | stazione di servizio | stah-zee-YO-nay dee sair-VEE-tzee-yo |
gas | benzina | ben-ZEE-nah |
diesel | gasolio [or] diesel | gah-ZOH-lee-oh [or] DEE-zell |
Fill it up, please | al pieno, per favore | ahl pee-YAY-noh, pair fa-VOHR-ray |
Where is... | Dov'é | doh-VAY |
...the highway | l'autostrada | lout-oh-STRA-dah |
...the state highway | la statale [written "SS"] | lah sta-TAHL-eh |
...the road for Rome | la strada per Roma | lah STRA-dah pair RO-mah |
to the right | à destra | ah DEH-strah |
to the left | à sinistra | ah see-NEEST-trah |
straight ahead | avanti [or] diritto | ah-VAHN-tee [or] dee-REE-toh |
keep going straight | sempre diritto | SEM-pray dee-REE-toh |
to cross | attraversare | ah-tra-vair-SAR-ay |
toll | pedaggio | peh-DA-jo |
parking | parcheggio | par-KEH-jo |
road map | carta stradale | kar-ta stra-DA-lay |
where can I pay the fine? | dove posso pagare la multa | DOH-veh Po-so pag-GAR-ray la MOOL-tah |
Typical road signs / terms » more
English (anglais) | French (français) |
Stop | Stop |
Exit | Uscita |
Staffic light | Semaforo |
One-way | Senso unico |
Dead-end | Strada senza uscita |
Parking prohibited | No parcheggio or parcheggio proibito |
Pedestrian zone | Area pedonale |
Limited Traffic Zone (you pay to drive in) | ZTL or Zona Traffico Limitato |
Basic phrases in Italian
English (inglese) | Italian (italiano) | pro-nun-see-YAY-shun |
thank you | grazie | GRAT-tzee-yay |
please | per favore | pair fa-VOHR-ray |
yes | si | see |
no | no | no |
Do you speak English? | Parla Inglese? | PAR-la een-GLAY-zay |
I don't understand | Non capisco | non ka-PEESK-koh |
I'm sorry | Mi dispiace | mee dees-pee-YAT-chay |
How much is it? | Quanto costa? | KWAN-toh COST-ah |
That's too much | É troppo | ay TROH-po |
Good day | Buon giorno | bwohn JOUR-noh |
Good evening | Buona sera | BWOH-nah SAIR-rah |
Good night | Buona notte | BWOH-nah NOTE-tay |
Goodbye | Arrivederci | ah-ree-vah-DAIR-chee |
Excuse me (to get attention) | Scusi | SKOO-zee |
Excuse me (to get past someone) | Permesso | pair-MEH-so |
Where is? | Dov'é | doh-VAY |
...the bathroom | il bagno | eel BHAN-yoh |
...train station | la ferroviaria | lah fair-o-vee-YAR-ree-yah |
to the right | à destra | ah DEH-strah |
to the left | à sinistra | ah see-NEEST-trah |
straight ahead | avanti [or] diritto | ah-VAHN-tee [or] dee-REE-toh |
information | informazione | in-for-ma-tzee-OH-nay |
Days, months, and other calendar items in Italian
English (inglese) | Italian (italiano) | Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun |
When is it open? | Quando é aperto? | KWAN-doh ay ah-PAIR-toh |
When does it close? | Quando si chiude? | KWAN-doh see key-YOU-day |
At what time... | a che ora | a kay O-rah |
Yesterday | ieri | ee-YAIR-ee |
Today | oggi | OH-jee |
Tomorrow | domani | doh-MAHN-nee |
Day after tomorrow | dopo domani | DOH-poh doh-MAHN-nee |
a day | un giorno | oon je-YOR-no |
Monday | Lunedí | loo-nay-DEE |
Tuesday | Martedí | mar-tay-DEE |
Wednesday | Mercoledí | mair-coh-lay-DEE |
Thursday | Giovedí | jo-vay-DEE |
Friday | Venerdí | ven-nair-DEE |
Saturday | Sabato | SAH-baa-toh |
Sunday | Domenica | doh-MEN-nee-ka |
Mon-Sat | Feriali | fair-ee-YAHL-ee |
Sun & holidays | Festivi | feh-STEE-vee |
Daily | Giornaliere | joor-nahl-ee-YAIR-eh |
a month | una mese | oon-ah MAY-zay |
January | gennaio | jen-NAI-yo |
February | febbraio | feh-BRI-yo |
March | marzo | MAR-tzoh |
April | aprile | ah-PREEL-ay |
May | maggio | MAH-jee-oh |
June | giugno | JEW-nyoh |
July | luglio | LOO-lyoh |
August | agosto | ah-GO-sto |
September | settembre | set-TEM-bray |
October | ottobre | oh-TOE-bray |
November | novembre | no-VEM-bray |
December | dicembre | de-CHEM-bray |
Numbers in Italian
English (inglese) | Italian (italiano) | Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun |
1 | uno | OO-no |
2 | due | DOO-way |
3 | tre | tray |
4 | quattro | KWAH-troh |
5 | cinque | CHEEN-kway |
6 | sei | say |
7 | sette | SET-tay |
8 | otto | OH-toh |
9 | nove | NO-vay |
10 | dieci | dee-YAY-chee |
11 | undici | OON-dee-chee |
12 | dodici | DOH-dee-chee |
13 | tredici | TRAY-dee-chee |
14 | quattordici | kwa-TOR-dee-chee |
15 | quindici | KWEEN-dee-chee |
16 | sedici | SAY-dee-chee |
17 | diciasette | dee-chee-ya-SET-tay |
18 | diciotto | dee-CHO-toh |
19 | diciannove | dee-chee-ya-NO-vay |
20 | venti | VENT-tee |
21* | vent'uno* | vent-OO-no |
22* | venti due* | VENT-tee DOO-way |
23* | venti tre* | VENT-tee TRAY |
30 | trenta | TRAYN-tah |
40 | quaranta | kwa-RAHN-tah |
50 | cinquanta | cheen-KWAN-tah |
60 | sessanta | say-SAHN-tah |
70 | settanta | seh-TAHN-tah |
80 | ottanta | oh-TAHN-tah |
90 | novanta | no-VAHN-tah |
100 | cento | CHEN-toh |
1,000 | mille | MEEL-lay |
5,000 | cinque milla | CHEEN-kway MEEL-lah |
10,000 | dieci milla | dee-YAY-chee MEEL-lah |
* You can use this formula for all Italian ten-place numbers—so 31 is trent'uno, 32 is trenta due, 33 is trenta tre, etc. Note that—like uno (one), otto (eight) also starts with a vowel—all "-8" numbers are also abbreviated (vent'otto, trent'otto, etc.).
More on cars & driving
There are hundreds of road signs blocking your view on Italian roads and—more importantly—telling you how to get where you're going
Italian road rules are similar enough to North American ones that you'll get by fine; here are the important differences
Stay in the slow lane (the rightmost one) on a European highway unless you are actively passing another car
How to get the most out of renting a car in Italy with the lowest cost and least hassle
A good road map of Italy can save you time and help you discover places and things not in your guidebook
How to arrange for a short-term lease on a brand-new car in Italy—cheaper than a rental for longer periods, and far better insured
Camping is a great way to see Italy, but you needn't be tied down to tent pegs; RV rentals are as easy in Europe as they are here at home
Driving in Rome in an exercise in controlled insanity, and should not be attempted by anyone