The restaurants with picture menus, the gladiators at the Colosseum, the fake designer bags. How to spot the traps and find the real stuff.
Plan your Italy trip →Picture menus outside: If the menu has photos of every dish laminated on a board outside, walk away. Real Italian restaurants don't do this.
Waiters outside recruiting you: A person standing in the street pulling you in means the food can't attract customers on its own. Bad sign.
"Tourist menu" — €12 for three courses: You'll get frozen lasagna, rubbery chicken, and ice cream from a bucket. The price is low because the quality is lower.
Location, location, location: Restaurants directly facing the Trevi Fountain, Piazza San Marco, the Duomo in Florence — nearly all are tourist factories. Walk two blocks in any direction and quality doubles while prices halve.
Men dressed as Roman centurions will pose with you for a photo and then demand €20-50. It's legal but it's a hustle. If you engage, agree on a price BEFORE the photo. Or just say "no, grazie" and keep walking.
Rose sellers in restaurants: Someone approaches your table with roses. If you take one, it's €5-10. Politely decline.
Friendship bracelets: Someone ties a bracelet on your wrist, then demands payment. Don't let them touch your hand. "No, grazie."
Petition scammers: Group of people with clipboards near landmarks. They distract you while a partner pickpockets. Ignore completely.
Water taxis in Venice: If a price isn't agreed in advance, you'll pay triple. Use the vaporetto.
Gondola rides: Fixed rate is €80 for 30 minutes (daytime). Anyone charging more is overcharging. Get it in writing.
Hop-on-hop-off buses: €25+ for something Google Maps does free. The metro/bus system in every Italian city costs €1.50-2.00.
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