How to get to Italy

By | May 3, 2022

Overview

Italy is a country in Europe according to pharmacylib. Italy rightly has absolute cult status as a travel destination, because it offers many attractions for international tourists – a dreamlike landscape, countless fascinating cities, a fantastic cultural heritage, a trend-setting fashion industry – but it is and remains above all Italian. Wanting to see the whole country in one trip is a bit like reading an entire library at once – impossible. It is better to focus on one or two of the myriad of tourist tidbits and fully immerse yourself in the hospitality, style and temperament of the chosen region. Italy’s versatility accounts for much of its appeal. Be it Naples with its Vespas and their inevitable horn honk, the rolling hills of Tuscany, the Renaissance backdrop of Florence or the soccer fans of Turin, Italy has an immense allure. Not to mention the food!

Getting there

Arriving by plane

Italy’s national airline is called ITA – Italia Trasporto Aereo. ITA flies to Milan from Düsseldorf, Geneva and Zurich. Tuifly (X3) connects numerous German cities as well as Vienna, Geneva and Zurich with Italian destinations. Air Dolomiti (EN) flies from Munich and Frankfurt/M. from different Italian cities. Air Malta (KM) flies several times a week from Munich to Catania (Sicily). Italy is also served by Lufthansa (LH), Eurowings (EW), Austrian Airlines (OS) and Swiss (LX). Austrian myHoliday (OS) connects Vienna with Catania, Olbia, Naples and Palermo, among others. Condor (DE) flies to Olbia and Lamezia Terme from numerous German airports. Condor (DE) flies from Zurich to Olbia. Ryanair (FR) flies from Berlin to Milan. Wizz Air (W6) flies from Basel to Palermo and from Vienna to Olbia.

Flight times

Frankfurt – Rome: 2 hours; Frankfurt – Florence: 1 hour 30 minutes; Frankfurt – Venice: 1 hour 15 minutes; Vienna – Rome: 1 hour 40 minutes; Zurich/Geneva – Rome: 1 hour 25 minutes

Arrival by car

Good connections via the Alpine and Apennine tunnels. Motorists have free travel from Turin through the Aosta Valley and the Mont Blanc Tunnel to France. Car trains run through the Simplon tunnel between Brig in Valais in Switzerland and Iselle in northern Italy (journey time: 20 minutes). Just a few kilometers from Iselle, you can get on the motorway at Domodossola. Long-distance bus: Flixbus and Eurolines drive from Germany, Austria and Switzerland to Italy. Flixbus travels from Munich, Freiburg, Cologne and Zurich to Milan, among others. In winter, Flixbus travels from Germany and Austria to various ski areas in the Dolomites. The IC Bus connects Munich with Milan via Memmingen, Chur and Como. Toll: On the mainland, except for the A3 from Salerno to Reggio di Calabria, all motorways are toll roads. Payment is possible in cash, with an EC or credit card, electronically with the Telepass or with the Viacard. Tolls are also payable for the following tunnels to Switzerland and France: Fréjus Tunnel, Mont Blanc Tunnel, Great St Bernard Tunnel and Munt-la-Schera Tunnel. Some pass roads in South Tyrol are also subject to tolls, including the Stilfser Joch, Timmelsjoch and Stallersattel. Documents: The national driving license is sufficient.

Arrival by train

Direct connections, some with through coaches, to most of Italy’s larger cities. Thanks to the Lötschberg base tunnel, rail travelers from Germany can reach Milan quickly. Since the opening of the Gotthard Tunnel, it has also been quicker to get from Switzerland to Italy. Zurich – Lugano (journey time: less than 2 hours); Zurich – Milan (journey time: 3 hours); Basel – Milan (journey time: 51 min.; Zurich – Genoa (journey time: 5 hours 17 min.). The SBB Giruno connects Basel and Zurich via Lugano and Chiasso with Milan. SBB and Trenitalia trains run daily from Geneva, Basel, Zurich via Milan and from there on to Venice, Trieste, Florence and Livorno ÖBB and Trenitalia offer daily long-distance train connections from Vienna to Venice. SBB offers a daily connection between Zurich and Venice. With DB and ÖBB you can reach Italy from Germany, Austria and Switzerland quickly and easily with EuroCity (EC) connections. Dining cars, self-service restaurants and minibars are available on all EuroCity trains. From Munich Hbf, the EuroCity travels via Innsbruck Hbf, Brenner, Bozen and Verona Porta Nuova to Bologna Centrale, where there is a connection to the Italian high-speed network (Milan, Rome, Turin, Venice, etc.). In addition, a daily Euro-City-Express from Deutsche Bahn runs directly from Frankfurt to Milan. The night train portal http://trainite.eu/ provides an overview of night train connections. ÖBB Nightjet night trains (www.nightjet.com) run from Germany and Austria to Italy. An ÖBB car train runs at night on the route between Vienna and Livorno as well as Vienna and Verona. Train4you operates the holiday express car train on the Hamburg – Verona and Düsseldorf – Verona routes. Euro Express motorail trains serve the Düsseldorf – Livorno and Düsseldorf – Verona routes in summer.

rail passes

The Interrail One Country Pass and the Interrail Global Pass are valid in Italy.

Arrival by ship

Ship and ferry connections between Italy and Albania, Greece, Corsica, Croatia, Morocco, Montenegro, Spain and Tunisia. Further information can be obtained from shipping companies and the tourist office. Ferry connections from various shipping companies can be booked online to and from Italy with Direct Ferries.

Ferry provider

The main ferry companies operating between Italy and abroad are: Superfast Ferries, SNAV, Liberty Lines, Toremar, Moby Lines and Navigazione Libera del Golfo.

How to get to Italy