Doing Laundry in Italy
 

Are there laundry mats available in most cities in Italy I am traveling for 10 days with 2 childeren and would like to not have to pack heavily because we will be taking trains from city to city.

Yes, we saw some in the larger cities. Just don't make the mistake I made of taking laundry to a dry cleaning/laundry shop. I was charged the "tourist price" I am sure, for no one would pay what I did twice for washing jeans and tshirts and a sweater. There was nothing I could do, but pay or leave my clothes there, so I paid. When I opened the bag my clothes smelled like they had been washed in with dirty socks. I ended up washing them again in the hotel sink, and waiting two days for the jeans to dry. Live and learn.<BR>In Florence there was one a laundry mat near our hotel, and it looked like a lively place, your kids could even have fun there.

We found a laundromat in Rome within walking distance of the Vatican that even our hotel didn't know about. When facing St. Peter's it's to the right in a residential area within a half-mile or so. I found it using my Rome map and the phone book. I believe the name was Onda Blu. It was open 24/7. Hope this helps.

There are laundromats all over the large cities in Italy. We used several in Rome with the greatest of ease. Like any laundromat here in the U.S., you can take your clothes in, start the wash, then go have lunch nearby or hang out and wait til they are finished. This should not be a problem at all. Buon viaggio!

Yes, there was an Onda Blue laundromat in Rome near the Vatican but did not see very many others. However came across at least 5 laundromats in Florence. Fairly simple to use. I brought my own Gain laundry tablets (much better than liquid detergents that spill). Also brought my own anti-cling/static sheets. Met a guy who bought cheap clothes from Costco and dumped them each day. Rather extreme. Have a fun trip.

Rick Steve's (Italy book) points out the locations of self-serve laundromats in the cities and towns he talks about in the book. We saw laundromats in many of the "smaller"towns we were in..I never saw one in Venice.

Would anyone have the exact address of the laundromats in Florence or some general streets so I can get my bearings to find out where they would be? Any info. on opening times? Your bringing GAIN tablets and anti-cling sheets is excellent. I'll try that. Please be as detailed as you can. Thanks to all.

Would anyone have the exact address of the laundromats in Florence or some general streets so I can get my bearings to find out where they would be? Any info. on opening times? Your bringing GAIN tablets and anti-cling sheets is excellent. I'll try that. Please be as detailed as you can. Thanks to all.

Dear Eye, when you get to Florence look up "lavanderia" in the phone book. Piece of cake. I'm pretty sure that's the correct word, if not I hope someone will correct me. You can also ask at your hotel. There seemed to be many locations in Florence.

We were staying at the Nuova Italia on Via Faenza 26, and it is right down the same street heading towards the internet cafe. I don't know the hours, but it was open every time we passed it.

We did our laundry in Venice (11/2001), in a brand new, clean, bright laundromat on a main drag, it was an easy to find bigger street (up towards the train station?) It was on a street where there were vegetable and fruit stalls running down the center, a market area. I got the info at our pensione, the Accademia. We purchased the soap there in from a machine, just like they have here in the US. I didn't want to carry it with us. We actually enjoyed doing the laundry too. We took turns going out to the market and the espresso bar, and chatted up the other laundromat users - travelers from US & Canada, cute young backpacker types and light packers like us.

Melanie, <BR><BR>Just topped a post called for you about doing laundry on the road. Towards the bottom it has some specific addresses for laundromats in Rome. Hope this is helpful.