We've been reading all about what to wear in Europe. We'll be in Paris and Venice. I planned to wear dresses and skirts rather than shorts, but I'm 17 all my dresses are really short. Is this OK to get into churches?

No. Anything above the knee is not appropriate.

Jill - My husband and I just returned from France and Italy. At St Peter's a guard would not let me in because I was wearing a short sleeve sundress. We were ver fortunate that there was a vendor selling scarfs for $6.00 so I bought one and covered my shoulders and they let me in. I would suggest at any age that you should observe proper dress in any church anyware in the world. It is a house of worship. <BR>

For Venice you will need to have your arms and your head covered. just take a scarf for your head and wear long sleeves, or use the other post's suggestion and use the scarf to cover your arms also. <BR>

I have just returned from Venice. I went in many, many churches. I was careful to have my shoulders covered, but I did not wear long sleeves. No one ever asked us to cover our heads. I saw scarves around peoples shoulders who were sleeveless, but I saw lots of people go in wearing shorts. I did see some young girls who had on extremely short shorts or skirts (Maybe a half inch below the buttocks) with scarves tied around their waists.

I was wearing what I thought was my most conservative dress (it came almost to my ankles) but was turned away from an Italian church because it was sleeveless. I went and bought a tshirt and was allowed in. They are very serious in Italy. There are signs in front of almost every major church saying "This is a place of worship, not a museum." By the end of 10 days in Italy on a six week trip, I got tired of seeing churches anyway and stopped going in them. Try something different in Venice. Go to the old Jewish Ghetto. This was the first ghetto established in Europe in the late middle ages. It's also a nice walk a little bit out of the reach of the tourist crowds.