Is it easy to find internet points in Rome-Florence-Venice?
 

I am having trouble finding apartments in all 3 cities that have internet access. I do not want to lug the laptop just to have 4 days (out of 16) in the Florence apartment that does have broadband.

So if I jettison the laptop right off the bat will I easily be able to check my e-mail once a day? I have some travel plans in the works that will need to be verified by email once I arrive in Italy.

PS

When I went to Paris-Amsterdam-Bruge in 2005 I took the laptop and every place I stayed had wireless! This seems to be less common in Italy, am I right?

Hi Vivi,

Internet cafes are everywhere in the major cities. I even found them in the hilltowns of Tuscany. Why not take a real vacation and leave the laptop at home? Just use the computers at the cafes as needed.

Buon viaggio!

ditto dayle

Hello vivi,

We have just returned from the areas you mention. Our place in Venice had internet so I didn't have to look around.

In Florence, it seems there are about as many internet cafes as gelato places, lol! And they were packed with people, it seemed, most of the time.

In Rome, we stayed near the Pantheon and found a couple nearby as well, although their hours weren't nearly as convenient as in Florence.

In both places, the price range of using internet was like 1 Euro for 10 minutes or sometimes they would have an hourly rate. In fact, the place in Florence we used even had a multi-hour card available for a pretty cheap price, if that is what you need.

Happy travels!

I appreciate the info. I definitely want a washer in every apartment so I can pack very light; I do not want to lug laundry around town (even though I know laundromats can be entertaining.)

I cannot seem to hit upon the combo of a/c, washer, and internet on the dates needed so I guess I have decided to strike the internet from my requirements and just duck into an internet cafe when I am out and about town.

Hello again vivi,

Have you ever used a washing machine in Italy? My, oh my, get ready for a spin cycle like you've never seen. It sounds as if it's getting ready for a blast into space. No problem with drips all over the floors, nosiree.

One of our places even had a washer dryer combo unit (all in one). It ran for several hours but got the whole job done in one fell swoop.

Have a great trip!

LOL about the washer/dryer! I had those combo units in Paris and Amsterdam, I could not figure out how to wash-only and I fried half my wardrobe in the dryers!

vivi-the answer is yes, to all three, but in Venice, if you go to:

www.veniceexplorer.net

Go the link on the left for shops/businesses, choose the drop-down box for internet points, you will find a map and address for every current internet point in the city.

And vivi, although evidently some internet cafes do not, under the new Italian law every internet cafe is suppose to take the information from your passport and also record the computer you use and the start and finish time that you are using it. If they don't and if they caught by the authorities they lose their business license. So do bring you passport with you. And have a wonderful time in Italy including when you meet up with your daughter!

Internet Train has a lot of places in Florence and has some in Rome also. You can look on their website for locations in the places you'll be. http://www.internettrain.it/wel_eng.asp

There are "points internet" all over major cities in Europe now. I even found them in the middle of nowhere in Umbria last year, but the opening hours were totally unpredictable. I imagine it's much better in a big metropolis.

Just google internet cafés Europe or internet cafés Rome or wherever you're going to be to get a comprehensive list.

Vivi-you don't necessarily need your passport, I use just my driver's license all over the internet points in Venice, and that is all they require-a govt.-issued ID. In Rome, I have yet to be asked for any ID.

As I said Girlspytravel, the internet cafes are suppose to record travellers passport info. Why do we keep arguing about this? I said..not all internet cafes follow the law that was put into force by the Italian government some years ago due to the terriorist problems. Some don't even ask for any kind of ID. But if they get caught they can be closed down. Not that I care but if I were going to an interneet cafe in Italy I would take my passport with me so that I wouldn't have to go back to the hotel or my friends residence to retrieve it.

LoveItaly-who's arguing? Not me. I'm merely stating my experience, and I talked with the Internet point manager who said a passport is not necessary, but a govt. issued ID is. That's all.

I think it's interesting to suggest to make it a "real vacation" by leaving the laptop at home. I find it more of a vacation to be able to quickly check my emails daily or hunt up a local restaurant address or times of museums whenever I want, like while my partner is getting dressed, or I'm having my coffee. I don't find it that relaxing to search for an internet cafe -- often un-airconditioned, perhaps jam packed so I have to wait and then sometimes suffer through slow connections and cough up as much as 10 euro for a minium of a few minutes of connection time.
No, I think having my own laptop makes for a much more relaxing trip, thank you -- but then I don't equate laptops with work.

Girlspytravel: Whatever YOUR experience, the Italian gov't is requiring internet providers to take passport info, so if you got by with your driver's license, that's cool. I got by with NOTHING in a bunch of out-of-the-way places in Umbria, but it's just like the International Driver's Permit argument, just because you didn't get asked for it doesn't mean the law doesn't demand it.

Everyone who goes to Italy and wants to use public internet sites should be prepared to show a passport and have the information on it recorded. Punto!

St. Cirq, dear, I repeat: I just returned from Italy, and it is not true that you need to show your passport at every internet service point; I showed my driver's license, and that was fine, because it is a govt. issued ID. I accept that the law may say passport, and many internet points in Italy will ask to see your passport-I've not had any, and I've spent more than a month in Italy this Aug.-Sept., apart from my most recent trip of a few weeks ago.

I'm sorry if it bothers you to know that the Venice, Rome and Florence internet points I've visited have not required a passport, but they haven't. And I will continue to just take my driver's license, and I'm quite sure it will be accepted, and as far as anyone else? They can take their passport if they wish.

Another possibility for OP vivi would be municipal wifi. I haven't heard of it as a commonplace in Italy yet, but I know in many northern European countries free wireless internet is not unusual.

Any knowledge about this? A few US towns are experimenting with free public wifi. In NYC there were cafes offering it for awhile, the ones I knew of stopped because of people "moving in" with their computers. However there is a signal in Bryant Park (adjacent to the main Public Library branch, 42nd St), I believe, for anyone who wants it.

Is there a current website listing public wifi?

In the "answer your own question" department, I quote an online article:
"The Paris WiFi network, which will see access points located in parks, squares, libraries, and public areas, is due to be launched in the third quarter of 2007. No financial details were released."
Find the full article here.
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=118583

RE: Italy, I found word that they have "approved" public wifi (2003) but not that anything has been achieved yet.

Elsewhere I read that Chicago, San Francisco and LONDON are working on it.
By the way, I do not refer to parking yourself outside some hotel where you can piggyback on their wireless - that's a whole different animal (and there are indeed sites listing business, mostly hotels, with wifi in the air ...)