Lunches for 5-7 Euros
 

in Venice, Florence and Rome. Is it possible? I know I can get a wonderful self catered lunch for this price but am I fooling myself thinking that I can eat in a restaurant for this budget price?

Janda, I don't know about a restaurant, but we sat in some cafes and had simple things such as pizza slices, etc. for that price (maybe a little more).

Everyplace we sat down in venice and florence (didn't go to rome) which was sometimes near tourist areas and sometimes back streets cost between 12-18 euros (with tip if not already incl.). That would be for like 2 panninis and 2 drinks (media or grande not piccolo!). If you grab and go or just get a slice of pizza you can probably stay in that budget.

However we found in some instances that our drinks cost more than our food! We found that cokes were outrageously expensive exceeding ballpark and movie prices. Beer and wine however was not that bad in comparison.

Water alone was between 1-2 euros everywhere (although we surprisingly found the stands and small cafes to be MORE expensive than any restaurant for drinks). Re-filling at the public fountains is recommended as we drank a lot of water.

We were generally able to stay within that price range for lunch by getting a bit away from the tourist areas and eating bar sandwiches--which are quite excellent.

Check out the grocery stores or alimenteria...grab a panino and buy your drink from the stores! You'll be fine.

DO NOT SIT DOWN!!

thanks for your replies. always fun to see your replies and ideas.

It can easily be done in all three cities. All you have to do is look for what we would call "coffee shops" and "delis" in the USA....the places where the local workers have lunch. We easily found them in the middle of the retail and residential areas in the three cities. Often, we were the only tourists in the place.