Scarecrows

Hi everyone.
My wife and I are travelling to Italy in February to celebrate my 50th birthday. We will be spending time in Rome, the Veneto region, Verona, Turin and Milan.
I have a couple of questions for the travellers here.
1. In a general sense, how safe are these places, especially Rome and Milan. We will be staying about 5 minutes from Termini Station in Rome, and in the Navigli in Milan. Any suggestion to be aware of.
2. We will be in Milan on my birthday. Obviously we would like to do something special. Suggestions? Any and all will be appreciated.
Many thanks.

Man_in_seat_61

Perfectly safe. Obviously, be aware of pickpockets in any busy space anywhere, but that is a 'given'. Violent crime is very very rare - much rarer in Europe than in the USA, for example.

Milan's an interesting place - cathedral and main square are nice to wander.

I have a fave typically Italian restaurant near Milan Centrale that is worth considering, not expensive just good - https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restau..._Lombardy.html

Man_in_seat_61

In fact, last time I was in Rome I stayed 5 min walk from Termini, and doing what I do (train travel website) I walked back and forth at all times of day and night, no worries at all.

For the same reason, I'm also used to hanging around Milan Centrale at all times of day and night, again no worries.

Alec

Last time I was near Termini station in Rome, someone tried the 'ice cream-on-clothes' scam and got his handkerchief out to wipe it. I knew what he was up to, took my cases and walked off briskly. You just need to be aware of the surroundings.

bilboburgler

Yes either area is fine, I stayed near Milan Centrale one year for a week, a little interesting but basically the pimps don't want violence on the streets in that area so very quiet at night near the station.

Navigli is a bit away from Centrale and certainly I liked the look of it.

marvelousmouse

Very safe, as others have said. Lots of scam stuff, but everything I encountered was pretty typical city stuff. A beggar offered to “help” me buy a ticket out of the machines at the train station, didn’t back off until I raised my voice a bit. Restaurant touts or street hawkers were more aggressive than the beggars. Just don’t make eye contact, keep moving.

I wore a money belt on travel days because I feel a bit more vulnerable with my luggage. And it made me feel better on Rome buses too, which were so packed that I would not felt anyone rifle through my pockets. Crowds are probably less of an issue in Feb, though.

massimop

Navigli is a fun and interesting neighborhood in Milan, so I wouldn't trade it for the train station area. As for your birthday special event, what do you like to do? Some people would think it fun to splurge on shoe shopping in Milan, somebody else might enjoy a "cake crawl" (Milan has many wonderful pastry shops), and somebody else might opt for a daytrip out of town for lunch with a spectacular view in Lago di Como, or an art excursion to nearby Pavia to see the Certosa, or head down to Bologna for a pasta making class

Wear a money belt.

(By the way, as far as I know, Noblesse Oblige sherves seafood only, so make sure you're in the mood for that if you go).

Southam

Street scams are a possibility, never threatening bodily harm. Sad to say, be rude to sudden approaches. Don't talk, no eye contact, move on. If impeded, raise your voice and glare.

StCirq

We recently came back from a week in Milan and had no concerns about safety whatsoever. Of course we are almost always vigilant and aware of what's going on around us. Last year we stayed twice near Centrale, and while it is incredibly busy and has some unsavory characters hanging aound outside, we never felt threatened at any time of day or night.

This tme we rented an apartment not far from the cathedral, on a quiet street in a neighborhood full of interesting little shops and cafés and restaurants. Don't have any great restaurant recommendations for you, as we mainly cooked at the apartment (often with wonderful things from Peck).

We were not impressed with Navigli, though I'd rather stay there than by Centrale. It gets a lot of hype and looks enticing at first glance, but we didn't come across much of anything noteworthy, and the flea market was just awful compared to most we've visited. I'm sure more research will drum up some gems you can enjoy there, though.

Our favorite Milan experience was the Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia, which came as a surprise to us, though wwe knew we were going to enjoy the Da Vinci models. And Peck is just extraordinary.

massimop

(By all means go to Peck to gawk at all the other tourists, but actually shop in the neighborhood markets, where you won't be charged tourist prices)

greg

Safety is a relative characteristic. To what location are you comparing to? Location mentioned are safer than where I live now but less safe than where I grew up.

bvlenci

Along the Grande Naviglio, there are lots of trendy bars and restaurants. The market, called the Fiera di Sinigaglia, along the naviglio, is a flea market, with cheap imported junk thrown in. It takes place on Saturday mornings. It's a bit like the Porta Portese market in Rome, but smaller. To me, it's fun, but I wouldn't look for treasure there.

The Fiera di Sinigaglia makes two historic allusions. Sinigaglia is an old name for Senigallia, in Le Marche. (I live near there.) There is a historic fair there every August, since medieval times.

The Fiera di Sinigaglia is also the name of an 18th century comic opera, with libretto by Carlo Goldoni. The flea market of that name in Milan must be fairly historic also, because my husband used to buy stuff there long ago when he was a university student in Milan.

Jean

In Milan, we thought this was fun.

https://www.atm.it/en/AltriServizi/T...ATMosfera.aspx

The food was better than we expected but not great. The diners were overwhelmingly tourists. For some, that makes it "touristy," but we enjoyed the evening a lot.

We've also been to a concert at La Scala. Wonderful...

Christina

I always think it funny when people make broad unsubstantiated statements about how all of Europe is so much safer than all of the US. Europe has no crime, it's just a nirvana and like Disneyland.

https://www.thelocal.it/20160222/see...place-in-italy

Milan has the highest theft rate in all of Italy.

PalenQ

In fact, last time I was in Rome I stayed 5 min walk from Termini, and doing what I do (train travel website) I walked back and forth at all times of day and night, no worries at all.

For the same reason, I'm also used to hanging around Milan Centrale at all times of day and night, again no worries.>

My experience has been the same - always stayed near Termini because of trains BUT I would not say no worries too much as that implies you should not take proper precautions - good to be a bit worried especially in the station and front concourse and in any tourist spot and metro - I've seen the old scams being done there and naive tourists are great targets.

Be a little worried and that is good as then you take proper precautions and then there are no worries.

I was in Termini once looking at the departures board and several suspect types (being PC here) came up and asked me about times - in English - they may have been sincere but I got out of there fast - unfortunately be very leery of anyone coming up to you - especially if more than one to avoid the old distract and others snatch routine.

There have been many reports of folks being victimized in Rome on Fodor's and again if you know the ropes and take precautions then nothing to worry about.

NewbE

I am actually shocked at the level of criminality described in this one thread, and then waved off as normal. Excuse me, it's not normal! When was the last time you read about travel to any American city that was laced with warnings about how to avoid such crime??

xcountry

Thank (insert applicable religious figure) for the Europe Forum. It was here I read about the pickpockets on the Naples - Sorrento train. Took the train and by golly there they were. It was like watching a movie when I had already read the book. Move along crooks.

It was here I read about thieves using babies to distract people in Termini station. Got to Termini station and someone tried to distract me with a baby. And it still almost worked.

And this “just take normal precautions” advice is pure bunk. We don’t face these pros and their tactics where we live.

May (insert religious figure) bless this forum and its safety threads.

marvelousmouse

Some people do face that kind of thing in the US. All of the scams I encountered Italy and Paris were things I’ve seen in Portland/DC/Seattle/SF. except the three cup thing, I’ve never seen that in America and I still can’t believe they find tourists that are that gullible on a regular basis.

But European beggars are a lot more aggressive and I probably would have fallen prey to pickpocketing in Italy if it weren’t for the forums. That really isn’t a common crime in the US. So like xcountry, I am grateful I’d read here first. And I do know plenty of friends and family who would be scammed because they’re more likely to visit Europe while they’ve rarely been to major US city. There have been a few incidences in Seattle that guests of mine have nearly been scammed or stolen from. Because they look like clueless tourists and they don’t listen to me when I say DO NOT ENGAGE. Because it’s “rude”. You don’t need to be polite to someone who comes up to you on the street or the subway and starts talking to you. Strangers do not normally talk to other strangers on the bus.

So I really do see these threads as useful. They can be a little alarmist, it’s true. But if it means that someone doesn’t come back and post about how they got their wallet stolen out of their pocket on an Italian train, then it’s served it’s purpose,

marvelousmouse

And Christina- much of the crime described in that link is not applicable to tourists. Vandalism, prostitution, organized crime, murder- very unlikely to involve tourists. It’d be like me telling tourists to my hometown that we have gang issues and drive by shootings. We do. But the gang issues are a school disease, and the drive by shootings would only happen near a tourist if the tourist hung out with gang members or rented an Airbnb in a really bad part of town. So in other words. The tourist would have to be unusually stupid or looking for trouble for it to be an issue at all. It’s not that Europe is crime free utopia. It’s just that for the most part, tourists aren’t going to encounter the crime except the people who specifically prey on tourists at train stations or the Spanish Steps.

Fra_Diavolo

I think the difference is that we Americans don't like this fussy pickpocket and scam routines. We prefer to stick a gun in the your face and take what we want. We're straightforward folk and like to get down to business -- enough with the European finesse!