Maire

We're not big breakfast eaters, just want a roll or something small, and I can get cheaper rates at several hotels by skipping their included breakfast.

However, someone told me that breakfasts are worth it for the atmosphere if nothing else, especially if sitting outside. (We'll be there in August.) Any opinions?

Eloise

You can probably get a light breakfast - cappuccino and a cornetto (Italian croissant) - at an outdoor cafe as cheaply or more cheaply than at the hotel. There has to be an outdoor cafe near by for this to work, obviously.

Leely

I'd rather have an atmospheric dinner than an atmospheric breakfast any day of the week. Save your money for meals you'll enjoy with gusto. And, as Eloise said, you'll likely find something cheaper and perhaps more palatable at a cafe nearby.

esm

Depends who you are travelling with! When we went on vacation with our teens, breakfast was worth it.

My husband and I are not big breakfast eaters so we're happy with just coffee. And as Leely said, you can use the savings toward a nicer meal later in the day.

Seamus

Though not a big breakfast eater at home, on leisure trips I do sometimes eat a substantial breakfast to start the day, then a light lunch. At most hotels where breakfast is optional it is an a la carte charge by the meals you actually consume, not a change in your room rate. You can try it out one day and if it meets approval continue and if not, switch to a local cafe.

Giovanna

Agree totally with Seamus. We don't eat breakfast at home, but always do when traveling, skip lunch and enjoy a nice dinner. Also enjoy the convenience of staying in the hotel. Had lovely breakfast room and great choices for breakfast (wonderful blood orange juice)at our hotel the last time we stayed in Rome. If it's included we are happy to take advantage of it.

LoveItaly

Hi Maire, I eat breakfast at home (but rather late). In Italy I prefer not to go to the breakfast room at hotels. I like to go to a cafe that has outside seating as I can enjoy my coffee, the fresh air and people watch.
But for those that enjoy breakfast the hotel breakfast is a good idea if the hotel serves what one wants to eat.

DejaVu

I don't like to waste a lot of time on breakfast. If breakfast is not included with the room, then in Italy, I just head to the nearest bar (=cafe) and have a cappuccino and cornetto standing up at the bar like the 'locals' do (it's surprising how few tourists do this). Fast, easy, and cheaper than the hotel breakfast. The coffee is inevitably fabulous, the cornetti are fresh. I LOVE the ones filled with apricot jam if the bar in question has them. If the hotel breakfast is optional, I usually forgo it in favor of this routine. Sometimes I get a cornetto to go while I'm there to have later as a mid-morning snack, if I've gotten an early start.

Here's a tip: if you do this, be sure to go to the register and pay in advance, telling the cashier what you plan to have. THEN you go to the bar and present your receipt to the barista, repeating your order to him/her. If you go to the bar first, s/he will send you to the cashier to pay in advance.

Eating anything standing up at a bar in an Italian cafe (this goes for sandwiches at lunch too), or getting it to go, is going to be cheaper than sitting down with table service.

Oh man, now I really want one of those cornetti.

Maire

Thanks everyone for your help. Going to the bars/cafes and having cornetti sounds great. I will try the ones with apricot jam, but I wonder, do they have any with chocolate?

nospam

Hi there!
I just returned from 6 months in Italy, and can attest to the fact that breakfasts for most Italians consist of a cappucino or espresso and a sweet roll. Go to any cafe, but note that they are called "bars" in Italy. You will pay a premium to sit down, so if you order your espresso/cappucino and sweet roll and have it standing up, it will cost you about half of a sit-down deal. Yes, there is chocolate EVERYWHERES, especially NUTELLA (mmmmmm....nuTELLA....), and there will be a selection of breakfast pastries with fruit and/or chocolate in them. Just ask!
Have fun!

LoveItaly

So true, standing at the bar is so much less expensive in Italy..but I love to sit at an outdoor table. And I especially am happy if there is a newsstand that sells the International Herald Tribune. My hour to wake up and enjoy being in Italy and watching wherever I am "wake up". But we all have different enjoyments which makes life fun.

DiG

Maire:

If breakfast was included with the room and we had a big day planned, we ate it. If we had to pay a la carte
for some of the ones we did have in Rome, Florence and Venice we would now
pass on this and eat in a cafe.

On slower mornings it was very enjoyable to adopt a cafe, eat light, and watch the streets come alive with the locals and the daily happenings of the neighborhood.

We are regular breakfast folks, cereal and fruit, coffee/tea usually later in the morning.

I would try it one day to see if you like it and to compare the value for that meal to what you could find in a cafe near your hotel.

DejaVu

Haha, a few years ago in Rome I went to a bar for one of my quickie breakfasts, my first day there--totally forgetting not to abbreviate, I asked the barista for a "latte" (which in Italian is just 'milk'). So he gives me a glass of cold milk. Whoops. "Caffe latte, per favore, mi dispiace." So he takes the glass and dumps some espresso in it. Considering how much milk I like in my coffee, that was actually one of the best coffee drinks I've ever had!

Maire

What a great story, DejaVu!

Neopolitan

Gee, I'm a slow learner. I've ordered a "latte" by mistake several times and always got HOT milk. You mean they served it cold? I think I've finally learned my lesson and will never leave off the "cafe" part again in Italy.

DejaVu

Yeah, it was cold milk. Which added to the perfection of the coffee drink when he put espresso in it, because I'm one of those people who lets the hot coffee sit and get lukewarm before I'll drink it. I'll honestly never forget the taste of that sublime perfectly proportioned drink born from a wrong order.

Isn't it funny how the littlest things will stick with you?

Guy18

Miss a meal in Italy? No way! The jams, the breads, the pastries, the coffee. It's a beautiful thing...

laclaire

You know, maire. . . my mother and I were actually really disappointed in a lot of the breakfast buffets we had in Italy and if I had it to do over again, I would have gotten us hotels that did not offer the option. Not only is it cheaper, but I am telling you, standing in line to use a coffee machine that turns out swill in a country known for its fantastic brews is not humbling, but downright humiliating. Of course, there were cases of great hotel breakfasts, but truly, I remember my mid-morning coffee breaks much more clearly than I do those breakfasts. I think you are smart to avoid them.

Maire

Thanks everyone. Laclaire, I think we will avoid the buffets--I never eat enough to make it worthwhile anyway. Plus, we love the idea of getting out as much as possible to the local bars/cafes and restaurants.

Tries2PakLite

Maire -- we use our time at the breakfast table to plan out the day, usually with something sweet plus Nutella -- almost anything with Nutella.

I'm not a coffee drinker, but all of the hotels where we have stayed delivered a fresh cappucchino, or espresso, to the table. And we tend to stay in smaller hotels.

When breakfast is an expensive option, we often opt to eat at the closest bar with the locals, taking in the local color and pretending that we are living La Dolce Vida.