Your waiter usually asks you, "Acqua con gas o senza gas?"

Depending upon your preference, you are then brought a bottle of either mineral water or plain water. If you order "con gas" you'll get Pellegrino or San Benedetto or something similar. In the informal restaurants in which we often eat, the plain water is simply brought to the table in a nice bottle specifically for plain water. (I prefer acqua con gas; but it is NO big deal to ask for senza gas.)

And I'm neither penny-pinching nor a spendthrift, but I've never gotten the impression that restaurants in Italy are trying to make a big profit on serving water.

Yes, 2-3 Euro in my book is outrageously expensive. That is currently between 2.50 to 3.70 US dollars for bottled water. I certainly don't pay that here in the US in a restaurant. In fact I don't by bottled water in restaurants here in the US. In the supermarket in Rome I saw similar bottles for 0.50 Euro. A 4-5 Euro 300 ml soda is also expensive to me. That's currently between 5-6 US dollars. No refills either. Sorry but that is outrageous to me. May not be for others and that's ok but it's MY perspective, may not be yours, but it is valid as it is MY perspective. Also, I said that I thought the prices were outrageous in restaurants not supermarkets. So you missed something in your assumptions. You may disagree but there is no need for sarcasm or arrogance or to belittle me. I had such a wonderful time in Italy and I was excited to come on these boards to share MY experiences about Italy so people could have different perspectives and make their choices about what they wanted to do just have others have done but I have seen over and over again on these boards people who feel that any opinion outside of theirs is wrong and who try to prove that they have more experience and knowledge. Argue and belittle away I am done here.

I never use ice at home in my water so from the bottle is perfect for my taste.

"I would never think of drinking wine without also drinking water at the same meal."

Agreed!

I happen to think Roman water is one of the best-tasting waters in the world (New York and Paris taste good to me too), so I have asked for tap water on occasion in Rome, and no one batted an eye. I don't need ice in my water, as long as it's not warm or hot, so that's not an issue. As for sodas, it's fine by me if Europeans want to charge an arm an a leg for them, as I don't ever drink them, with the exception of an occasional Orangina. The idea of drinking a soda with a meal is completely foreign to me. I can see having one as refreshment on a hot day, but not alongside a meal - that is just totally unappealing to me.

But yes, you can ask for tap water if you like.

When in Italy my DH likes his water 'con gaz', which comes in a bottle, never having seen a frizzante tap. Funny thing is that while he can drink it that way at home, he doesn't. Somehow sparkling water to him says vacation.

I think the tap water in Rome is fine. But - I have seen trash thrown - and other substances placed in other ways that are unmentionable - into the public fountains. No doubt there is a filtering system for the water that gets into buildings - but I wouldn't want to drink water that had garbage floating in it.

And I do like water ice cold and fizzy - wine, naturally not. So we always have both with a real dinner, but may just have bottled water if we are doing a quick sandwich or similar for lunch.

nytraveler, you get your water from the spigot on the fountain. You do not drink from the "bowl."

We aren't talking about drinking from the Trevi Fountain here.

They are called "nasoni" and look like this: http://tinyurl.com/22n9lb8

The places of some public drinking fountains in Rome:

St. Peter's Square
Via Margutta
The side of the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo
Via Staderari off of Corso Rinascimento

Thin

"gas or no gas"!

Con flatulenza o senza flatulenza.

Oh this brings back memories of Barcelona.

In the hotel the set dinner included a bottle of wine and a bottle of water, but the Americans at the other side of the restaurant were insistent they wanted tap water, not bottled. It confused the hell out of the waiters and me.

<< And I do like water ice cold and fizzy - wine, naturally not. >>Huh - you don't like champagne?

What is so strange about people wanting tap water? I get the whole when in Rome do as the Romans do thing, but water just is not that big of a deal. If you want tap get tap, if your waiter is confused, then just drink bottled water and by happy you are in Italy! I would never (in the States) order bottled water. It is a stupid idea where people have access to clean water; it is a waste of energy and money. But I am on vacation, and if 3-5 euros is too much you should not be on vacation.

But again WHO CARES?

Sorry - but I HAVE seen people refilling their water bottles from the ornamental fountains - not the public drinking fountains - but just sit down by the side of a major tourist destination fountain and refill their bottle.

Obviously if you are pulling water from a designated drinking fountain you are fine - who could think otherwise? but when the guidebook says you can drink water from the fountains - some people interpret that as any fountain in the city.

Yes, I don like champagne - but not in Italy - and not with meals. Nor do we choose to spend that much for wine at every meal. (You can get a decent wine at a reasonable price, but IMHO decent champagne - esp outside of France - is VERY expensive).

Overheard in the bottled water aisle of a supermarket:

"It's all just Joe's hose."

People refill their water bottles from the water in the fountains? I have never observed that but it makes me think that those people had first had too much wine, lol. And may I add, YUCK! Maybe that is why I couple I know who are not too savy said they had a lot of stomach problems after drinking the water in Rome???

re: <<if 3-5 euros is too much you should not be on vacation>>

Why?! A vacation is not a splurge but a necessity. Five euros for water is a waste.

It is the *custom* to order a bottle of water with your meal, still or sparkling. Sorry but I'm not ordering tap water at nice restaurants in Italy.

>>>LoveItaly on Jun 26, 10 at 3:34pm
People refill their water bottles from the water in the fountains? I have never observed that but it makes me think that those people had first had too much wine, lol. And may I add, YUCK! Maybe that is why I couple I know who are not too savy said they had a lot of stomach problems after drinking the water in Rome???<<

Of course people fill their bottles from the drinking fountains all over Rome (there are 2000+ of these) or just drink directly from them. Rome has some of the best water and you will see Italians drinking from them along with everyone else. The NY Times did an article last year about how great the water/fountains were and had a map link to all the fountains.

>>>A detail from ACEA’s map of public water fountains in Rome.
ROME | Few things come free in Rome these days, but one thing locals and tourists alike have
learned to count on is ice cold drinking water from the city’s 2500 fountains. The problem is a lack
of signposts forces newbies to wander around in the hope of striking lucky or fork out for
overpriced bottles.
This has all changed as two new online maps now plot the over 200 “nasoni” (big noses, as the
Romans affectionately call the fountains after their general shape) in the city’s historic center.
There are two options. The first is ACEA (www.aceaspa.it), which looks after the city’s 10,000-
kilometer network of aqueducts, bridges and pipes. Don’t panic if you have trouble navigating their
site: simply search for “nasoni” to dig up a map of the historic center and all its drinking water
fountains, numbered and listed by street name, which is the downloadable in PDF form.
The second is Watermap, which is easy to use: just click on the big map with “gratuita!!” written all
over it. The catch is there are only 71 fountains labeled by name on this map, a fraction of the total
(many more are indicated by dots on areas of the map without
street names). The director of the project, Adriano Carnebianca, said a version for the iPhone will
be released next year and will even provide users with data on the fountain they are about to drink
from.<<<

You will find drinking fountains like those mentioned by the Times in most cities, not just Rome. Some of these fountains may appear ornamental because many are from the 1800's. They are drinking fountains though, just like the one in the middle of the piazza at St. Peter's. Many of the fountains look like this one.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3340/...0815a14af8.jpg
To drink from it, you put your hand over the end like this.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2669/...1d399b1dce.jpg

Some will have a different, taller spout that you will just need to put your finger over a hole to drink directly.

Some will look much older like this one.
http://foreigndetours.com/wp-content...DayNine-17.jpg

As you can see in the above picture, the sign above the fountain says "acgua potable" which means it is safe drinking water. Otherwise, the signs will say "non-potabile".

Kybourbon, I was responding to NYTravelers post, it you read it you will understand my comment.

I am well aware there are drinking fountains all over Rome.

romikant - I too am from New York (City). THe tap water here is the best. My 91 year old mother wouldn't think of spending money on bottled water. Straight from the tap for 91 years. Ha, what a joke: all those dollars spent on tap water in a bottle. Yes, some bottled water is from "springs", but many, many are not. Not to mention the environmental problems all those bottles cause. What are you paying for?

>What are you paying for?<

Well, some people don't like the taste of tap water. I have been to plenty of places--Nevada for instance--where the tap water tastes salty to me. In the Poconos, where I have a summer home, the tap water tastes like chlorine.

And, if you bothered to read the posts above you will note that some people like a carbonated water like San Pellegrino.

What do you care if people like to drink bottled water.

Mind your bidness, Miss Thang.

Thin, who will cut a bitch