Phones & Internet

Using your devices in Italy

Internet access & mobile phone networks

In cities and most towns, you'll find that internet access is widely available. You'll be able to connect at your hotel, in restaurants and cafés, as well as in museums and other public places.

In more rural areas, you're still likely to be able to connect at hotels and restaurants, but it's not guaranteed. Mobile phone networks are a similar story – you'll have great coverage in urban areas, but weaker signal in rural areas, especially when exploring the valleys and mountains of the far north.

The main cellular networks serving Italy are Vodafone, Fastweb, TIM (Telecom Italia), WindTre, and Iliad. In the Alps, you might find that your phone connects to networks from outside of Italy, like Swisscom. They all have good speed and aim to cover the majority of the country.

European phone service

Most European mobile phones work in Italy. Please note that enabling data roaming may incur additional costs to your mobile phone bill. Check with your local provider ahead of your arrival to see the rates. You may be able to mitigate or entirely remove roaming charges depending on your network at home.

Since 2017, EU citizens travelling within the EU do not face any roaming charges for using their domestic mobile numbers in other EU countries. However, UK travellers (following Brexit) and other non-EU travellers may still face roaming charges.  

North America & other countries

Certain North American mobile networks work in Italy. Please note that enabling data roaming for numbers from outside of the European Union (EU) is likely to incur high additional costs to your mobile phone bill. Check with your local provider to see the rates.

Prepaid SIM cards

You may wish to buy a prepaid SIM card to avoid costly international roaming charges. The best way to buy them is from grocery or convenience stores.

For this, your phone must be unlocked and compatible with the GSM 900/1800 MHz frequency. Most European phones work on the GSM network, but some North American phones use a different standard.

You could also purchase a convenient eSIM online from providers like Airalo or Holafly.

Please note that you will need your passport in order to legally register a prepaid SIM card.

Making domestic calls

Phone numbers in Italy are 6–11 digits long, and require an area code before the phone number itself. For example, Milan’s area code is ‘02’ where as Roman numbers start with ‘06’.

Making international calls

Italy's country code is +39. To place an international call, you'll need to dial 00, then the country code, then the phone number. For example, if you were visiting Munich, Germany, with us, and you needed to call our office in Germany, you would dial the following:

• 00 (international code)
• 49 (country code for Germany)
• 89 130723990 (the phone number of our office)

All together = 004989130723990

If this doesn't work, instead of first dialing "00", try "+" followed by the country code and phone number: +4989130723990.