Flights from Barcelona to Italy from 12EUR*

Flights to Italy from Barcelona

Italy has more direct routes from Barcelona than any other country: 14 cities, none of them more than 2 and a half hours away. Rome and Milan take less than 2.

With distances that short, the real decision is where to fly into. The centre, the north, the south and the islands make for trips that have almost nothing in common, and the airport you pick shapes everything after it.

What documents you need to travel to Italy

Italy is part of the European Union and the Schengen Area, so Spanish and other EU citizens need only a valid national ID card or passport; no visa is required.

On Schengen flights you must show the physical Spanish ID card (DNI): the digital version is only valid on flights within Spain. If you are travelling with children, each one needs their own document, and if yours is close to expiring, renew it before you book. If you hold another nationality, check your situation on the travel documents page.

What to know when you land in Italy

High-speed rail. This is what turns 14 airports into a whole country. Rome and Milan are around 3 hours apart, Florence sits halfway between them, and Bologna works as the hub for the north and the Adriatic. Flying into one city and out of another usually works better than flying in and out of the same place.

The coperto. Many restaurants add a per-person cover charge to the bill. It is neither a mistake nor a hidden tip, just standard practice, and worth knowing before you query it with the waiter. Outside the big cities, cash still comes in handy.

Climate by latitude. The north has cold, damp winters, with fog across the Po Valley. The south and the islands are already warm in spring and very hot in mid-August, which is also when half of Italy shuts up shop and heads for the beach.

Opening hours. Many shops and restaurants close in the middle of the day and reopen in the afternoon. If your flight lands in that window, factor it in when you plan your first meal.

Italy uses plug types C, F and L, at 230V. Type L has three pins in a row.

What to do in Italy

Rome and central Italy

Every street has centuries behind it, yet what anchors the trip is the classic list: the Vatican, the Colosseum, and the Trastevere and Pigneto neighbourhoods for eating without the queues. Florence is an hour and a half away by train and makes a good base for Tuscany, with Siena and San Gimignano a short drive away.

The north

Milan for design, fashion and an easy base for the lakes. Turin, grander in style and home to the finest Egyptian museum outside Cairo. Venice needs no introduction, and the Veneto lies behind it: Verona, Padua and the Dolomites are a few hours away. Bologna is a city you eat your way through, while Genoa faces the sea with an old town that surprises almost everyone.

The south

Naples is Italy at its most intense, with Vesuvius, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast all within a day’s reach. Bari opens up Puglia, which is another world: trulli, masserie, olive groves and an Adriatic coastline quite unlike the Tyrrhenian side. Each gateway leads to a very different trip.

Sicily and Sardinia

For Sicily, fly into Catania, with Etna next door, Palermo, for its markets and baroque churches, or Comiso, which puts the baroque south-east within easy reach. For Sardinia, choose Cagliari in the south or Olbia, next to the Costa Smeralda. On both islands a car is close to essential.

Luggage for your flight to Italy

What you can take depends on the fare you choose when booking. The simplest fare includes a personal item that fits under the seat in front, and from there you can add cabin or checked luggage.

For a city break, cabin luggage is usually enough. If your plan strings together several stops by train, sorting out your luggage when you book saves you hauling too much between stations. Check the current conditions in Vueling’s luggage policy.