Flights from Brussels to Italy from 38EUR*

Flights to Italy from Brussels

Italy has more direct routes from Brussels than any other country: 14 cities, from the industrial north down to Sicily and Sardinia, and none of them much more than 2 and a half hours away by air.

With flights that short, the real decision is where to land. Rome and Milan are the obvious choices, but flying into Bari, Cagliari or Catania opens up very different trips, and the airport you pick shapes everything that follows.

What documents you need to travel to Italy

Italy and Belgium are both in the European Union and the Schengen Area, so Belgian and other EU citizens only need a valid national ID card or passport, with no visa or extra paperwork.

There are no border checks between the two countries, but you must carry your documents with you throughout the trip and make sure they have not expired before you book. If you are travelling with children or on a passport from outside the EU, check your case on the travel documents page before confirming.

What to know when you land in Italy

High-speed rail. With 14 destinations to choose from and a good high-speed network, it is easy to plan a trip that takes in several parts of the country. Rome and Milan are around 3 hours apart, with Florence halfway, and Bologna is the hub for the north and the Adriatic. Flying into one city and home from another usually gets more out of the trip than an out-and-back.

The coperto. Many restaurants add a cover charge to the bill. It is not a mistake or a hidden tip. It is 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 in the Po Valley, not that far off the Belgian climate. The south and the islands are already warm in spring and very hot in 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, and kitchens rarely start serving before 19:30. If your flight lands in that window, bear it in mind when planning your first meal.

Sockets in Italy are types C, F and L, at 230V. Type L has three pins in a row. In Rome and Milan the metro covers the centre well, and in Venice public transport means the vaporetto.

What to do in Italy

Rome and the centre

Rome has centuries of history behind every street, but the classics are still what define the trip: the Vatican, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Trastevere and Pigneto neighbourhoods for eating without the queues. Florence is an hour and a half away by train, with the Uffizi and the Duomo, and makes a good base for Tuscany and the Chianti hills.

The north

Milan for design, fashion and an easy base for Lake Como and Lake Garda, with the Pinacoteca di Brera and the Navigli. Turin is grander, and home to the finest Egyptian museum outside Cairo. Venice needs no introduction, with the Veneto on its doorstep. Bologna is a city you eat your way through, and Genoa faces the sea, with a historic centre that is a World Heritage Site.

The south

Naples is Italy at its most intense, with Vesuvius, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast all within a day trip. Bari is the gateway to Puglia, which is another world entirely: the trulli of Alberobello, the masserie, the olive groves and an Adriatic coastline quite unlike the Tyrrhenian side.

Sicily and Sardinia

For Sicily, fly into Catania, right by Etna, Palermo, with its markets and baroque architecture, or Comiso, which puts the baroque of the Val di Noto within easy reach. For Sardinia, choose Cagliari in the south or Olbia, next to the Costa Smeralda. On both islands a car is practically 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.