Flights from London to Italy from 45EUR*

Flights to Italy from London

No other country has as many direct routes from London as Italy: 14 cities, from the industrial north down to Sicily and Sardinia, and none of them much more than 3 hours away.

At those distances, flight time hardly matters. The real question is where to start. Rome and Milan are the usual choices, but landing in Bari, Cagliari or Catania makes for a very different trip, and the airport you pick can shape everything that follows.

What documents you need to travel to Italy

Italy is part of the European Union and the Schengen Area, and the United Kingdom is no longer part of either. A passport is mandatory for British citizens and no other identity document is accepted.

It must be valid for the whole of your stay. British citizens can spend up to 90 days in the Schengen Area in any 180-day period without a visa. Entry requirements for the European Union are changing, so check the current conditions on the travel documents page before you book.

As the flight comes from outside the Schengen Area, you will go through passport control on arrival. Allow extra time for it.

What to know when you land in Italy

Plug sockets. Italy uses plug types C, F and L, at 230V. Types C and F have two round pins, while type L has three round pins in a row.

High-speed rail. Whichever airport you fly into, the train makes it easy to keep exploring the country. Rome and Milan are about 3 hours apart, with Florence halfway between them, and Bologna is a major rail hub for the north and the Adriatic. The stations are right in the city centres.

The coperto. Many restaurants add a cover charge to the bill. It is not a mistake or a disguised 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 settling over the Po Valley. 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.

The currency is the euro, and cards are accepted almost everywhere.

What to do in Italy

Rome and central Italy

Rome has centuries of history behind every street, but it is the classics that define the trip: the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the neighbourhoods of Trastevere and Pigneto. Florence is 90 minutes away by train, with the Uffizi, the David and the Duomo, and it is the gateway to Tuscany.

The north

Milan brings together the Duomo, Leonardo’s Last Supper and the Pinacoteca di Brera, and makes a good base for Lake Como and Lake Garda. Turin has the finest Egyptian museum outside Cairo. Venice stands out for its canals and heritage, Bologna for its food, and Genoa is a good starting point for the Cinque Terre.

The south

Naples puts Vesuvius, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast within reach, and ferries leave from there for Capri and Ischia. Bari is a good base for touring Puglia, from the trulli of Alberobello and the masserie to the Adriatic coast.

Sicily and Sardinia

Sicily has three ways in: Catania, with Etna and Taormina close by, Palermo, with its markets and Baroque architecture, or Comiso, handy for the Val di Noto. For Sardinia, fly into Cagliari in the south or Olbia, next to the Costa Smeralda.

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.

Special equipment such as skis, a bike or musical instruments comes with its own conditions, and it pays to read them before you drop it off at the airport. See the current conditions in Vueling’s luggage policy.