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Alitalia, British Airways, Ryanair, Easyjet and British Midlands all fly direct London to Milan; bmibaby flies East Midlands to Milan. British Midlands also flies into Bergamo. From Ireland, Aer Lingus flies direct Dublin to Milan; British Airways and Alitalia route you through London.

There are direct flights to Milan from the major North American cities on most US and Canadian airlines as well as Italy’s Alitalia. Most arrive at Malpensa airport.

Alitalia flies Sydney to Rome, from where you can transfer to Milan. Qantas flies from various Australian and New Zealand cities to Rome via Bangkok, though it’s cheaper to fly via London.

The national airlines of each European nation connect to Milan. On the continent, Ryanair flies to Milan from Frankfurt-Hahn, Brussels, Paris and Barcelona; Virgin Express flies in from Brussels.

Most airlines use their websites to promote sales and bargain tickets. Expedia and Travelocity collate most regular best fares offered from the US and UK. Booking engines run by airline consortiums include Orbitz in the US and Opodo in Europe. Also check sites such as Lastminute.com.

Closer to Como than to Milan, the airport is linked by the Malpensa Express to Cadorna station in western Milan (40 mins, leaving every half hour). You can also catch a bus: Malpensa Express or Shuttle (50 mins, 2–3 per hour) to central Milan.

Milan’s secondary airport, just east of the city, receives many Alitalia flights as well as those from across Europe. STAM and ATM buses leave every half hour for the 25-minute trip to central Milan (buy tickets on bus). Alternatively, take a taxi into the centre. It’s the quickest and easiest option, and not terribly expensive.

From London, you can take the Eurostar to Paris and pick up one of three daily trains to Milan (they take between 6 hours 30 mins and 10 hours 30 mins). Various express trains (EC/IC/EN) head to Milan from many other European cities.

Most trains arrive at Milan’s Stazione Centrale; its tourist office is hidden down a corridor of shops off the arrivals hall. Other stations include Cadorna, also known as Milano Nord (services to Malpensa airport and Como), Porta Genova (Asti, Alessandra and other points southwest), and Porta Garibaldi (Lecco).

Italian trains, run by FS, are speedy and efficient, but don’t cover every Lombard corner. Each station posts its own schedule – departures on yellow, arrivals on white – and newsstands sell national schedules. Ticket lines can be long (automated machines are now helping), and strikes (sciopero ) annoyingly frequent. You must stamp one end of your ticket at the station’s or track’s yellow box before boarding.

Coaches (pullman) are slower and no cheaper than trains. They are best used to reach destinations where trains don’t go.

Lakes Como, Garda, Maggiore and Iseo each have a public ferry system run by Navigazione Laghi. The smaller lakes have skiffs connecting towns or running out to islands. Private boats and water taxis charge at least twice as much as public boats.

The best way to explore the environs. Local outfits are rarely cheaper than international agents, and arranging a rental from your home country is invariably the best option. Most companies require a theft protection charge, but check if your credit card covers this first.

TCI (Touring Club Italiano) maps are best and widely available in Italy. Michelin maps have more sightseeing indications, including scenic roads highlighted in green. Italian road signs (green for routing via Autostrada highways, blue for state roads) indicate destinations more often than route numbers; on any road, check the map to note the towns and villages it passes, as well as the destination city.

Speed limits: 30–50 kmh (20–30 mph) in town; 80–110 kmh (50–70 mph) on two-lane roads; and 130 kmh (80 mph) on highways. Left lanes are truly for passing only. On wide, hard-shouldered roads, Italians regularly pass by swerving into the oncoming traffic, which obliges by using its own hard shoulder.

Lombardy’s only toll roads are the autostrade connecting the main cities. Unleaded petrol is senza piombo or verde ; diesel is gasolio . Though most stations close Sundays, many have automated machines that accept notes and credit cards.

Though few hotels have their own parking, many have agreements with local garages. Round blue signs with a red slash mean no parking. Legal parking is always marked: white-lined spaces are free; yellow-lined spaces are restricted to residents only and blue spaces available for an hourly fee.

Milan has a mix of transport: buses, trams and an underground, and all use the same tickets. Buy them at tobacconists (tabacchi , indicated by a white-on-brown “T” sign), newsstands, or bars. Stamp one end on the bus or tram when you board. They are good for a set time period during which you may transfer.

Provincial tourism boards control most information, so ENIT (Ente Nazionale Italiano per il Turismo), the national tourist office, is well-intentioned but of little help. However, you will find links to the local Lombardy tourist boards on their website.

Local informazioni turistiche offices, often indicated as “APT” or “Pro Loco”, are good for free maps, sight and museum opening hours, and hotel directories. The amount of information beyond that varies widely, but most are friendly. Milan’s tourist office is on Piazza del Duomo at Via Marconi 1 (02-7252-4301 ), with a branch in Stazione Centrale (02-7252-4360 ).

Citizens of the UK, Ireland, US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia need only a valid passport to visit Italy for up to 90 days for tourism.

You may bring into Italy personal items with the following quirky limits: 400 cigarettes (or 550 grammes of tobacco), 2 cameras, 10 rolls of film, a pair of skis, two tennis rackets, one shooting gun with 200 cartridges and a litre of alcohol.

Most shops and businesses open at 8 or 9am, shut for riposo from about 12:30 to 3 or 4pm (museums and churches, too), and close around 6–8pm. In larger cities, the riposo is disappearing in favour of orario continuato , working straight through.

Italy is on 220V/50 cycles. To operate a 110V device you need a converter (most laptops and camcorders have this built in). To plug it in, you need an adapter from your pronged plugs to Continental Europe’s two round pins.

Most hotels 3-stars and above get satellite TV with CNN and BBC news. Train station and central piazza newsstands are best for finding English-language newspapers (the International Herald Tribune comes with an Italy Daily insert). Informer (www.informer.it) is Milan’s ex-pat English-language magazine.

Lombardy has a mild climate, a bit hotter and drier than most of the UK. August heat can be oppressive, while January snow is common. Spring’s middle ground keeps hotels booked in the cities, but summer is the season for the lakes. There is some winter skiing in the Alps ringing the lakes to the north.

High season is Easter–Jul and Sep–Oct. But while cities are deserted mid to late Aug, lakeside resorts are packed right through Jul–Aug. Milan’s trade fairs (Mar, Apr, Oct) make finding hotel rooms and classier dinner reservations nigh impossible. National holidays are: 1 & 6 Jan, Easter Sun & Mon, 25 Apr, 1 May, 15 Aug, 1 Nov, and 8, 25 & 26 Dec.

Lombardy’s churches are free, and contain some of Italy’s greatest art and architecture. The best chapels often require some payment, however. Italy’s gorgeous, palazzo -rimmed squares are free theatres of life, and the price of a cappuccino will get you a front row seat.

Discount admission to sights and museums varies greatly: the age cut-off may be 6, 12, 14, or 18, or just “students” and seniors (over 60 or sometimes 65). National museums are free under 18 and over 60 to everyone except US citizens. Many towns now sell tickets that combine several sights.

Under 18s can buy a Carta Verde for about €13 and receive 30 per cent discount on any train ticket; the same deal for over 60s is called Carta Argento. But none of Italy’s rail passes will pay off financially if you’re sticking just to Lombardy.

For periods longer than 21 days, a short-term lease is often cheaper than renting a car. Unlike with rentals, you also get full insurance coverage with no deductable, plus a brand-new car straight from the factory. The pioneers in this arrangement are Europe By Car and Auto Europe (see By Rental Car), though other agencies are starting to pick up on the concept.

Generally, prices rise the closer you are to the centre of town. Making do with a one or two-star hotel or taking a room without private bathroom in a central hotel is preferable to looking outside the centre or in the uninteresting but cheap train station neighbourhood. Also, avoid using the room phone and mini-bar – both are overpriced.

In food-loving Italy, price or category of restaurant has little to do with the quality of food, so a cheaper osteria or trattoria can be as tasty an option as a fancy ristorante. Be aware that appetizers tend to cost almost as much as first courses, but tap water (acqua dal rubinetto ) is usually free. Tavole calde and bars (see Bars and Tavole Calde) offer super cheap hot meals.

For little money, you can visit a string of small delis (alimentari ), greengrocers (fruttivendolo ), bread and pastry shops (panetteria/pasticceria ), and wine stores (enoteca/fiaschetteria ) and create your own picnic fit for a king. Then choose your location – overlooking a lake, or in a town’s main square, perhaps.

Cash will often get you a discount in shops and smaller hotels, as they won’t have to pay a credit card commission. However, make sure you leave with some kind of receipt, as by law you have to carry it 400 m beyond the store (a whole branch of the Italian police is devoted to financial fraud).

Spring and now autumn too are getting more crowded than summer, and hotels and airlines often extend their high-season prices accordingly. Mid-Nov to just before Easter is low season in Italy, when rates on air fares and hotels can drop considerably. However, facilities around the lakes (especially in resort towns) almost completely shut down in winter.

If you can’t use an ATM to get cash, change money at a bank (or, for American Express card-holders, an Amex office) for the next-best rates and lowest charges. Take your passport as ID. “Cambio” exchange booths are open longer, but have worse rates. Shops and hotels generally offer poor rates for traveller’s cheques.

The fastest, easiest and cheapest way to get local currency is via an ATM (bancomat ), drawing money directly from your home current account (savings accounts are not so easily accessed).

MasterCard and Visa are the most widely accepted – just about everywhere except the smallest family-run shops, trattorie and hotels. American Express is also accepted in many places. You can get credit card cash advances from ATMs, but, unlike with purchases, interest usually starts accruing immediately.

While still the safest way to carry money, traveller’s cheques are doomed by the evolution of easier and cheaper ATMs. However, a few cheques are good for emergencies. Buy them denominated in dollars or pounds sterling. Note that personal cheques are useless, except for Amex card-holders, who can cash cheques at American Express offices.

Italy has joined most of Continental Europe in adopting the Euro (€), which replaced the lira. Euro coins come in €1 and €2, and in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 euro cents. Bills come in €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200, and €500.

Most pay phones in Italy now accept only pre-paid phone cards (scheda telefonica ) you can buy in several denominations at tobacconists (tabacchi ) and newsstands. Break off the corner before inserting it. There is also a range of pre-paid carta telefonica internazionale that give you a number to call and a code for international calls.

Arranging to take a call in your hotel room is invariably cheaper than using the Italian phone system. But if you want to make an outward call, use the cards described above or international phone booths in major post offices. To reverse charges, dial the international operator at 170. Calls can usually be placed at hotels, but the charges are excessive. To call Italy from abroad, dial your international prefix (011 in the US, 00 in most other countries), then Italy’s country code of 39, followed by the number, including that initial zero (which, formerly, was dropped).

Internet cafés are forever popping up, frequently disappearing with equal alacrity (ask at the tourist office if you don’t stumble upon any). Increasingly, hotels offer internet access too.

To send postcards and letters, just ask any tobacconist (tabacchi ) or newsagent for stamps (francobolli ) for the country to which you are mailing. Then drop the post in the slot of the mail box (usually red) labelled “per tutte le altre destinazioni ” (not “per la città ”).

Shops open around 8am and close 7–8pm, with long afternoon breaks (see Opening Hours).

Bartering over price is the life-blood of markets, but isn’t the norm in the majority of shops. Many market stallholders now hail from Middle Eastern countries where bargaining is an art form, so be ready to go through the full ritual: you acting less and less interested, the stallholder acting more and more offended.

Italy’s Value Added Tax (IVA) is included in the price tag of every item. Non-EU visitors who spend more than €155 in one shop can get the tax refunded. Ask the store to help you fill in the forms; then bring them and the receipts to the customs office at the airport to complete the paperwork. Your refund will be mailed (though it may take some months). Stores marked “Tax Free Shopping for Tourists” speed up the process, giving you a cheque for the customs office to stamp, which can then be redeemed at the airport’s Tax Free Shopping desk.

UK and Irish citizens can bring home virtually anything duty free (though, in principle, limits such as no more than 90 litres of wine apply). US citizens are limited to $400 worth of goods duty-free, including 1 litre of alcohol, 200 cigarettes and 100 cigars. Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand limitations are roughly similar. Unless you are from the EU, you are not allowed to take home flowers, bulbs, fruits, vegetables, meats (unless tinned) and cheeses runnier than brie.

One of the world’s elite capitals of fashion, Milan is home to many top names in haute couture: Prada, Armani, Versace, Mila Schön, Krizia, Missoni and Ferré, to name but a few. In March and October, supermodels draped in next season’s fashions parade the runways in the MODIT fashion shows. Top couture isn’t likely to be any cheaper in Milan (unless you go to a discount outlet), but buying clothes here has a certain cachet.

Italians are masters of industrial design, from Ferraris to funky Alessi tea kettles. So if the Ferrari doesn’t fit your budget, consider some elegant or quirky kitchenware instead.

For craftware, such as ceramics, carved wood and even leather shoes, try to visit the workshops and buy at source. For everything else, use the Italian shopper’s three cardinal “S”s: sconti (reduced prices), saldi (sales), and spacci (discount outlets).

Rather than carry your perhaps bulky purchases all around Lombardy, see if the shop can ship them home for you on the spot. The fee is often worth the hassle saved. If you have a rental car big enough to store your goods, you could try the other tack: at the end of your trip post home your dirty laundry and anything you won’t miss for a while, then use the space saved to pack your souvenirs.

Italy’s best souvenir, though rather heavy (and US citizens can only take home one bottle without paying a duty). Shipping is expensive, so save it for when you discover a small vineyard whose wines aren’t exported and buy a whole case.

You can dial 113 for general emergencies: see the Directory for more specific numbers. Note that the car breakdown number is a pay towing service.

Italians do tend to drive aggressively, so be attentive behind the wheel. Also, take steps to avoid pickpockets. Women (especially young foreign women) may be pestered, but it’s mostly harmless. Apart from these things, Italy is a remarkably safe country, and violent crime is rare.

On crowded trams and buses, the metro, and around train stations and other areas where tourists congregate, pickpockets will be at work. Keep your wits about you and ensure your passport, credit cards, plane tickets and money are well hidden.

Every European city has its street beggars and master pickpockets, and Milan is no exception. Begging varies from the apathetic seated figure with a tin for change to the confrontational and occasionally aggressive street-hardened homeless person. A common pickpocketing technique is to use distraction, such as crowding you or using a cardboard sign to disguise the act of thievery. But, despite this, begging and street crime are not especially rife in Milan.

While not particularly rampant, scams are sometimes attempted on the most clueless-seeming of tourists. Taxis might try to set the meter for “out of town” rates rather than local. Restaurants might try to pad the bill with items not ordered, and are the mostly likely to try and double-charge your credit card. Just be attentive, and the unscrupulous are unlikely to try.

There are two main police branches: the regular Polizia and the military-trained national Carabinieri force. A police office is called a questura .

It’s sensible to take out medical insurance, even if your country has a reciprocal agreement with Italy. Usually you must pay any hospital charges up front and apply for reimbursement when you get home. US Blue Cross/Blue Shield members can visit affiliated hospitals in Italy, using their card as at home.

Italian hospitals (ospedale ) are efficient and semi-privatized. The emergency room is called pronto soccorso . Unless you’re admitted overnight, they’ll usually give you a check-up, write a prescription and send you off with a smile, no paperwork involved.

Italian farmacie are usually well equipped and excellent in helping with minor ailments. They take turns to stay open at night and on Sunday – the information will be posted on the window. Otherwise, head for the 24-hour pharmacy in Milan’s Stazione Centrale train station.

August in Milan is often brutally hot, and almost the whole city goes on holiday, including many pharmacists and grocers. The only bit of town open for business is the Navigli and its glut of restaurants and bars, but fair warning: bring plenty of insect repellant.

Most hotels shut down from October or November through to February, many reopening only at Easter. Only Lake Maggiore keeps a longer season, with many of its inns and restaurants closing only for December or January.

The usual tourist seasons don’t apply to business-orientated Milan. The months to watch out for are March, April and October when major trade fairs and fashion shows keep even the most basic, one-star hotels booked solid. Even outside these months, it can be difficult to find a room. It’s always wise to book ahead.

Hotels on the lakes often cater largely to habitual holidaymakers who stay a week or more and rarely budge from their chosen tanning spots. The package deals they try to force on clients reflect this; some require stays of three nights, many insist you take at least a half-board deal. Try to negotiate more leeway.

A car is utterly unnecessary in Milan: some roads are now pedestrianized; when it is available, parking is limited and expensive; and to the uninitiated, Italians seem to drive like maniacs. Car hire makes sense only for touring around the lakes.

If you do not book ahead to visit Leonardo’s Last Supper (see Leonardo’s Last Supper), you will almost surely be turned away at the door. Try to reserve at least two days in advance. This is not an exaggeration.

It might make sense to visit Milan’s museums and monuments back-to-back, but once you get up to the lakes, it is time to take it easy. Enjoy the Italian art of dolce far niente , the “sweetness of doing nothing”.

Window shopping amid the renowned boutiques of Milan’s Quadrilatero d’Oro can be fun, but few visitors really have deep enough pockets to turn browsing into a new wardrobe. Luckily, this epicentre of high fashion has also spawned a thriving business of spacci (stock houses) where you can get last year’s fashions, slight irregulars and odd sizes at 30% to 50% off the usual price tags (see Haggling). Sometimes you even come across a “used” dress that was worn just once by a model on a Milanese catwalk.

Despite being sold on its seeming convenience for the luggage-laden traveller, the waist pack is arguably the worst travel accessory ever invented. It places all of your most important belongings at the perfect height for a light-fingered thief to rifle through at his or her leisure.

Milan has a vast student population, many of whom hang out in the bars of the Navigli district, and in clubs just north of there in Ticinese. They’re also habitués of the bars in the Brera neighbourhood. To get discounts when sightseeing, ask for a “studente”.

Remember to take your ISIC (International Student Identity Card), the only card widely accepted as proof of status.

Discounts for anziani (see Sightseeing at a Discount).

Besides books and magazines devoted to the mature traveller, you can get good travel information, advice on tour operators, and sometimes discounts, from the major national associations for retired persons, such as ARP (UK) and AARP (US).

The “Latin Lover” is alive and well, and women may receive more attention than they are used to, or happy with. Open staring, verbal come-ons, even bottom-pinching and the like are not uncommon. Be firm, to stop such behaviour in its tracks.

There is little in the way of official resources for women, other than a few clubs for ex-pats and visitors: the Benvenuto Club for social activities, and the PWA (Professional Women’s Association), for career networking.

Preservation laws deter owners from altering the city’s older buildings in order to accommodate wheelchairs. However, most major museums have disabled access, and many hotels (especially 4- and 5-star properties) have created a few wheelchair-friendly rooms. Most Metro stops are wheelchair accessible, but restaurant toilets may not be – check first.

RADAR (the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation) in London publishes a series of useful pamphlets. Join Holiday Care Service, in Surrey, for advice on disabled-friendly accommodation.

Homosexuality is broadly accepted in as cosmopolitan a city as Milan, which hosted the World Pride festival in 2000. Moderate physical affection will draw little undue attention.

It saves money, makes for a fun outing, gives children a chance to pick out what they want from the wonderful delis and bakers, and also gives them a break from all those restaurants where they have to be on best behaviour – though this is, in fact, less of an issue in Italy. Also, since travelling with children slows you down in many ways, picnic lunches (always quicker than sitting down to a three-course meal) help make up some lost time.

A mezza porzione for smaller appetites costs 30–50 per cent less than a full portion. Adults feeling weighed down by all this great Italian food, who yet feel compelled to continue trying it all can cash in on this tip as well as children.

Rather than booking two separate rooms for parents and kids, trade some privacy for savings and bunk the whole clan in one room. Each extra bed costs no more than 35 per cent extra on the price of a double; cots and baby cribs are even less. But if some time apart is the only route to familial peace, ask if the hotel has any family suites or rooms that share a common door.

Try to stay in one hotel or apartment if possible, and make day-trips rather than moving on from one town to the next. The constant upheaval can be exhausting for kids, changing hotels is time-consuming and rates for stays of three days or longer are usually reduced.

Ridotto is the word for reduced-price tickets, which may apply to all students or at least the under 18s. A few sights offer a biglietto famiglia for family group discount. Admission may be free under the age of 6, 12 or even 18 (especially for citizens of the EU).

Those under 27 can buy a Carta Verde from train stations to save 20 per cent on tickets.

Renting one mid-sized car is far cheaper than four or even three sets of train tickets, and has the added benefit of allowing you more flexibility in terms of itinerary and speed (see By Rental Car).

Don’t over-pack your itinerary. Skip a few museums, and reduce the number of “boring old gardens” you plan to visit. Take time to enjoy some delicious Italian ice cream instead.

Sightseeing is exhausting. Therefore, do as the Italians do, and take a riposo (a nap) after lunch rather than trying to pack still more sights into your holiday schedule.

A ristorante is the most formal, expensive, eatery; a trattoria a family-run, moderately-priced joint; an osteria anything from a simple trattoria to the equivalent of a pub with dishes of cured meats and cheeses.

A friendly waiter

Italian meals, especially dinners, are drawn-out affairs of two to four hours, with the courses listed below followed by an espresso and digestive liqueur (digestivo ) such as grappa. Lunch is similar and was once the day’s largest meal; but life’s modern pace is shortening it. Breakfast is traditionally an espresso or cappuccino with a sweetened roll or croissant (brioche or cornetto ).

This is the appetizer course. A typical offering would be bruschetta (toasted bread rubbed with garlic, olive oil, salt, and sometimes tomatoes) and/or cured meats such as prosciutto, salami, bresaola (thin slices of dried beef) and carpaccio (wafer-thin raw beef). Also popular are nervetti (a cold salad of pickled calf tendons) or a caprese salad of tomatoes and mozzarella.

The first course. Risotto (creamy arborio rice) is usually studded with seasonal vegetables, sausage bits (alla mantovana ), or sometimes a seafood medley. Pastas include tortelli di zucca (pumpkin-stuffed pockets), strangolapreti (balls of ricotta and spinach), agnolotti (tiny, meat-filled ravioli), and pizzoccheri (a casserole of buckwheat pasta layered with cheese, potatoes and onions). Soups (minestre ) include minestrone (vegetable soup), simple zuppa pavese (bread and eggs in broth), and cassoeûla (see Casoeûla).

The main course. Meats include bistecca or manzo (beef), vitello (veal), agnello/abbacchio (mutton/spring lamb), pollo (chicken), maiale (pork), cinghiale (boar), coniglio (rabbit), and anatra (duck). A cotoletta is a cutlet, usually veal; a braciola is a chop, usually pork. Meats are usually simply grilled or roasted. A grigliata mista is a hearty mixed meat platter. Lake fish are covered on p67.

The dessert. Most popular are hard almond biscuits with sweet wine for dunking, lemon sorbet (sorbetto ), or gelato (ice cream). Egg custards are also favourites, as is tiramisù (a rich dessert with espresso and sweet cream). A macedonia is a diced fresh fruit cup.

No Italian meal is complete without red (rosso ) or white (bianco ) wine (vino ); either a carafe (un litro ) or a half-carafe (mezzo litro ) of the usually excellent house wine (vino della casa ), or a bottle of the good stuff. Italians temper their wine by drinking equal amounts of water, either fizzy (gassata, frizzante ) or still (non-gassata ).

The pane e coperto (bread and cover) charge of €1 to €4 per person is unavoidable. If the menu says “servizio incluso ”, service charge is built in – though it is customary to round up the bill. If not, tip a discretionary 10 to 15 per cent.

Jacket and tie are rarely required. Waiters expect you to linger over your meal, and won’t rush you (some visitors mistake this for slow service).

Italian hotels are categorized from one-star (basic) to five-stars (deluxe), based largely on the amenities offered rather than such esoteric considerations as charm, historic setting, or central location. At three stars and above, all rooms have at least private bathroom, TV and phone.

Some working farms – usually vineyards – offer rooms. This translates to largely inexpensive lodgings in bucolic settings. Some are luxury, some very rustic. Agriturist, Terra Nostra and Turismo Verde are the main consortiums.

Top villa rental agencies in the UK include International Chapters and Cottages to Castles. In the US, try Marjorie Shaw’s Insider’s Italy, the Parker Company and Villas International.

Ask for a schematic layout and as many pictures as possible of the interior and exterior of the apartment/villa and the grounds. Find out how many others might share the villa or other houses on the complex.

The tourist office has a list of these invariably cheap options. They can range from a lovely room with semi-private access to a cramped spare bedroom in someone’s modern apartment. It can be a great way to meet locals.

Camp sites (campeggi ) are widespread, but you end up paying almost as much as for a cheap hotel: a fee per person, for your vehicle and for the pitch itself (see Self-Catering and Camp Sites).

All cities and major towns have cheap beds in sex-segregated, shared dorms. They are full of international students, and usually impose a curfew of midnight or so. Most official IYH hostels are on the edges of towns.

Making a reservation in advance is always wise, especially for the first night of your stay and particularly if you have your heart set on a special hotel. The best-known can book up months in advance. However, if you are not fussy, you should be able to find a room when you arrive, at most times of year you visit.

For a small fee, most tourist offices and private hotel consortiums will help you find a room. Their offices are usually located in the main train stations and airports. So far, the countless internet booking services have highly erratic stables of hotels in their databases.