Palazzo Barbarigo Sul Canal Grande
Not your grandmother’s Grand Canal getaway, the Palazzo Barbarigo is Venice’s splashiest new design hot...
Accommodation in Italy can range from the sublime to the ridiculous with prices to match. Hotels and pensioni make up the bulk of the offerings, covering a rainbow of options from cheap sleeps near the train station to luxury hotels considered among the best on the planet. Youth hostels and camp grounds are a boon for the budget-minded, while rifugi (mountain huts) welcome mountain walkers after a long day on the trail. Fancier options include charming B&B-style places that continue to proliferate, apartment rentals in the heart of Italy's great cities, luxurious country villas and agriturismi (farm stays). Capturing the imagination still more are the options to stay in anything from castles to convents and monasteries.
Accommodation prices can be categorised as follows:
| Category | Symbol | Price Range |
| budget | € | under €100 |
| midrange | €€ | €100-200 |
| top end | €€€ | over €200 |
Where indicated in the text, half-board equals breakfast and either lunch or dinner; full board includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Prices can fluctuate enormously depending on the season, with Easter, summer and the Christmas/New Year period being the typical peak tourist times. Seasonality also varies according to location. Expect to pay top prices in the mountains during the ski season (December to March) or along the coast in summer (July and August). Conversely, summer in the parched cities can equal low season; in August especially, many city hotels charge as little as half price. It is always worth considering booking ahead in high season (although in the urban centres you can usually find something if you trust to luck).
Price also depends greatly on where you're looking. A bottom-end budget choice in Venice or Milan will set you back the price of a decent midrange option in, say, rural Campania. Where possible, we have presented maximum low- and high-season rates for each accommodation option listed; for example, d €80-130 means that a double costs €80 at most in low season and €130 at most in high season.
Some hotels, in particular the lower-end places, barely alter their prices throughout the year. In low season there's no harm in bargaining for a discount, especially if you intend to stay for several days.
Hotels usually require that reservations be confirmed with a credit-card number. No-shows will be docked a night's accommodation.
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