Wifi is very important when it comes to travel, especially free wifi. Here is a comprehensive list of free wifi in Italy. Free wifi is available in many places. Unless you are in a great need for wifi, you do not need to get a card.
Trevellers Tip: EU has removed the roaming charges for EU numbers. So if you have an EU number, you can use the internet freely in Italy. As of April 2018, you can still roam freely with UK numbers too.
Check out Free Wifi in Switzerland!
3 methods to get wifi in Italy:
- General wifi places in Italy
- Specific free wifi in Italian cities
- Portable wifi.
1. Free Wifi in Italy in General
- Use Free Italia Wifi and register for a free account. It allows you to serve up to 300MB of data per day. There are over 3,000 hotspots around Italy. It comes with an app in Italian and English. Simply register at one and you have access to all the hotspots.
- Free wifi in the airport. Simply register to get access: name, email, password. It can be very slow.
- Free internet in universities if you are a student! In fact, most universities have “Eduroam”. If you have a university student account, you can access it. I used my Netherlands and Singapore university accounts and they work.
- E.g. Università degli Studi di Milano, Sapienza Università di Roma.
- Free wifi on Italy’s train, Aitalia. Log in to Alitalia Wifi hotspot and register.
- Note: only works for Italian phone numbers. It does not work for other numbers, including EU numbers.
Wifi in Hotels, Hostels and Cafes
When dining or staying in a place, ask for free wifi. Many cafes in popular cities provide free wifi. Stop for coffee and surf the net.
However, if you are in rural Italy, expect slow/no internet. That is also why you rarely see people working on their laptops in Italian cafes. Internet connection is not great in Italy, in general.
Wifi in American Chain Restaurants/Fast Food
- Starbucks does not have wifi. Also, if you are going to Starbucks for coffee and wifi, you should visit the local cafés instead. Italian coffee is WAY better than Starbucks.
- McDonald’s Wifi is horrible. And no one is keen on fixing it. So forget about it.
- Unlike other countries, do not count on American fast food chains for free wifi.
2. Specific Free Wifi Hotspots in Italy
Next is a list of specific free wifi in Italian cities and popular Wifi hotspots in the city. Cities include Milan, Venice, Rome, Florence. Let me know if you need any specific city’s wifi.
Free Wifi in Milan
- Milan city wifi: OpenWifiMilano. It is free. Simply register and you can use it in 1,000 hotspots around the city.
- Places with Wifi in Milan:
- Piazza Castello: Piazza Castello, 20121 Milano
- Fontana del Castello Sforzesco: Piazza Castello, 1, 20121 Milano
- Serve di Gesù Cristo: Via Lucano 1, 20135 Milano
- Wok: Viale Col di Lana, 5, Milano
- Mò Comfort Food Cafè: Upim POP Corvetto, 20139 Milano
Free Wifi in Venice
- Venice city wifi: WiFimetropolitano
- or: Veniceconnected
- Places with Wifi in Venice:
- Piazza San Marco
- Kori: San Marco, 280 Venezia VE 30124, 30124, Italia
- Trattoria ai Leoncini: San Marco, 352-372, 30124 Venezia, Italia
- Ristorante Feliciani: Via Antonio Locatelli, 11, 24020 Villa di Serio BG, Italia
- Hotel Gabrielli: Riva degli Schiavoni, 4110, 30122 Venezia, Italia
Free Wifi in Rome
- Rome city wifi: DigitRoma WiFi
- Places with Wifi in Rome:
- Basilica di San Pietro in the Vatican: Piazza San Pietro, 00120 Vatican
- Obica Mozzarella Bar Roma Campo Dei Fiori: Via Guido d’Arezzo, 49, 00189 Rome
- L’isloa Della Pizza: Via degli Scipioni, 45, 00192 Rome
- CinecittaDue : Viale Palmiro Togliatti, 2, 00173 Rome
- Pizzeria Boccione : via Dei Monti Tiburtini 536, 00157 Rome
Free Wifi in Florence
- Florence city wifi: FirenzeWifi
- Places with Wifi in Florence:
- Piazza San Marco
- Scuola Leonardo Da Vinci Firenze: Via Maurizio Bufalini 3, 50122 Firenze
- The Lions Fountain Irish Pub: Borgo Albizi 34/R, 50123 Firenze
- Obicà Mozzarella Bar Firenze : Via de’ Tornabuoni 16, 50123 Firenze
- da Garibardi : Piazza del Mercato Centrale, 38r, 50123 Firenze
Travel Hack: Portable Wifi Router
Buy a little portable WiFi router. It allows you to connect multiple devices (laptop, tablet, phone) to it when you are travelling. It is one of the easiest ways to stay connected, without getting a local internet SIM card for your phone.
TL;DR: Overall, internet speed in Italy is terrible. Wifi connection is not exceptionally stable. The more rural you visit, the worst the internet speed.
- Best option for free wifi: bars, cafes and restaurants in big cities for basic surfing.
- Best option for stable wifi: portable wifi router.
Trevellers is my way to change the world. Through my stories, tips and lessons learnt, I truly hope to inspire you to get out of your comfort zone, see the world and see who you truly are. Travel is more than just taking a selfie. Travel is an adventure, where you can truly become who you are, give you the time to reflect and grow to become the person you’ve always wanted to be.
📍SIN – T1 – Plaza Premium Lounge
I highly recommend portable wifi. Internet speed was really good and it was unlimited. I used it in Rome, Venice and Floransa, it made my trip very comfortable. I used wifi from Rent and Connect, there were other brands but this one was cheapest. It was approximately 5€ per day.
Thank you Damian for sharing! I used a lot of hostel and cafe’s wifi by ordering a cup of coffee.