Bathrooms in Italy

Imagine yourself walking in the ancient streets of Rome, looking at some incredible ancient artifacts, and at that moment, you need to pee! So, where do you go? How do you find the closest bathrooms? This happens to me all the time. So stay tuned because today we will tell you all you need to know about bathrooms in Italy. How to find them and what to expect once you do.

How do you find a bathroom in Italy?

If you are visiting a major city like Rome, Florence, Venice, or Milan, or smaller towns with a high number of tourists, you will find public toilets readily available. You will have to follow the signs that usually say “WC” bagno pubblico or plural, “Bagni Pubblici”.

Now, most of these public bathrooms will not be free. For this reason, we strongly recommend carrying some small change with you, as most of the time these bathrooms require payment in coins. (Even worse, sometimes they will need an exact amount, and they will not even give you change! But that is not the norm.) The good news is that on our last visit to Rome, we noticed that most public bathrooms now accept credit cards, and you can even tap your phone.  

Public bathrooms are not always easy to find, but believe it or not, now there are apps that you can download with maps of all the public bathrooms in Italian cities. Here is a link to download one of the most common app.

Public bathroom alternatives

If you are in a small town or you are not close to a public bathroom, your best alternative is to use the bathroom in a coffee shop. Now, there are a few things to know if you want to do this. First, in most places, bathrooms are reserved for patrons only, so to use the toilet, you will have to make a purchase. You can buy a coffee, a bottle of water, or even a pack of gum. Of course, I always wondered about buying water, cuz I’d need to pee again after 20 minutes. But anyway…

The second thing to know is that not every coffee shop has a bathroom. If the venue is small, it may not have a bathroom, so try to find a larger space or ask the barista first if the venue has a bathroom before ordering a bottle of water. Third, in some coffee shops, bathrooms may be small or have stairs to climb, which can be a problem if you have mobility issues. Additionally, most coffee shops, especially the smaller ones, typically have only one bathroom that serves both men and women. 

Now you might ask, “What about McDonald’s? Can’t I go to the washroom there? I used always to use McDonald’s back home to go to the bathroom”. The answer is probably not. To use the bathrooms in most fast food restaurants in Italy, you will need to enter a code to unlock the door, which is typically located on the receipt for your order. 

Also, bathrooms in hotel lobbies are for hotel guests only, and usually, it is not possible to use them if you are not staying there. Of course, you could act like you have a room at the hotel and walk in with conviction… but… who knows.

Using the bathrooms while traveling

When traveling by train in Italy, you can find bathrooms at every train station. The bathrooms at the stations are usually not free, but most of the time they accept credit cards, and you can use your phone to tap in and access them.

While on the train, you will always have access to a bathroom, which is usually located near the coach entrance. Bathrooms on the trains are generally decently clean. Those bathrooms are free, and you do not have to pay.

Bathrooms at attractions

Bathrooms are always available at museums,  archeological sites, or any other attraction in Italy. Now they might not be very easy to find, but they will be available. For example, in Pompeii, the bathrooms are by all the main entrances.

Additionally, department stores and shopping malls often offer clean, well-maintained bathrooms for use, which are usually available at no cost. However, sometimes you will see the janitor outside the bathroom door with a little tip jar. Tipping is not required, but if you feel that the bathroom was particularly clean, you can leave € 0.50 or €1, entirely at your discretion.

What to expect

You may have heard horror stories about squat toilets in Italy or toilets that lack a toilet seat. We have to admit that, yes, those do exist, but fortunately, they are becoming increasingly rare. Nowadays, squat toilets, also known as “alla turca” or Turkish-style toilets, are becoming increasingly rare. Additionally, most toilet bowls now come with toilet seats. 

If you use public toilets, they usually are pretty clean, especially if they are paid toilets. Use the bathroom at a coffee shop, restaurant, or gelateria. It can be a bit messier, especially in bustling areas, because they are usually cleaned only once or twice a day. 

When it is time to flush the toilet, you might notice two buttons: a small one for flush number one and a larger button for flush number two. However, most of the time, the small button does not work, and you will have to use the big one. A very important thing to note is that if you see a small cord next to the toilet bowl, do not flush the toilet; it is the emergency alarm. Lastly, some bathrooms, especially those for the handicapped, have a large button, not near the bathroom, to flush the toilet that you must press. 

Nowadays, most bathrooms have the standard icons for men and women, but if you visit an extremely old place, you might still see signs that say “Uomini” for men and “Donne” for women. Again, this is becoming increasingly rare. Lastly, please consider that, especially in older buildings in Italy, pipes are often quite old. Therefore, please refrain from flushing anything down the toilet other than toilet paper to avoid clogging it.

Well, folks, this is what we have for you today. We hope you have learned something that will make your trip to Italy even better.

Ciao