Most Italian towns and main city train stations
and airports have a tourist office , usually
known as an APT ( Azienda per Il Turismo
) or just ufficio turistico
, and indicated with the standard "i"
symbol. Some information offices are called
APTs; there are other acronymslike
EPT ( Ente Provinciale per il Turismo
); IAT ( Ufficio di Informazione
e Accoglienza Turistica );
and AAST ( Azienda Autónoma di
Soggiorno e Turismo ). There issometimes
a Pro Loco office, usually
run by businesses in smaller villages, which
gives the same kind of information but generally
keep much shorter hours. Except for the main
cities and tourist areas the staff aren't likely
to speak English. But you should always be able
at least to get a map of the town, a list of
accommodations and a local listings booklet
in Italian.
Opening hours vary, but larger city and resort
offices are likely to be open Monday to Saturday
9am to 1pm and 4 to 7pm, and sometimes for a
short period on Sunday mornings; smaller offices
may open weekdays only, while Pro Loco sometimes
open for only a couple of hours a day, even
in summer. If the tourist office isn't open
the local telephone office, most hotels, and
bars with phones should all have a copy of the
local Tuttocittà (a supplement to the
main telephone directories), which has listings
and phone numbers of essential services, adverts
for restaurants and shops, together with indexed
maps of the appropriate city.
