How much does a vacation in Italy actually cost for a Russian tourist?

We're not flying there now, but lots of people used to go to Italy and the expenses were pretty much the same across the board. A round-trip plane ticket will cost you roughly what a typical Moscow flight costs, depending on where you're flying from and when. Accommodation in tourist hotspots like Venice or Rome is pricey, but if you pick a smaller town nearby - it gets cheaper right away. Food at cafes and restaurants obviously isn't cheap, but you can eat at pizzerias and spend moderately, or just cook in an apartment if you rent one with a kitchen.

The main expenses are accommodation and food. Museums, churches, walks - you can see everything for next to nothing or free. Public transport is cheap. If you're not eating out at restaurants every single day and not buying souvenirs at every corner, a week-long vacation will work out to be about the same as a decent trip somewhere inside the country, maybe even cheaper if you manage to find good accommodation.

Here's the simple advice: calculate it yourself based on where exactly you want to stay, how many days, and what level of comfort you need. The internet is full of tourist reports with specific numbers for restaurants and hotels - that's where you'll find fresh, real data.

The problem is that the cost of flights from Russia in recent years really depends on which countries you fly through and which airlines you choose - direct routes aren't available anymore, so it's hard to compare with "Moscow prices." As for Italy itself, prices vary wildly depending on the region: the north is significantly more expensive than the south, and tourist hotspots like Venice or Milan will eat through your budget much faster than the provinces or Sicily. On the ground, it's actually cheaper than in a lot of European countries - food at trattorias, public transport, accommodation in smaller towns are reasonably priced. But the moment you end up in the center of a major city on the tourist trail, everything gets exponentially more expensive.