Going to the Bathroom in Italy

A short while ago, when I posted on social media to solicit “what do you want to know about Italy?” type questions, a friend sent me a DM. She shared that she suffers from a medical condition that causes her to need to pee urgently and with very little warning. She’d love to visit Italy and do one of our tours, but is justly worried about an embarrassing accident while we’re somewhere far from a bathroom. That got me thinking more broadly about going to the bathroom in Italy, and how it can be really complicated. 

Truth is, I think about going to the bathroom in Italy a lot! Blame it on a lifelong tiny bladder, age or what-have-you, but going to the bathroom is something that crosses my mind almost every time I’m out of the house. Because of my work as a travel writer, I get to stay in some really grand hotels with awesome bathrooms. But when I’m in transit from city to another, or out touring for a day in an unfamiliar place? Finding a decent bathroom is a priority.

There’s no reliable standard in Italy, and bathrooms here can range from pleasantly clean and well-equipped to downright ghastly and disgusting, especially for those of us who can’t do what we need to do while standing up. So let’s start with some basics about going to the bathroom in Italy, including what to expect and how to prepare yourself (practically and psychologically). 

But first, some ground rules about bathrooms in Italy, especially public ones:

• • There may or may not be toilet paper

• • There may or may not be separate mens and womens facilities

• • There may or may not be a functioning door lock

• • The toilet may or may not flush

• • There may or may not be soap, paper towels, or a functioning hand dryer

• • The floors and toilet may or may not be clean

I’ve probably left everyone terrified of taking a tinkle in Italy. But I’m just trying to prepare you. Here’s what I carry in my handbag, specifically for bathroom preparedness: 

• • A pack of tissues

• • A small spray bottle of hand and surface sanitizer

• • Hand sanitizer gel 

You should also know that most plumbing in Italy is older and smaller than what you may be used to. To that end: 

• • Don’t flush tampons in any toilet anywhere in Italy, including in peoples’ homes

• • Don’t load the toilet up with lots of toilet paper, as it might not flush and could clog

• • If a sign in the bathroom says to throw away, rather than flush, toilet paper, please do so, as the toilet will likely clog otherwise

• • Don’t sit, if you can avoid it

• • If you’re prone to bathroom urgency, research and map out your options before you head into a park or large archaeological site. If you’re really worried, consider wearing period panties, a pad or even a lightweight adult diaper, at least when you know you might be far from an available bathroom.

Public bathrooms in Italy

When you’re out touring a city, town, or archaeological site (like the Roman Forum, for example), you’ll probably see the universal bathroom sign of a male and female figure or WC (for water closet), with an arrow pointing you in the direction of the nearest facility. In most cases, these will be free public bathrooms. The condition of these bathrooms can vary wildly—I mean wildly. Museums tend to have better bathrooms than outdoor sites and are usually a safe bet, though I did once get locked in a bathroom stall in the Capitoline Museum and had to bang on the door until someone helped me out. 

Two things there almost surely won’t be are a toilet seat and lid. There are two schools of thought here: one is that the seats will break because people stand on them and squat to do their business (so why bother installing them?), and the other is that toilet seats present a sanitary hazard, since they’re hard to clean well and can harbor all sorts of ick. 

Whatever the motive, toilet seats are rare in public bathrooms in Italy. Toilet seats that you’d actually want to sit on are practically non-existent. So, do like every girl who’s ever peed in a 7-Eleven bathroom learned to do a long time ago, and engage those quadriceps to hover, but not make contact. 

Paid public bathrooms

Some public venues will require a small fee, usually between €.50-€1, to use their bathrooms. You either hand your money to an attendant, who may or may not be able to make change, or insert a coin (exact change required) into a turnstile-type entry. 

In exchange for this small fee, you’ll almost always find a clean, functioning and well-stocked bathroom with separate mens and womens facilities, though sinks may be shared by both. The attendant may be a man or a woman, and it wouldn’t be unusual for a male attendant to be cleaning stalls in the women’s bathroom (or vice versa) while customers are using it—it’s all very European. 

If you are feeling generous, the attendant usually has a tip basket near his or her station, and you can leave a little something. I don’t recall ever coming across a paid bathroom that was gross, though I’m sure there’s an exception to every rule. 

For a few examples, there are paid public bathrooms at Rome Termini station (on the top floor food hall), at the entrance Civita di Bagnoregio in Lazio, and outside the train station (on the parking lot side) at Orvieto. On the train platform at Orvieto, there’s one of those automated paid toilets—I think it costs €.50—that sprays itself down with a disinfectant after each customer exits. That means the next customer comes in and finds every surface wet with disinfectant, so there’s no resting you bag on the sink and definitely no sitting.

Bathrooms in bars

By law, bars in Italy have to offer facilities for their customers. You could walk in off the street and ask to use the bathroom, but they have no obligation to let you use it unless you buy something. If you’re not in the mood for another coffee and it’s not aperitivo time yet, buy a bottle of water or some candy or gum, then head to the bathroom. 

For an idea of the condition of bar bathrooms, see the “may or may not” list above. You may be surprised by a clean and orderly bar bathroom, but I wouldn’t count on it. What’s more, bathrooms may be down a flight of stairs, adjacent to a noisy kitchen, and so cramped that you might feel as though you’re going to suffocate. 

I will sometimes discreetly mention to a bar employee when a bathroom is out of toilet paper. I may be met with a thank you or by the soulless stare of a disaffected employee who is looking right through me. You take your chances.  

Bathrooms in restaurants

You generally can’t use the bathroom at a restaurant unless you’re having a meal there. Depending on the size of the restaurant (and possibly the age of the building), there may be a single bathroom for everyone, or separate facilities. Even in non-divey restaurants, the bathrooms swing on a wide arc.

One of my favorite places to eat in Orvieto, which I won’t name here, has a shamefully decrepit bathroom, with a single stall, a broken lock and hand dryer, and frighteningly dirty nooks and crannies. And I’ve been in fancy restaurant bathrooms where attendants will offer a spritz of perfume or cologne, a disposal comb, hairspray, tampons or pads, cloth towels and even a swig of mouthwash. I’ve even seen (and used) a squat toilet at a restaurant in rural Emilia Romagna when I was driving from Ravenna to Florence. That was 20 years ago and while the toilet may still be there, I’m not sure whether I still have the thigh muscles and knees to go down that low—with any hope of getting back up.

Bathrooms on trains

Wanna know the number one reason I splurge for First Class train tickets on Trenitalia? For a cleaner bathroom. (There are other reasons, too, such as roomier seats and less crowded train carriages, but far and away, it’s for the bathrooms.) Most trains have a bathroom in every second car, so unless you have a seat right near the bathroom, you may have to walk to the end of your train car and into the next one to find the closest bathroom.

The bathrooms on second class trains in Italy are almost universally awful. As often as not, you can look into the toilet bowl and see the train tracks whooshing by below. I recently traveled First Class on the high speed FrecciaRossa train from Venice and had to switch to a Regionale, or slower, local train in Florence. Dagli stelle alle stalli, as they’d say in Italy—from the stars to the stables. Far from the clean and well-stocked Freccia bathroom, the stall I attempted to use on this most recent Regionale reeked so badly of urine that I couldn’t enter. I wound up walking to the next train car and found a bathroom in slightly better shape. Slightly.

Lastly, poop happens…

Nature doesn’t always call at the most convenient times. This is another strong argument for keeping a pack of tissues on you at all times, and keeping those thigh muscles tuned up. Beyond dodgy bathrooms, the biggest issue with pooping in public in Italy is that the bathrooms are often small, airless or fanless, may open into the dining room or a restaurant, and may have a line of people waiting outside the door. My advice is to know thine own body clock and rhythms, so that you don’t get caught…sorry, I have to go there…with your pants down.

Luckily at Villaggio Tours, we build in time after breakfast so that our guests have a chance to go back to their rooms for a while before our day gets underway. And not just so they can brush their teeth.