bargaining
Bargaining is absolutely not common and considered strange - only with the immigrant pitchmen is possible to bargain.
shopping
South Tyrol is the souvenir paradise: loden, traditional hand-crafts and regional delicatessen. Especially if you want to buy some delicatessen like speck a kind of smoked ham, dairy products, confectionary, apples, bread, honey or wine, grappa and apple juice you can find them also in supermarkets where they are far cheaper than in tourist shops - but they have a greater choice. All typical products from South Tyrol have a distinction mark within is written "Südtirol". It's to note that also typical meals are to be found frozen in supermarkets like e.g. spätzele, knödel and schlutzkrapfen. A local company called Nägele produces a lot of popular juices but also local coke and spetzi coke mixed with lemonade. You can find the South Tyrolean coke in glass bottles in some supermarkets and in their store in Algund near Meran. The most famous South Tyrolean biscuits are probably the wafers of Loacker: in Bolzano there is an official store which sells all kind of Loacker biscuits.
opening hours
Opening hours can be different in tourist destinations and in towns. In tourist places during high season shops are open also on Sunday for example. Seasonal sales begin first in the valleys and after in tourist places. Normally in Bolzano winter sales begin around 7th January and summer sales after the 15th August. On Sunday shops are closed - sometimes hypermarkets in Bolzano are open.
Supermarkets in Bolzano and major centres: 8:00am â 7:00pm sometimes until 7:30pm, on Saturday sometime until 6:00pm
Supermarkets in other centres, also some chains in Bolzano: 8:00/8:30am - 12:30/1pm in the morning and 3pm-7pm in the afternoon
Hypermarkets in Bolzano: 8:30/9am - 8pm
Department stores: 8:30am - 7:30pm
Small and middle shops: 8:30/9am â 7:00/7:30pm
Petrol stations: along the highways usually 24h a day, along the freeway Bolzano-Merano 06:00am-11:00pm
tipping
In South Tyrol tipping is not so common - however in tourist areas it's quite normal and accepted. If you also were satisfied of the service you could round up the bill.
atms
ATMs in South Tyrol are called Bancomat. They are wide-spread and you will find them even in smaller, rural villages. The majority of shops, restaurants and hotels accept ATM cards and credit cards.
currency
Being South Tyrol a part of Italy and consequently of the Eurozone the official currency is the Euro. The best rates for changing money are offered by banks. Nobody will accept foreign money - at the time of national currencies German Mark and Austrian Schillings were quite accepted.
costs
The prices are a bit higher than the Italian average but it depends from the area - and for example they are in any case cheaper than in the United Kingdom. Most touristy developed areas are more expensive than the regional average. For example accommodations in the Bolzano metropolitan area town of Laives are cheaper. There is big differences also in prices between hotels of the same category - so a three star hotel could have similar prices to four but also two star hotels. Four and five stars hotels could ask more than EUR 100 for a night staying but two stars hotels ask less than EUR 40 except in highly touristy developed areas. If you want to save money avoid to reserve a room in famous places and prefer near but less popular locations. Youth hostels are cheap if you see that the quality is much higher than European standards.