Dress Regulations

[tangles00]

Does anyone know if there are any dress regulations when doing the main attractions in Athens?

I know that when in Italy we have to dress with shoulders and knees covered at the Vatican, St Marcs etc but what about other areas?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[kasi1979]

When visiting any church throughout Eutope please wear apropriate clothes: at least knees and shoulders covered. If you are visiting an orthodox church or even a mosque, there may be further restrictions

[TinaLee]

I have a question about this as well. I've heard that capri pants aren't really acceptable in, say the Vatican. Yet, if long shorts with the knees covered are acceptable, I don't see why capri pants would not be?? Can someone clear this up for me? Are capri's acceptable at the Vatican, and say St. Mark's Basilica and the other churches of Rome and Venice??

[Host Karen]

I have a question about this as well. I've heard that capri pants aren't really acceptable in, say the Vatican. Yet, if long shorts with the knees covered are acceptable, I don't see why capri pants would not be?? Can someone clear this up for me? Are capri's acceptable at the Vatican, and say St. Mark's Basilica and the other churches of Rome and Venice??

 

I wore capris all over Europe (Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey) along with two skirts that fell below my knees -- and that includes visiting the Vatican and every church we visited. If anyone looked askance, I certainly didn't notice.

 

I can't answer the OP's question about churches in Athens because we didn't visit any. We did visit a monastery, though, and I and the other woman with us were wearing capris -- me with a sleeved t-shirt and her with a sleeveless top.

[TinaLee]

Thanks Karen! :)

[browneyes7]

I have a question about this as well. I've heard that capri pants aren't really acceptable in, say the Vatican. Yet, if long shorts with the knees covered are acceptable, I don't see why capri pants would not be?? Can someone clear this up for me? Are capri's acceptable at the Vatican, and say St. Mark's Basilica and the other churches of Rome and Venice??

 

I wore capris everywhere I went in Europe. My knees and shoulders were always covered. No one said anything to me at any of the churches about my dress being inappropriate. I toured the Vatican, the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel wearing capri pants.

 

browneyes7

[tangles00]

Thanks for the info. It helps to know these things before we leave home.

 

:)

[genni]

Capris - for women usually accepted (along with shoulders covered in 'Roman Catholic' churches) - oddly enough - the same mid calf slacks (fishermens ) may not be accepted for males at the Vatican. Other religious sites/churches/Mosques may have even local requirements - note - if one wants to visit, one finds a way to meet such USUALLY. DO COSIDER - What ever religion /culture - would one go to Service/Mass...whether female or male in capris or shorts or whatever...perhaps - respect and you will be respected, always remember that when one leaves the home country, one is a guest - how would you like your own guests to behave/dress? ...

But I cannot understand a personal experience here in Italy - 2005 - August 15th - I wore long, not tight slacks -so-called"cap sleeves (covered about 2 inches down from the shoulder) - all black, just to be original - for Mass, went fine at Lucca's Cathedral, but a few hours later - not accepted at Modena's - Evidently, I had to have arms covered down to the elbows...meanwhile my husband (Italian) had above the knee shorts, ...and sweaty joggers ( young males, with VERY short shorts) were permitted, evidently, the priest that was with them had more weight...Happening to have occaision to talk with the Bishop of Lucca - --he said for many places, it depends on luck as to whom might be doing the screening...Personally, I'll never go back to Modena's cathedral without wearing a full 'burka'...

 

Women - either accept, skip, or bring a lightweight wrap-around skirt to the knees if wearing shorts (it will not matter if wrinkled, or goes with the rest ) and a shawl that will go down to elbows-and should cover throat area too - men/women - a good idea are those zipper shorts/slacks - and if in Modena---good luck, worse than the Vatican that year...Note, while the churches are full of art works, they are churches...or Mosques...

[jms2362]

Does anyone know if there are any dress regulations when doing the main attractions in Athens?

 

I know that when in Italy we have to dress with shoulders and knees covered at the Vatican, St Marcs etc but what about other areas?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

We have gone to Europe and did Greece last year. You always must have shoulders and knees covered. They will not let you in! We always try to be respectful and if my husband has on shorts he will wait outside and I will go inside and take pictures with no flash if allowed.

[svanda]

I know that knees and shoulders covered for churches, etc., but what about museums? Do they have a dress code too? And are sandals permitted for both men and women?

 

Thanks in advance.

[MAHA]

We are thinking about a family cruise to the Mediterranean in August 2009 on Brillance of the Seas - the Venice cruise out of Barcelona. I keep reading that "tennis shoes or sneakers" should not be worn. these are the most comfortable shoes for me as I have had knee surgery and need some cushioning while walking. I also have a very narrow foot and can't find shoes that don't slide around the heel. I don;t want to end up with blisters after touring. I have some sandals that I wear most of the summer that have some cushioning, but have heard that you end up with pebbbles, etc. in them. My sons (who will be 28, 24 and 18) and my husband also would prefer these as they are much more comforatable. I am thinking about getting them the zip off pants so they can be comfortable in the heat, but respectful in the churches. We don't want to look like foreigners and tourists, but will be. Are Capri length pants appropriate for women in Cannes/Monaco, Florence/Pisa, Rome, Naples/Capri, Venice, Dubrovnik, and Corfu? Sorry for all of the questions, but I want to be able to be comfortable in the heat and enjoy the sights, not having to worry about being a fashionista. To me, comfort is most important. I also don't want to invest in a lot of money for new clothes as we all wear shorts in the summer with polo shirts or T-shirts and tennis shoes. A few pairs of capris for me and the zip off pants for the guys hopefully will cover the clothing issue.

Thanks!

Mary Anne

[DavidandPaula]

We did the Eastern Med cruise on Carnival Freedom last year.

 

I had shorts that came down below the knees and had no problems anywhere ( only place they were not acceptable was in the dining room on the ship). Make sure they come down to below the knees, not just sort of close as I did see one man in Istanbul requested to wear a wrap around his legs when we visited the Blue Mosque. The main problem at the entrance to the Blue Mosque was that some people were taking their shoes of a bit to early and walking across the ground before stepping onto the mats they have at the entrance rather than taking their shoes of and stepping onto the mats. For the Topkapi Palace and the Sophia Hagia you did not have to remove your shoes.

 

Similarly I always wore a polo shirt but on the day we went to the Vatican Paula had a blouse with minimal sleeves and she was worried all the way through that she might be wearing the wrong thing but there were many women wearing blouses with just straps and no sleeves and they were not stopped. On entry to St Peters there was even one girl in a bikini top and she was not stopped.

 

David

[Belle]

You can wear tennis shoes.

Some people think if you wear

white tennis shoes you look like

a "tourist"! There will be lots

of "touriss"t wearing tennis shoes

and sandals. It's summer! Even

some of the locals will too.

 

You can wear your capri pants too.

They are fine.

[Ardy53]

...

You can wear your capri pants too.

They are fine.

 

... and denim jeans ???

[seapenarth]

Does anyone know if there are any dress regulations when doing the main attractions in Athens?

 

I know that when in Italy we have to dress with shoulders and knees covered at the Vatican, St Marcs etc but what about other areas?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

do you mean areas of Athens or areas of the body.:)

[Ardy53]

do you mean areas of Athens or areas of the body.:)

 

Lol

 

I mean are jeans acceptable wherever knees have to be covered - Vatican for instance,

[photographia]

I went all over Athens last June and don't remember any restrictions anywhere! Certainly there didn't seem to be any in the major museums; I also went to the main Greek Orthodox cathedral in Athens (not during a liturgy, just during a weekday) and there was nobody even around who would have checked for appropriate dress. As other posters have commented, though, being respectful should be the goal.

 

I visited a couple of Orthodox monasteries in other parts of Greece, and they kept shawls and loose skirts with elastic waistbands available for any visitor not appropriately dressed. One of them also had elastic-waist pants for men in shorts, too. Use of these was free of charge. St. Mary Major in Rome also keeps shawls handy for anyone wearing a sleeveless top.

 

I've been all over Europe countless times and have never seen any woman get turned out of any church (or other tourist attraction) for wearing capris. Sandals have never been an issue either, in my experience. I have, however, seen a number of people over the years get themselves unceremoniously removed when trying to enter cathedrals in skin-tight shorts, halter tops or bare midriffs. And men in anything shorter than regular pants have been turned away too.

 

The inconsistency that one poster mentioned, between women being permitted to wear capris but men forbidden to wear pants of the same below-the-knee length is for real--although I'd never thought about it before!