Welcome back to your Italian journey!
In the previous lesson, you learned how to shop in Italian, ask about prices, talk about sizes and colours, and buy things at a market or in a shop.
Today, we’re leaving the shops and exploring the city! 🏙️
In Lesson 6, you’ll learn how to talk about places in town, ask for directions, understand simple answers, and find your way around in Italian.
Andiamo! — Let’s go!
🎯 Learning Objective
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Name common places around a town or city
- Ask where something is
- Ask for simple directions
- Understand phrases such as a destra, a sinistra and sempre dritto
- Say where you are going
- Give simple directions to another person
- Have a basic conversation about finding a place
Don’t worry if you can’t remember everything immediately. The goal is to start recognising and using these phrases naturally.
📚 Where We Are in the Series
Here’s a quick reminder of what you’ve learned so far:
| Lesson | Topic | Key Skills |
|---|---|---|
| Lesson 1 | Greetings & Introductions | Saying hello, introducing yourself |
| Lesson 2 | Numbers & Colours | Counting and describing colours |
| Lesson 3 | Food & Restaurant Ordering | Ordering food and drinks |
| Lesson 4 | Days, Months & Telling the Time | Dates, times and making plans |
| Lesson 5 | Shopping, Prices & the Market | Prices, sizes, quantities and shopping |
| Lesson 6 | Around the City & Directions | Asking for and giving directions |
🏙️ 1. Places Around the City
Let’s start with some useful places you might need when visiting an Italian town or city.
🗺️ Luoghi in città — Places in the city
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| la stazione | the station |
| la piazza | the square |
| il museo | the museum |
| la banca | the bank |
| la farmacia | the pharmacy |
| il supermercato | the supermarket |
| il ristorante | the restaurant |
| il bar | the café / bar |
| l’hotel | the hotel |
| il negozio | the shop |
| il cinema | the cinema |
| il teatro | the theatre |
| la chiesa | the church |
| il parco | the park |
| il bagno | the toilet / bathroom |
| la fermata dell’autobus | the bus stop |
💡 Useful tip
In Italian, il and la mean “the”.
For example:
- il museo — the museum
- la stazione — the station
- il ristorante — the restaurant
- la farmacia — the pharmacy
You don’t need to memorise every word immediately. Start with the places you are most likely to use.
📍 2. Asking “Where Is…?”
One of the most useful questions when you’re in Italy is:
Dov’è…?
Where is…?
For example:
Dov’è la stazione?
Where is the station?
Dov’è il museo?
Where is the museum?
Dov’è la farmacia?
Where is the pharmacy?
Dov’è il bagno?
Where is the toilet?
You can make the question more polite by saying:
Scusi, dov’è…?
Excuse me, where is…?
For example:
Scusi, dov’è la stazione, per favore?
Excuse me, where is the station, please?
This is a very useful phrase to remember!
🧭 3. Directions
Now let’s learn some essential direction words.
➡️ A destra — To the right
a destra — to the right
Giri a destra.
Turn right.
⬅️ A sinistra — To the left
a sinistra — to the left
Giri a sinistra.
Turn left.
⬆️ Sempre dritto — Straight ahead
sempre dritto — straight ahead / keep going straight
Vada sempre dritto.
Go straight ahead.
↔️ Other useful phrases
vicino — near
lontano — far
qui — here
lì — there
davanti a — in front of
dietro — behind
accanto a — next to
di fronte a — opposite / in front of
🚶 4. Simple Direction Phrases
Here are some phrases you can use straight away.
È qui vicino.
It’s nearby.
È molto vicino.
It’s very close.
È un po’ lontano.
It’s a little far.
È a destra.
It’s on the right.
È a sinistra.
It’s on the left.
È davanti al museo.
It’s in front of the museum.
È accanto alla banca.
It’s next to the bank.
È di fronte alla stazione.
It’s opposite the station.
⭐ Very useful
Sempre dritto.
Straight ahead.
A destra.
To the right.
A sinistra.
To the left.
If you remember just these three phrases, you’ll already be able to understand some basic directions.
🚦 5. Cross the Road!
You may also need these phrases:
la strada — the road
il semaforo — the traffic light
l’incrocio — the crossroads / intersection
il ponte — the bridge
attraversare — to cross
Examples
Attraversi la strada.
Cross the road.
Al semaforo, giri a destra.
At the traffic lights, turn right.
È dopo il semaforo.
It’s after the traffic lights.
È vicino all’incrocio.
It’s near the crossroads.
🗣️ 6. Asking for Directions Politely
When you need help, start with Scusi.
Scusi, dov’è la stazione?
Excuse me, where is the station?
Scusi, dov’è il museo?
Excuse me, where is the museum?
Scusi, per andare al centro?
Excuse me, how do I get to the city centre?
Mi può aiutare, per favore?
Can you help me, please?
💡 Scusi or Scusa?
Use:
Scusi — polite / formal
Scusa — informal, with a friend or someone you know
For example:
Scusi, dov’è la farmacia?
Excuse me, where is the pharmacy?
Scusa, dov’è il bar?
Excuse me, where is the café?
For tourists and beginners, Scusi is a safe and useful choice.
🏙️ 7. Il Centro — The City Centre
A very useful word when travelling is:
il centro
the city centre / town centre
You can ask:
Dov’è il centro?
Where is the city centre?
Or:
Come si va in centro?
How do you get to the city centre?
Someone might answer:
Vada sempre dritto.
Go straight ahead.
Poi giri a sinistra.
Then turn left.
Il centro è vicino.
The city centre is nearby.
🎭 8. Dialogue: Finding the Museum
Read the conversation aloud. Try to play both parts.
🗺️ Per strada — In the street
Anna: Scusi, dov’è il museo, per favore?
Excuse me, where is the museum, please?
Signora: Il museo? È molto vicino.
The museum? It’s very close.
Anna: Come si va?
How do I get there?
Signora: Vada sempre dritto e poi giri a destra.
Go straight ahead and then turn right.
Anna: A destra?
To the right?
Signora: Sì. Il museo è accanto alla banca.
Yes. The museum is next to the bank.
Anna: È lontano?
Is it far?
Signora: No, sono cinque minuti a piedi.
No, it’s five minutes on foot.
Anna: Perfetto! Grazie mille!
Perfect! Thank you very much!
Signora: Prego!
You’re welcome!
🚉 9. Dialogue: Finding the Station
Here’s another everyday situation.
Marco: Scusi, dov’è la stazione?
Excuse me, where is the station?
Uomo: È abbastanza vicino.
It’s quite close.
Marco: Come si va alla stazione?
How do I get to the station?
Uomo: Vada sempre dritto fino al semaforo.
Go straight ahead until the traffic lights.
Marco: E poi?
And then?
Uomo: Poi giri a sinistra. La stazione è sulla destra.
Then turn left. The station is on the right.
Marco: Grazie!
Thank you!
Uomo: Di niente!
You’re welcome!
🧠 10. A Useful Grammar Point: “Dov’è?”
You may have noticed something important.
Dov’è…?
literally means “Where is…?”
It is made from:
dove = where
è = is
So:
Dove è…? → Dov’è…?
Examples:
Dov’è il bar?
Where is the café?
Dov’è la stazione?
Where is the station?
Dov’è il bagno?
Where is the toilet?
The apostrophe in Dov’è shows that the two words have been joined together.
📝 11. Key Vocabulary Recap
Let’s review today’s most important words and phrases.
Places
- la stazione — station
- la piazza — square
- il museo — museum
- la farmacia — pharmacy
- il ristorante — restaurant
- il bar — café / bar
- il supermercato — supermarket
- il parco — park
- il centro — city centre
Directions
- a destra — to the right
- a sinistra — to the left
- sempre dritto — straight ahead
- vicino — near
- lontano — far
- davanti a — in front of
- dietro — behind
- accanto a — next to
- di fronte a — opposite
Useful questions
- Dov’è…? — Where is…?
- Come si va…? — How do you get to…?
- Scusi, dov’è…? — Excuse me, where is…?
- Mi può aiutare? — Can you help me?
✏️ 12. Practice Time!
Now it’s your turn.
Exercise 1 — Translate into Italian
Translate these sentences:
- Where is the station?
- Where is the pharmacy?
- Turn right.
- Turn left.
- Go straight ahead.
- The museum is nearby.
Exercise 2 — Complete the Sentence
Choose destra, sinistra or dritto.
- Giri a ______.
- Vada sempre ______.
- La banca è a ______.
Exercise 3 — Build Your Own Question
Use:
Scusi, dov’è… ?
Ask where these places are:
- the museum
- the station
- the supermarket
- the restaurant
For example:
Scusi, dov’è il museo?
Exercise 4 — Give Directions
Imagine that someone asks you:
Scusi, dov’è il bar?
Give a simple answer using at least two of these expressions:
- sempre dritto
- a destra
- a sinistra
- vicino
- accanto a
For example:
Sempre dritto, poi a destra. Il bar è vicino alla banca.
⭐ Bonus Challenge
Imagine you are in an Italian city.
A tourist asks you:
Scusi, dov’è la stazione?
Write a short dialogue of 4–6 lines between the tourist and yourself.
Try to use:
- Scusi
- Dov’è…?
- sempre dritto
- a destra or a sinistra
- Grazie
- Prego
Then read your dialogue aloud.
💡 Everyday Italian Tip
Next time you are walking around your own town, try describing your route in Italian.
For example:
Vado sempre dritto.
I go straight ahead.
Giro a destra.
I turn right.
La farmacia è a sinistra.
The pharmacy is on the left.
You don’t need to be in Italy to practise Italian!
The more you connect Italian words with real places and actions, the easier they become to remember.
🎉 Well Done!
You’ve completed Italian for Beginners — Lesson 6: Around the City & Asking for Directions!
You can now:
✅ Name common places in a city
✅ Ask Dov’è…?
✅ Ask someone for directions politely
✅ Understand a destra, a sinistra and sempre dritto
✅ Give simple directions
✅ Talk about places that are near or far
In Lesson 7, we’ll move from getting around the city to something we all do every day: talking about our daily routine.
You’ll learn useful verbs and phrases for saying what you do in the morning, afternoon and evening — from mi sveglio (I wake up) to vado a dormire (I go to sleep).
Continua così — keep going! 🇮🇹
In bocca al lupo!
Good luck!
👁️ Show Answers
Exercise 1
- Dov’è la stazione?
- Dov’è la farmacia?
- Giri a destra.
- Giri a sinistra.
- Vada sempre dritto.
- Il museo è vicino.
Exercise 2
- Giri a destra.
- Vada sempre dritto.
- La banca è a sinistra.
Exercise 3
Possible answers:
- Scusi, dov’è il museo?
- Scusi, dov’è la stazione?
- Scusi, dov’è il supermercato?
- Scusi, dov’è il ristorante?
Exercise 4
There are many possible answers. For example:
Sempre dritto, poi a destra. Il bar è vicino alla banca.
Bonus Challenge
There are many possible answers. The important thing is to use the key expressions correctly and create a simple, understandable conversation.
