Church rules?

[reasonedsugar]

Hey everyone! I've been trying to find some information about what is acceptable clothing to enter a church in Europe. I've come to understand that shoulders cannot be shown but I've heard that in some churches you can't show knees? I was hoping to wear dresses for part of my trip so I'm trying to decide if I need to get some longer ones or just bring some leggings to throw on quickly. I'll be traveling to the UK, France, Italy, Greece, Germany, and Spain. Thanks!

[Toulouse]

It depends on the country and type of church. You should get a guidebook for each of the countries you'll be going to. It should say what type of dress is appropriate. A general rule of thumb would be to cover your shoulders and either wear a long skirt or pants.

You shouldn't have any problem stepping to a church in the UK and Germany without your shoulders covered, but in Spain, Italy, and Greece you should. Bring a shawl or something else you can put on quickly. Leggings or long socks would be smart to carry around.

I cannot stress the importance and helpfulness of a great guidebook. It'll tell you things you hadn't even thought of.

[WillTravel]

Italy requires that you have at least a bit of a sleeve and knee-length skirts, or you can wear any sort of trousers, jeans, capris, etc. that go below the knee. This is enforced very strictly at the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica, and sometimes enforced elsewhere in Italy.

For Greece, monasteries are very, very strict, so you should probably look up their rules. I am not sure about regular churches, though.

I'm not sure about Spain, but would use the same rules as for Italy.

I don't think you'll have any problems with anything in the UK, France, or Germany.

[madamtrashheap]

reasonedsugar, to add to the infomration from the others, here's a Post to check: pretravel.proboards1.com/index.cgi?board=Tips&action=display&n=1&thread=443

You'll find in larger churches in Paris (eg Notre Dame), and particularly Catholic ones, the dress codes will be a little more strict, so if you keep in mind things like taking off your hat/cap, not wearing short shorts or a bikini top and simply respecting the dress codes of the institution you'll be fine in places like UK, France and Germany. Just keep the dress codes for Italy and Spain in mind when you go out sightseeing each day.

[pointofnoreturn]

For Italy and Greece, bring a pashima shawl with you to cover your shoulders if you're wearing sleeveless shorts. Try to dress appropriately as you would enter any church service.

[madamtrashheap]

pointofnoreturn said:

For Italy and Greece, bring a pashima shawl with you to cover your shoulders if you're wearing sleeveless shorts. Try to dress appropriately as you would enter any church service.

See the Post link above for a list of tips on things that will help, esp in Summer when no-one likes to wear long sleeves!