Anybody been to Rome?

[crazylady7]

I've been to Italy (lake como) before and i loved everything about it. But this is my first time to Rome!
I'm very excited, and just wondered if there were any tips/advice/info that i should know about.. not on any particular subject, just anything really. Thanks!

ah thank you so much guys what an amazing response of ideas, gonna take an evening off to study them all now

Caracalla’s baths are amazing, they’re right near to the Circus Maximus. They’re relatively quiet, because they’re further out. I could have stayed all day.

Watch Mary Beard before you go, if you like Roman history! And if you go to the Vittorio Emmanuele monument, don’t forget to look for the little Roman block of flats right next door. I just found it mind blowing that something so ancient should be sitting right there.

That jumbled mix of ancient and recent always astonishes me in Rome too, Spudlet. I sometimes think that no one would even bat an eyelid if a legion of centurions suddenly appeared from nowhere!

I love that Roman block of flats! For so many years I wasn't sure what an insulae was when I read Falco novels. Turns out - block of flats. And just a bit further down from that is the theatre of Marcellus. The area and the walk is beautiful and it's a quieter part of the city because no one thinks to go there.

Went last October, didn't have any problems on the metro. I would recommend a trip out to Ostia Antica, the ancient port of Rome. You can go by metro on one ticket, it's a short walk from the stop. If you don't have time to go to Pompei or Herculaneum (which is a pretty knackering day trip) then Ostia Antics will give you a much quieter, very similar experience. Be ware in your planning that a lot of museums are shut on Mondays.

Pretzels A fellow Falco fan (such an alliterative post, also )!

I know just what you mean, Macavity!

OP - if you can do a trip out of Rome, I recommend Ostia Antica. It’s a Roman town that was abandoned when the harbour silted up - it’s the most amazing place.

Lol, totally missed that you already recommend Ostia, Little!

Great thread

Love Rome, would live there tomorrow and it's DHs home town! Nonsense about avoiding the metro. It's shabby but does the job and during peak times the trains are every 5 minutes. Second bringing hand santiser though!

Go to Trastevere and walk around. There is a restaurant called Tonnarello. Order the supli sharing basket and the polpette cacio pepe. Divine. tonnarello.it/

I loved seeing La boca della verità because Roman Holiday is one of my favourite films. The Spanish steps is better now because they have police volunteers stopping anyone from sitting down so there's plenty of space to walk around.

If you're interested in the aquaducts that feed the likes of the Trevi fountain and the tons of drinking water fountains dotted around the city then go to the basement of La Rinascente mall and you can see the foundations of the aquaduct that is still the same working one the Romans built. There is a short film that projects onto the aquaduct wall to show you various pieces and their history. Fascinating! Am jealous OP enjoy your trip!

I'm following this as I'm flying out next Friday morning, just me and DW, without the kids. Vatican is booked for Saturday morning, but nothing else yet. Just considering how to do Coliseum without having every moment planned out. Flying back Sunday afternoon, so we want to make the best of a short break.