Italy - tips and where to start!

[SellingStevenage]

Finally booking a much longed for trip to Italy for my 50th - need some hints and tips!

I haven't flown or been abroad since 1998 due to being diagnosed with a chronic illness which has domineered my life; finally got to a point where going away again is a reality and I feel a little overwhelmed with where to start. Never been to Italy before so need some advice.

Ideas for best areas of Rome to stay? Areas to avoid? Good things to do? Tips for flying to Italy?

Excited to start planning but could do with guidance!

If this is going to be your first time in Italy @SellingStevenage then I agree to keep it simple and just do Rome and maybe a day trip or two to places nearby. Ostia Antica was the summer resort of Romans in Roman times and rather go schlepping off Pompeii, this is where I would recommend you go to get a taste of Ancient Rome. If you love Italy and decide to return, then Naples, the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, Herculaneum, etc will all be there for another trip, but I wouldn't try to do any of that this time.

I loved Trastevere when I first visited Rome, but we stayed there in an Airbnb with our kids a couple of years ago and I was shocked at how grotty it has become - lots of empty stores, lots of graffiti, lots of gangs of roaming youths - I wouldn't rush back. The Jewish Quarter was lovely for a wander, but you'll find lots of nice hotels in central areas and if you're going with a tour operator I'm sure they'll be able to recommend a suitable one. Don't stay slap bang next to a big tourist attraction like the Trevi Fountain as it's noisy and crowded day and night.

The Vatican is a must. Book tickets in advance for the first entry slot of the day and when you get in, speed walk to the Sistine Chapel as your first port of call and you'll get it entirely to yourselves! St Peters and the Vatican Museums are amazing and will take an entire day, so don't rush, buy a guide book, take your time and enjoy.

But there is so much to see and enjoy in Rome. Just off the top of my head: the Vatican, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Forum, Colosseum, Arch of Constantine, Trajan's column, Piazza Navona, Capitoline museums, Museo Doria Pamphili, the catacombs and the Appian Way, Villa D'Este, Villa Borghese, Ostia Antica, and many, many more Roman monuments, shops, ice creams ... see you have more than you'll ever see in one week. I've been to Rome about four times and I still haven't seen everything!

Oh and get yourself a Roma Pass as it allows you to skip a lot of the big queues www.romapass.it/

I second pretty much everything that's been said, Trastevere is the best part of Rome for evenings even if you don't stay there.
Definitely DO bother with the Vatican museums, they are incredible.

My one tip however would be to book a guided tour (of the Vatican museums and also the Colosseum/Forum) The guides are so incredibly knowledgeable and passionate, they bring it all to life for you, plus the advantage of often skipping the long queues. It was the best money spent imo. You can find good tour companies on Trip Advisor, find one with a maximum group size of around 12 people.

Villa Borghese also has some fabulous Bernini sculptures if you're into that kind thing.

If you only have a week don't try to cram in a two centre holiday if you want to do Rome justice.

Spend the whole week in Rome, maybe with a trip out by train to Tivoli and/or EUR. Plan separate trips for the other areas, there is so much to see you really don't want to rush.

The Villa D'Este garden at Tivoli is well worth a day trip. Really beautiful.

Allow a whole long day for the Vatican, there is a huge amount to see.

Do the Roman Forums when you visit the colleseum and close by is the Victor Emmanuel II monument, go up to the top the views are incredible.

The Villa Borghese is worth spending some time in and the gallery is really good too.

The Trevi Fountain gets incredibly busy, go early morning or late at night to avoid the crowds. It is beautiful at night as well as in the day. You don't need long there so it can be tagged on to another visit or done on the day you arrive. Same with the Spanish Steps.

The busy tourist areas can be expensive to eat in but it is worth sitting outside a restaurant on Piazza Navona just for the experience. In other areas try a street or two back from the attraction, we found some lovely places tucked away.

Make sure you have some ice cream, there are lots of good gelateria but the one near Trajan's Column is particularly good.

We managed trains and buses without speaking Italian and had no problems. Though the bus station is a bit confusing. The train from the airport was great, really modern, quick, clean, easy to use etc. The local ones aren't so fancy but the train service is good in Italy in general.

While Pompeii is amazing I wouldn't try to do it on a day trip from Rome. Plan a separate trip and do the Neopolitan coast justice. Pompeii needs a full day then there is Herculaneum and Vesuvius nearby which can take up either one long day or two short days. Much easier to visit from Sorrento and enjoy the whole area rather than dash down for a day. There is plenty to do in Rome.

I'd just go to Rome. you can't get bored of it. And it means you'll have the luxury of taking an afternoon out to nap without the need to rush. You can prebook most sights (I wouldn't bother with Collisseum) but the Vatican is amazing. Villa Borghese was my favourite 'thing'. But mostly we drifted around from one bit of history, to a coffee shop, to a lovely meal...you get the idea.

I would do a bit of research on places to eat, I think it's very easy to end up in a tourist trap restaurant in Rome...where just round the corner is something lovely.

Last summer a lot of the Vatican Museums were closed off and people were channelled through on different routes to help maintain SD. We got round everything that was open in just over 2 hours.

I'm going to disagree about St. Peter's, the first time I went was that point in the afternoon when the light is coming down through all of the top windows and it was breathtaking. The nearest I'm ever likely to get to a religious experience. Last summer we ended up watching a cardinal's funeral which was very interesting.

You really don't need a package for Italy. You could do Rome & one other city - trains are v easy between the two, just book directly online with Trenitalia.
So, you could fly to (say) Venice, stay 2 or 3 nights, then train to Rome, stay 4 or 5 nights, then fly home from Rome.
However, at all costs, avoid hotels near Termini station in Rome! Stay near the Pantheon or Piazza Navona, & then you can walk everywhere.
Would be worth booking some of the major sights online in advance (all have websites) but don't try to do too much. Part of the fun is just wandering about, getting lost, stopping for coffee etc.

Don't dismiss package trips.
I just priced up some holidays to Italy and Jet2 city breaks came up better value for many destinations (not Florence).
Remember they include transfer from airport and luggage allowance. If you haven't flown for a long time you may not realise that luggage is extra on flights.

we were in Rome in March
this was a stand out favourite for us

www.galleriacolonna.it/en/

very special!!

I did Rome and Naples in a week

Flew to Naples
Herculaneum (1/2 day) and Vesuvius (1/2 day)
Pompeii - full day
then train to Rome

Colosseum + Roman Forum- full day. Prebook tickets and if you can I recommend tickets to the 4th floor, well worth the view and away from the crowds.

1/2-1 day Vatican (not my cup of tea, again we sped round to get to the Sistine Chapel and was very underwhelmed, but if you are into art and museums then worth it)
Walk around the city to see Spanish Steps, Trevi fountain etc.
Fly back from Rome

Trains and Metros very easy to use.
Stayed in airb&bs

If you are likely to find things overwhelming, staying in one of the bigger cities might be too much for you? Italian trains are wonderful, so how about staying in Pisa and using the train to do day trips to busier places. Pisa is really busy at the tower during the day, but wonderfully quiet when the day trippers have gone home.

I had an amazing (and relatively cheap) stay at the Royal Victoria - not the plushest hotel I've ever stayed in but faded glamour and really central. And it's only a 5 minute taxi from the airport to town, and a 10 minute walk to the train station, from where you can reach Lucca, and Florence and lots of other places in an hour or so on the train (and the trains are v easy without speaking italian)

I'm reading all of these and taking note to go through them with DH - thank you so much all!!

A tip for the Roman Forum, the entrance dead opposite the Colosseum is usually huge (like hours of waiting), if you walk round to the left, there is a much quieter entrance and we just walked straight in!