Tips for Rome

[ThePenIsBlue]

Husband and I are going to Rome in a few weeks for our 20th wedding anniversary - sans les enfants. Neither of us have been to Italy before. I’m keen for any tips people have for Rome . We’re going to do the standard touristy sites, but looking for good restaurants/ cafes, things not to be missed, things worth missing etc. We love excellent food, (real foodies) nice coffee, people watching etc etc. looking forward to a slower pace for a few days! Thank you 🙏🏻

Definitely this.

Roman food is fairly simple and rustic. Most authentic restaurants will offer carbonara, amatriciana or cacio e pepe pasta. These places are as cheap as chips to eat in.

We stayed just outside the entrance to the Vatican museum- literally the entrance was on the next road, so it was easy to walk almost everywhere from there, Trastevere, Piazza Navona and on to the Trevi fountain and Spanish steps. The only metro we caught was to get to the Colosseum and the Knights of Malta keyhole.
When we went in August 21 it felt incredibly safe, police and soldiers on every corner. There were still lots of Covid restrictions in place though and the police were mainly making sure people wore masks and were distancing around the monuments. Not sure if their presence is quite so obvious now.

We also did an evening food tour of Trastevere and it was brilliant. We'd never have found those particular places just wandering around on our own.

Unless you're religious, I'd give the Vatican a miss. It's like visiting an IKEA on a busy Saturday: you are forced through it on a set path from which you can't deviate and you can barely move for the crush of people. Horrible.

The Colosseum is awesome. Trevi fountain lit up at night is also lovely. Borghese gardens are beautiful.

Great panoramic views from Piazza Garibaldi. As others have said watch out for pickpockets especialy when getting on and off Metro.

You don't need a taxi from the airport. There are very regular trains to Termini and other stations in the city centre.
Take a water bottle out with you and refill at the street side water fountains. There's apparently quite a few around but ones we used were right outside the colesseum metro station and in Trastevere - search acqua potabile on Google maps.
If you are staying anywhere near Termini station I would recommend a little restaurant called Alessios. Lovely staff and really nice food

We stayed in Trastevere and really enjoyed the restaurants and bars there. Easy to walk to the centre from there too. We got the bus then metro from airport, no need to use metro after that, everything is walkable. Don't miss torres Argentina, where caesar was assassinated. Its really played down but worth walking to. Great pizza restaurant on the corner there.

We got the express train from the airport. Really easy journey.

Comfortable shoes are a must.

I used an across the body bag and held it to me in crowds. Just be mindful of pick pockets.

We loved the colosseum but allow plenty of time as there is so much to see. Buy your tickets on line from an official site. You will find unofficial ticket sellers at all the major attractions. They wear lanyards and pretend they are official. They are pushy and are much more expensive.

You can go into the Vatican for free. If you want to see some of other areas there is a charge. But we found the free area sufficient

There are hundreds of drinking water fountains in Rome- a great boon when it's 40 degrees like it was when we were there!
St. Peter's is free, you just have to queue. The Vatican Museums aren't. The Sistine Chapel is part of the Vatican Museums not part of St. Peter's which is worth bearing in mind.

Pantheon is stunning, and very atmospheric, it’s beautiful inside but even more lovely outside by moonlight.
Travestere is interesting as is the Jewish quarter across the Tiber.

There is a fixed rate of 48 euro for a taxi from the airport. Various companies offer pre booked pick up (eg Welcome Pickup) but you can also get a taxi at the airport and it should be the same amount.

Book the Colosseum ASAP and through the official website Coop Culture. There are various options with or without an official tour. Be wary of booking through a private tour company as they sometimes don’t have the entrance tickets and will cancel or move your tour last minute.

Rick Steves app is good for free guides to Colosseum, Forum & other sights. Possibly not fully historically accurate but entertaining.

Food - it’s hard to go wrong tbh. Use google reviews/tripadvisor to avoid the few duds but there are so many nice places. The trickier bit is that so many have virtually the same menu!

We had a week there in July. My highlights were St Peter's and an ebike tour down the Appian Way to the aqueducts. I personally thought the Sistine Chapel was a bit overrated, but as a pp said, could be cos we felt like we were on a treadmill.

Just wandering is fantastic, really walkable city, little piazzas and lovely churches and gelato shops around every corner.

Hard to go wrong with food, don't think we had a single bad meal. If I'd been without the children I'd have done the food walk around the Trastevere - but many good restaurants in this district.

Unless you're religious, I'd give the Vatican a miss. It's like visiting an IKEA on a busy Saturday: you are forced through it on a set path from which you can't deviate and you can barely move for the crush of people. Horrible.

That was our experience as well. After shuffling along the ornate galleries in a pressing crowd I found the Sistine Chapel underwhelming.

@uggmum we had to pay for the Vatican museum. St Peter's was free but the queue was 2 hours long so we didn't bother.

@RampantIvy

The queue can be long. We only queued for 15 mins and it was constantly moving.

You can get direct from the Sistine Chapel into St Peters, avoiding the queue for St Peters.

Officially it is just for guided tour groups who are doing both, but it is very easy to just attach yourself to a large tour group going through the door, and then follow them into St Peters.

If you stand at the back of the chapel, facing the Last Judgment, then the door is in the corner on your left. You'll see loads of people going through it all the time.

I went on a tour just of the Vatican and our tour guide suggested we do this to avoid queueing for St Peters, it was v easy.

Also personally I think the Borgia Apartments are the best bit of the Vatican, they have recently been restored - however not so many people go as they aren't on the shorter route so they are a lot less crowded than the Raphael rooms directly upstairs.

I am just back from ten days there...

Firstly, the pickpocket advice is solid - but also make sure if you are sitting down to eat outside anywhere that you have the straps of your bags wrapped around your feet / legs - I saw several bags get stolen this way.

Take a water bottle, there are water fountains everywhere and water in the tourist areas is expensive, plus cafes won't fill water bottles up with tap water.

Eating down the back streets tends to lead to better food and

I would not recommend booking a tour at the Vatican Museums - take the audioguides instead. The tours rush you through as they are a money making experience and try to cram in as many tours in one day. Do however book priority line access (that is worth the money!).

St Peter's is free but the best time to arrive is 07.00 in the morning when there is no line - head straight up to the dome (which you have to pay for, either lift or none lift, having done the latter I would recommend the lift - don't worry there's still 500 stairs to go). Take water. Later in the day the viewing platforms becomes so crammed you can't actually experience the views.

The light show at the Forum was a lovely experience, and we booked Colleseum tickets that actually mean you can do the Forum etc (not the light show, you book that separately) for the following 24 hours. Again, we booked priority for this but no guide and used audio guides.

Taxi from the airport seems pointless - take the express train or the regular train - and if you want buy a metro card for the week (around 25 Eu) but can be used across all networks. I found it quite hot so would walk all morning, then use PT back to hotel for a rest / cool down (and most things close) and then use a combination of PT and walking in the evenings. PT was excellent for late night returns.

Definitely go to Villa Borghese, Botanical Gardens, and Villa Doria Pamphili and Villa Medici if you like gardens.

Churches are free but I was quite shocked by the number of people who didn't cover shoulders or legs - and who did things like filming people praying.

Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore, and Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano were my favourites by far.

You can get direct from the Sistine Chapel into St Peters, avoiding the queue for St Peters. This option was not open when we were there and has apparently not been open since covid.

Check when cruise ships are coming in as it makes the main attractions much busier - Wednesday and Thursday were the bad days a couple of weeks ago.

Oh that's a shame. TBH they do put you in quite a crowded lobby in between the two.

I totally agree with the advice on never eating at a restaurant on a famous piazza, or in front of a major tourist attraction. Food will be dreadful and they may well rip you off on the bill. If at all possible find somewhere down a side street.

Sometimes we were tired and hangry and forgot this advice, we regretted it every single time.

Book your tickets online in advance for the Vatican and for the Colosseum - this will fast track you through the queues. Have a great time, it’s a wonderful city.

Hire electric bikes and cycle the Appian way. Not to be missed.

Oh yes, don’t miss the gem that is the Villa Borghese as pps have mentioned.

Have a brilliant time . Do watch your stuff, though. We were robbed twice in one weekend. My watch was lifted from my wrist on the train on the way in from the airport and my husbands wallet was lifted from the inside breast pocket of his jacket, hanging on his chair in a restaurant as I sat facing him! Was a real pain getting everything cancelled.

I know everyone is saying it but it's because the theft is so bad. I didn't take my rings, and we had a cheap watch, I did have a phone with me but lots of people had theirs on lanyrad holders around their neck.

I didn't believe it when people told me but I am so glad I did listen to them.

How on earth can they knick a watch? That is a completely different level of thieving

Watch out when getting into a gelatteria. They have vents on the ground right at the entrance and if you’re wearing a dress you’ll have a Marylin Monroe moment like me. Luckily I was wearing my good knickers:) Fhe ice-cream is to die for in Italy. Also, if you find yourself in a farmers market, look for a bakery. Their products are amazing as well.

Just checked my SM, the one gelato place that stuck with me is Fata Morgana gelato. There are several around Rome, but they have more unusual types than the street corner ones.

Stay in the Monti area, it's full of energy and character. Take your time to explore side streets, Trastevere and around Castel St'Angelo is brilliant.
Check on colloseum tickets, I'm not sure how things are post Covid but a great queue jump trick used to be buying your joint tickets at the forum, then you can walk straight into the colloseum past where the queues are.
Use the metro (but watch your pockets), it's great for getting about.
My absolute favourite place in the entirety of Rome is the piazza della Madonna dei Monti, in summer it fills up in the evening with people drinking, dancing, laughing and chatting. The restaurants are great and it just has the best atmosphere.