Rome advice

[Sweetpea333]

I've had a rotten time lately. My mum died in October and I feel so crappy. I decided to book a little trip to Rome to get me out of this rut.

I've booked tickets for The Vatican and Colloseum. I'd appreciate any advice and tips on where to go/what to avoid!

Thanks x

Just pottering around is good. There are loads of beautiful churches and ancient Rome is fab. Lots of options for nice food.

Hope you have a great time!

Rome is incredible! You’ll love what you’ve booked, I also recommend the pantheon, Vittoria and villa borghese. If you buy a 5 day Roma pass you get entry to 2 places and free public transport. It’s great to wander round but there’s so much to see sometimes a bus or the metro is handy. Trevi fountain is great but always always very busy. As in every major city, cafes off the main streets are better value and have more locals in. Im
so jealous!

Agree with the pottering - we loved just having a drink where we found nice places like outside the Pantheon.

We did enjoy a walking tour around the forum as well as the things you've already mentioned.

Sorry to hear about your mum OP. That’s shit.

When are you going to Rome? How long for?

The tour of the Nero’s golden palace dig is amazing.

I’d allocate plenty of time to the Forum and Palantine Hill. Take a picnic.

The top of the Vittorio Emanuele has great views. There’s also a bar 2/3 way up.

Book an open top bus trip and hop off when you see something you fancy doing. Pottering is definitely the way to go and be mindful they don't showcase their history like we do so don't expect as much information at tourist attractions as you get in the UK.

Eat plenty, drink more, wear good footwear.

The Trevi Fountain is best viewed at Dawn. It's quiet and beautiful.

Spend some time wandering the streets of Trastevere. Lots of locals so you'll find amazing cafes and restaurants. Also highly recommend a food tour. We tasted some amazing food and wine and found some real hidden gems. I recommend it to everyone that goes.

Area around the Pantheon is lovely. You can rent bikes and cycle around villa Borghese.
Piazza Navona is nice for a drink but do not eat there
Capuchin monk thing is a bit creepy
Get a pass for the metro- takes you from Colosseum to vatican

Go onto get your guide and book a food tour! Amazing food on top of a tour! It’s so well worth it!

Check opening days for Nero's Golden House and Palazzo Colonna. There is a Roman house near Trajan's column which does tours but not all in English. If you are strolling around Forum Argentina, Theatre of Marcellus, remains of the gladiator training area, Circus Maximus, Piazza Navona, Monte Testaccio are all worth a look.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Are you supposed to have your passport with you? I'm sure I read somewhere that you needed photo I'd.

We had photos of passports on phone. Enjoy Rome!

If you visit the pantheon bring cash , there is a much shorter queue

Card payments, There are electronic kiosks that you queue at for tickets then have to queue to get in

The cash queue is to the left of the main door and takes you straight in.

Rome is fabulous only one thing to watch out for is pickpockets dont have a lightweight handbag on the metro as they have been known to slice through the bag with a stanley knife, my Oh had his wallet pick pocketed on the metro coming back to the airport, they watched him get it out to get the ticket, not trying to scare you just be aware when getting money out like you would in any big city, added to the sites here recomended i would say visit the big roman baths worth going to

Sorry to be a downer but we went to Rome in October and whilst we had a great time, we were disappointed that the Trevi (and all others) fountain was dry and a lot of monuments covered up/subject to repair as they do everywhere up for the centenary in 2025. The colosseum, palatine hill and Roman forum still amazing (not covered up). Didn’t go in the Vatican but St Peter’s Square was impressive.

Go early early morning to Vatican. Walk straight through the museum (too much, too big) and get to the Sistine chapel before the crowds get there.

The best museum of all is the National Roman Museum - Palazzo Massimo. Start on the top floor with the fresco rooms - they have rebuilt the rooms so you can go in them and be surrounded by the colours and pictures. The other floors have really interesting statuary etc. It’s not at all crowded and there is not an overwhelming amount to see - just the best or most interesting examples.

Pantheon is great - join the cash queue.

Often they remove the trevi fountain barriers on Sunday evenings so you can get close up.

Churches - I really like Santa Maria Maggiore. But there are so many.

Walk everywhere. The metro is decent, but the city is so walkable particularly now we have phone maps. I wouldn’t bike myself - hilly and the driving can be less than stellar.

Another vote for the Trevi Fountain. It was much larger than I had expected and very impressive. Also very crowded. We were fascinated by all the brides in their dresses having pictures there.
The only thing that was annoying were all the street sellers who just wouldn’t leave us alone. We were constantly pestered to buy beads, water etc.
However, it is a wonderful city, have a fab time.

Don't bother with the Vatican museum. It's huge and quite boring. I was also underwhelmed by the Sistine chapel. (I didn't not scream) The Scavi tour underneath St Peter's is fantastic. I did a Segway tour that was great, and also enjoyed Ostia Antica. I went out to see the square coliseum as well. If you like Art Deco.

Following as promised my SIL a trip to Rome when DBro died earlier this year. She looked after him so well following an early onset Alzheimer's diagnosis. She does have some mobility issues so a lot of walking is out of the question.

I've been to Rome before - many years ago - and remember a lot of walking! Fabulous city!

Look at the exploring Rome Instagram account--lots of lovely ideas and I think she does unusual tours as well if you want extra ideas

After seeing it recommended on here we did this moped tour in the summer.
You can have a driver if you don’t ride yourself.
it was fantastic…a whistle stop tour of the main sights, you can then choose which to go back to; it was amazing so much fun!
we did the evening one and ended up overlooking the city at sunset, it was beautiful.

https://www.romebyvespa.com

The Trevi is undergoing restoration and not so beautiful at the moment so I wouldn’t get up early to see it at dawn.

The Vatican museum is not boring in the slightest but I do recommend getting a guide.

Campo di fiore market. Absolutely full 8f great stalls and surrounded by lovely coffee shops and delicatessen.

Trastevere district in the evening for amazing food at really reasonable prices. Sweet entertainers and no traffic, just cobbled streets and a square with outside seating (with patio heaters)

We did a Keats day - morning at the house (bottom of Spanish steps) and afternoon at cemetery. Obviously, not for everyone, but the cemetery (tube ride away) is beautiful. It even has a cat rescue station where they feed the cats that look after the graves.

Most of the time, we walked around stooping for coffee, lunch and then snacks going into lovely churches and exhibitions on the way round. Every now and again, you turn a corner and find a lovely square. I loved the Vatican - learned so much from the guide that I'd have missed if on my own. We also did a crypt with exhibits of skulls and bones which sounds gruesome, but really interesting. And we went somewhere used as a prison/interrogation station in WWII - can't remember where, but it's in a very ordinary building with exhibits. We also saw Mussolini's house which was interesting in an underwhelming way - I didn't know much about him before I went there.