Holiday to Rome!

[InfrequentTraveller]

I'm looking to go this summer. I've visited Paris last year after getting MN advice. Paris was quite nice. So those who have been to Rome tell me all about it!

(I don't know Italian)

The food is the best in the world! I've been to Rome several times and absolutely loved it. You have to be street wise as in any city. If the locals try to chat you up and you're not interested, just say you're Catholic, they'll leave you alone then! Restaurant-wise, head to places where there are lots of Italians. They are very passionate about their food and if you see lots of them heading to a particular place, it means the food is going to be fab. Also, the ice cream is superb. My favourite place is the Sistine Chapel, not because I'm religious but because it's breathtaking. Italians are very appreciative of people who try to speak their language so I'd advise learning a handful of everyday phrases. Yes it can get hot but I love hot weather so it didn't bother me. Also, Italians are always smartly dressed so I wouldn't pack anything that's too casual. I'm envious of you, enjoy!

If you need a cool spot visit the botanical gardens in Trastevere.

Always head inside between lunch time and late afternoon if you can. Do the Big Things early.

I spent 10 days there nearly two years ago and went to a lot of places. My favourite was the Borghese Gallery which was heaven. I've been to the Vatican previously and found it wasn't that great.

It's the Holy Jubilee so it's going to be busy and booked up!

It is hot and busy and exhausting but worth it for the art, IMO. We booked an early morning tour of the Vatican museums and whilst still busy, it wasn’t as bad as later in the day.

The Villa Borghese art gallery was fantastic (you’ll need to pre-book).

Another scam to watch out for is being asked to sign a petition by respectable looking young people and then being robbed while you’re distracted.

We didn’t eat particularly well as we won’t pay the prices for smart restaurants but it was fine. Breakfast coffee and croissant at a pavement cafe looking up at the Colosseum was probably my favourite meal.

My favourite moment was wandering into a random basilica to use up an hour before our Colosseum tour to find that the statue I was looking at was by Michaelangelo!

Well it's Italy....what can I say?! 😆 Who doesn't love pizza, pasta and ice cream?! Obviously, avoid restaurants right next to the major attractions, but other than that you should be golden.

I seem to remember there are several busy parallel streets running from the Vatican towards the centre of Rome where there were lots of trattorie with plenty of priests in- always a good sign. They take the one earthly pleasure they're allowed seriously! 😆

Roman Jewish food is supposed to be one of the local specialities (I admit to not having tried it myself)- the old Jewish quarter is the place to go for that.

Most of the centre is walkable, which teenagers should be able to do easily. Have you taken groups around before? (as in, do you know about regular head counts, subgroups each with a key adult, each person having a buddy, having someone bringing up the rear in a walking group etc)

Emphasise water bottles (lots of free public fountains for filling up) and personal safety (cross body bags, careful with your phones, be aware of your immediate surroundings).

Central Rome has lots of beautiful parks to gather, eat lunch, have on the hoof orientation and chill out sessions.

Encourage them to eat their body weight in ice cream 😆

Can't give you itinerary advice because I don't know what kind of trip it is you're leading but if it was humanly achievable I'd avoid the Vatican Museums and possibly the Colosseum

You'd never guess what I used to do for a living would you?! 😆

The great thing about Rome is that there's so much of it. There are world class ancient remains everywhere. You can see some amazing stuff without having to go near the Vatican, Piazza Navona, the Spanish Steps or the Colosseum with their heaving crowds.

I really liked San Clemente (not at all overcrowded, and we visited on Easter Sunday), the Via Appia Antica and the Isola Tiberina, which you reach via a completely intact Roman bridge. The Forum is fascinating with a guide and not too crowded, and neither is the Capitoline Hill. My only disappointment from 2 years ago as opposed to 20 years ago was the Pantheon- I really wanted to show the DC and had no idea you can't just walk in any more 😪

If you’re not into the Vatican stuff, it’s not too busy to visit this year (I went in March). I wouldn’t dream of going in the summer.

The archeological dig of Nero’s golden palace is amazing.

Look up the underground places where houses and churches have been built on top of ancient Roman ruins.

I’ve stayed in Monti the 3 times I’ve been as it’s close to some of the key ancient sites.

I adore Rome. Walking around you are tripping over history, it's absolutely wonderful.

We were there for 4 days last October and booked nothing in advance. Stayed a couple of streets away from the Trevi Fountain because it was our first time and wanted to be in the thick of it. Would try Trastevere next time.

Food was amazing. We used Tripadvisor's 'cheap eats' suggestions for most meals and also ate in a few mid-range local family restaurants. everywhere we ate regardless of price was delicious. The best place was a tiny restaurant down a cobbled street with a couple of outside tables where pizza or pasta and a carafe of wine was 13 EUR. We ate there twice, the carbonara was so good. I can't remember the name of it but there were plenty of similar small places, you won't struggle to find good food in Rome regardless of budget.

We did go to the Sistine Chapel and that was the only thing I wouldn't do again. Really not worth the time, money, and effort it took to shuffle for hours through crowds to look at a ceiling. On our last day we stumbled across a small church tucked down a quiet lane and it was honestly breathtaking (I am not remotely religious but do love a church/chapel) - this one was 100 times nicer and calmer than anything in the Vatican. And free!

You will walk A LOT so def prioritise comfort and make sure you have a water bottle. No advice on booking things as we just winged it but didn't have any difficulty accessing anything. Probably not a good idea in the height of summer, though.

OH and the Capuchin Crypt in Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini - well worth a visit if you're not creeped out by skeletons. My DC loved it and didn't find it weird at all. It was quite lovely actually, not what I expected.

I hope you have an absolutely amazing time, Rome is just gorgeous.

I did enjoy it, although we got scammed with the taxi from the airport. Make sure they put the metre on!
We found it quite expensive but when we went off the beaten track prices were much more reasonable.

We went last year - just me and DP. We loved it!

But thing I would change is time of year - it was way too hot when we went. Middle of August. Bloody awful heat.

We did 4 nights. We did pretty much all the tourist stuff - lots of walking!!! Easily 25k steps a day. Our kids wouldn’t have managed the heat or the walking

Only thing we didn’t do was the buggy cart tour which I would absolutely recommend you to do! You will see a lot and it will then give you the focus on anything else you might want to explore on foot further. Definitely book this for your first day.

We had no issue with pickpockets - I wore a backpack with all our bits for the day and a separate bumbag with cards and phone in - which after being on lots of social media groups were what was recommended. Also a lanyard for my phone when I had it out.

It’s definitely location for the hotel - try to go central. We stayed at a hotel just on the city wall.

Theres water fountains everywhere - we just bought a normal big plastic bottle of water from the airport on the way and used it the entire time we were there

Restaurants - we found the best were on the outskirts of the city. We had one night eating at a tourist trap restaurant and not only was it horrendously expensive but it was shit.

Vatican - don’t panic too much about what you’re wearing. Shoulders and knees need to be covered but literally ANY outfit that fits this criteria is fine - short sleeve long dress for example. Also - Vatican was the only thing I was slightly disappointed with though DP loved - just felt like a massive museum tbh.

Also - try to plan your days. We did and had tours booked but we also wish we had just stayed an extra day - a day where we weren’t rushing about trying to see everything.

Also - passports. We didn’t carry ours with us purely as we were scared of them being stolen but we took colour photocopies of them and carried those. They were fine for us to get in the Vatican, coliseum, Roman forum etc.

And definitely do the underground tour of the coliseum - I think I would have been disappointed with just the upper level

When in the summer? We went in July a couple of years ago for a wedding and it was hotter than Satan’s oven. We spent 5 days feeling largely miserable, grubby and sweaty, saw the major sights we wanted to see and don’t feel any urgent need to return. If we ever do then we’d go in January when the crowds and temperatures might be a bit more manageable.

On the other hand I’ve just seen a reel about Copenhagen and I can wait to go back there! Best city break we’ve been on.

There are also suburban trains from the airport.

The sistine chapel is fabulous..just buy tickets and get there for 730am
We were the first in and avoided the crowds

It's absolutely amazing but I would also advise against going to summer. I love the heat but Rome is next level in summer and impossible to fully enjoy. It will also be very busy due to the Jubilee and new Pope. I've been in July and October and had a far better experience in October.

Good points

Its in Italy
Food
History
Beauty
Shopping
Artchitecture
Transport is easy
The food!!!
You can walk everywhere anyway

Bad points

Queues
Loos (lack of, dirty, awful)
Queues.....again
Expensive
The stupid validation system on buses and trams, can catch you out if you cant get to the machine
Have to buy bus tickets in advance at little kiosks, cash only
The cobbles, absolute ankle breakers.

I say opposite, get there very late and the queues are gone. Who wants to be up so early on holiday

Go carry on! Otherwise you are likely to spend forever waiting for your luggage at the airport.

Book on line in advance for anything you want to visit to avoid the queues.

Thanks for this - been going on trips as a teacher for 25 years though! Including ski trips which are a whole other level of worry 😂I just haven’t led my own before or been to Rome before, so it’s still daunting after all these years!

I went with a group of friends and we were only there for the day. We hired a guide to take us on a historic walking tour for a couple of hours. It was worth the money.

We also wandered about and saw the Spanish Steps (do not sit on them!), the Trevi Fountain, tons of ruins. The drinking water fountains in the city were great and totally unexpected.

We ate at a nice restaurant, but chose to sit indoors as they had Aircon. We managed to get about ok, with limited Italian and plenty of Google translate.

I want to go back next year but with the family (DH & teens).

What's it like at night?

I never understand this now that we have Brexit, the queues at passport cvontrol now for UK passport holders are horrendous anywhere we have found. Recent visit to Spain 1.5 hours at passport control. Baggage comes out way before we do.

Obviously if you have an EU passport you're fine

Busy, open, noisy but not as much as Spain, I found their eating times and closing times more structured and rigid than Spain, both in Rome but also other areas in Italy. But you can do stuff right up until very late so no need to get home early or anything

Sorry sorry, you didn't specify....I thought you were a newbie 😳

There might need to be a bit more of an emphasis on personal safety than in other places. It's mostly common sense (which obviously teenagers are famed for having 😆). The girls may face some sexual harassment, if you can find a way to warn them about that sensitively.

They will love it though, they really will- it's such a special, beautiful city.

Do you have a fixed itinerary? Is it linked to a subject?

Oh yeah, and I hope for your sake you're not staying in a hotel with Italian school groups- they're the worst behaved! 😬