Rome - go or cancel?

[IReallyLikeYorkshire]

I've booked a weekend in February next year but for some reason I just can't get excited about it. It just doesn't fill me with excitement as it did before I started looking on street view. It looks... quite run down and just not what I expected. But then sometimes the best trips are the ones that surprise you.

Go or cancel? I'll not lose much £ if I cancel soon...

I've been many times in Paris and I love it.

Reading that response I’ve changed my mind. Don’t go. You’ll just complain and whinge all the time

😂

It's very possible we've had different experiences. I'm glad yours still feels alive for you, because quite honestly mine doesn't.

Cancel, I understand how you feel.

Yeah ... I think they need to knock it down and rebuild.

I’ve not read the whole thread but I’m going to go against the grain here & say that I’d never go to Rome again!
It was the filthiest city I’ve ever been to (and yes I know all cities have parts that aren’t very nice!) There was raw sewage running down the road & all the toilets were absolutely disgusting. You’d have to pay me to go back & it’s actually put me off the whole of Italy (which I realise is ridiculous!)

Just got back from Rome last week, go you will love it, I was a bit reluctant, it was DH'S choice, and I think going slightly out of season even better, slightly less hot and crowded.

Sounds like you are best off staying in Yorkshire as you know you like it already😅.

I love Rome but wouldn't go in February tbh if I had a choice.

Go and get yourself in front of a Caravaggio and you won't be thinking about the graffiti you saw on the internet.

Edit. Or maybe you will...

Really?!

I do agree the loos at the Capitoline are not somewhere you'd look to spend time. But I honestly can't think of anything too filthy.

Rome is amazing, I have a dear friend who lives there and love going to visit. Even if your hotel looks run down, you'll only be there to sleep! Too busy looking around, enjoying pizza.. nom.

😂😂

You’d be crazy not to go. You’d be doubly crazy not to go because of graffiti. But if you’ve decided Rome is not your thing, cancel and pick somewhere you really fancy instead.

What??

It's a bit city, some bits are run down and have graffiti and some bits are beautiful. In that way it's the same as any city.
But Rome is wonderful, the history, art and food are wonderful

I’ve never been into Italy until I went to Rome.

If you research and go with a list of things to do, and places to eat off the beaten track, you’ll have a great time.

We loved it so much that we are going to Florence next year.

The Sistine Chapel ceiling has been totally wrecked by some vandal who's painted all over the original Dulux magnolia.

Is nothing sacred?

You're in for a treat! Though Florence is a city I think really does reward a visit in the off-season. The food suits a cooler climate, and it gets so overrun in the summer.

Roughly translated as:

Hey OP, Benidorm is thataway —>

we were also there, end of March, like a lot of pp.
We booked early tickets for the Vatican. It was busier then than it was 2 hours later when we came out.
i think the ‘go early’ message is the default now!

You are getting a hard time here op, I guess you cannot really know how you feel about the place if you don't go. I will stick my neck out though and say I have been and never again. Couldn't wait to get home. I have seen some beautiful cities but for me sadly Rome was not one of them. Yes there is the architecture and history which we appreciate but this city was not for us.

😂

Nah, hunny, it's a shithole. Have you seen their main arena, 'The Colosseum'? Run down AF, falling apart, nowhere to sit, just horrid. No wonder nothing ever happens there. And it's next to a weird construction site - Palatine Hill/Roman Forum they call it. Roman laziness more like, workshy Italians haven't managed to finish it in thousands of years. Even their temples are shit. Pantheon anyone? What's up with that massive hole in the ceiling? Not enough cement?

May I recommend a trip to Disneyland. Clean, beautiful colourful architecture, litter-free streets, lots to see and do. Locals are a bit odd though, gigantic mice, ducks and other wildlife wandering about, but not to worry, they're very friendly. Just don't go to Paris itself, another rundown graffitied shithole.

Hmm not sure about that. I’m lapsed Catholic, husband not remotely religious but we were there on a Wednesday when the last pope was having an audience in the square and we all (teenager included) found it both interesting and moving. It was like a pop concert with all the attendees from all over the world. Also the amazing churches down every back street.