Booked for Rome, any hints & tips please?

dontone

Evening.

Mr Dontone is finally going to realise his dream of visiting Rome. We've booked for September.
The hotel we have booked is pretty near to a lot of the must see sites, (will be going online to book tickets, etc) but I was just wondering if anybody had any advice, mainly when it comes to using the transport system.
I got a ton of good advice from here for Barcelona regarding the T-10 ticket. I think, from looking at it, Rome does something similar, but just asking if any of you seasoned Rome travellers if you had any hints & tips on that, or any other must do's (and don'ts)
Thanks muchly in advance.

daveyjp

Its huge and overwhelming. You won't have time to see everything so don't try to. Choose one site for each day and do it well. Coloseum, Forum etc can fill a day. Vatican similar.

Roma card gives access to some sites and all public transport. Metro is limited, trams even more so, buses are packed. Comfy shoes, a map and be prepared to walk!

angela110660

We went last November-loved it - watch out for tree roots sticking up in the ground near Coliseum! I did one almighty face plant !!

Neil49

Do you need advice on getting from the airport to the city centre. If so post details of which airport and approximate time of arrival.

How many days are you going for?

holidaysforme

Pre book your Collseum tickets- especially if you are doing the tours. The queues are really long, and it's great to be able to skip them. We went really early as well.- think we got there fir 8.30, as it gets really busy very quickly.

Try to avoid the tourist trap eateries around all the major sites. Walk a few streets back and you'll find much more reasonable prices.
Rome is huge. We did a lot of walking. Take a decent pair of shows. Enjoy:)

benjus

If you want to visit the Galleria Borghese (which most people say is a must-see) get it booked asap. We sadly missed out when we were there in May because I tried to book the week before we travelled and it was already booked up. You can get in using a Roma Pass if you choose to buy one, but you still have to book in advance.

Avoid queues at the Vatican museums by booking online in advance. Avoid queues at the Colosseum by either getting a Roma Pass or visiting the Forum first and getting your ticket there.

The Baths of Caracalla were very impressive and pleasantly tranquil (when we went, anyway) - a nice change from most of the big sights.

For a good, authentic, and good value meal I recommend La Bottega di Cesare ( http://www.labottegadicesare.it ), a little informal place in the designer shopping district near the Spanish Steps, a block or two from Via del Corso.

Eat lots of gelato.

dontone

Neil49 wrote: »

Do you need advice on getting from the airport to the city centre. If so post details of which airport and approximate time of arrival.

How many days are you going for?

Hiya. If we can avoid getting a taxi, then some advice would be most appreciated, thanks very much

We are going for 4 days. Landing at Fiumicino just after midday. I keep seeing 'Termini' & 'Metro'. I just got a bit confused and wondered about the best deals on passes, etc (like the T-10 that you can get in Barca)
Thanks again.

dontone

Thanks to everybody for the replies. .

I know that we aren't going to see everything, but knowing DH and how desperate he is to get there and see the place, we will probably end up going back next year depending on the pennies.

We will be booking as much as we can online (we went to Barcelona recently, and did the Sagrada & Camp Nou that way). And we aren't afraid of walking around, it's just that we have a bad habit of getting too carried away lol.

DH will be quite happy as long as he sees the Coliseum, and I'll be happy to potter around the Vatican. We'll bear the Galleria Borghese in mind too.

Gelato sampling is definitely on my 'to do' list As is pizza tasting too :rotfl:

Thanks again for the replies so far. It's been very helpful. :T

mrs_lds

Go out of season like nov -march its too hot and too many tourists right now

spadoosh

I had a bad time in rome.

Within 5 minutes of getting off the bus there was people blatantly eyeing up my OH's handbag.

We ended up in a weird situation where we booked a hotel but they had overbooked so the owner ended up taking us round the corner to find us another room (possibly in his house). The rooms itself was far better than we paid for but as i said a bit weird. And im pretty sure the lift was an original from the Colosseum itself.

Ive never been so disappointed with food in my life. Never been to italy and was expecting next level pizza, distinctly average at best. And you could fill a bottle with the excess oil put on them.

Then there was the person with no legs dragging themself around on a skateboard right outside the Vatican. Not raising an issue with disability of course but it was shocking to see such abject poverty outside one of the most extravagant places in the world.

I suspect the biggest impact on my impression of Rome was due to being the most ill i have ever been in my life though so my head wasnt in the best of places anyway.


That said the place is mesmerizing. Theres something to see everywhere you look. The history and beauty of the buildings is second to none. I seem to go against the grain when it comes to Rome, not had one person i know go who didnt love it. Like i said, maybe it was being unwell.

Be careful if you see some people dressed up as roman guards, theyll offer to take a picture with you using your phone but they dont mention the fact they want 10 euros off you until after its been taken. They kindly offered it at half price, which was refused. They seem to be erring towards agression until a police car stopped nearby at which point they left to harass someone else.

Theres plenty of street sellers around the main tourist places to say no to.

After the architecture, the best part was seeing a monk cross his chest before blindly walking across the road. I couldnt help but think, you dont need god for that, just look! The roads are a bit manic but unless youre someone who has to wait for a green man you get to grips with it soon enough.

Voyager2002

spadoosh wrote: »

I had a bad time in rome.]

Then there was the person with no legs dragging themself around on a skateboard right outside the Vatican. Not raising an issue with disability of course but it was shocking to see such abject poverty outside one of the most extravagant places in the world.

I would imagine that guy makes a fortune from Catholic pilgrims!


Not saying it is right, but perhaps not poverty.