Rome to Como travel & Booking attractions

88micm

Has anyone on the forum been to Rome recently to know what the current procedure is with visiting indoor attractions? We are due to go on 17th September and there are conflicting articles online saying about the Basilica's being open to public to walk in freely whilst others are saying all attractions require pre-booking due to Covid...

On a separate note, has anyone travelled on the train from Rome to Como? It looks like the minimum is a one stop journey requiring a swap over at Milan. Does anyone know is it cheaper to book this via one of the sites which come up on a google search compared to doing it at the station?

sheramber

http://www.italia.it/en/useful-info/covid-19-updates-information-for-tourists.html

MUSEUMS AND PLACES OF CULTURE

Museums and other cultural institutions are open. Before planning a visit, we advise you to call or consult the institutional websites of museums where access procedures are published (they may vary for each museum).
Everyone over 12 years of age must show the COVID-19 digital green certificate at the entrance.

daveyjp

As above,  you will need to check.  Larger attractions have always been pre book due to the crowds, smaller ones not so.

www.seat61.com for all things rail.

Alan_Bowen

You should book the long-distance trains in advance to get the lowest fares, there are two competing services between Rome and Milan, the new boy is Italo, smarter trains but only vending machines for food and drinks whilst the slightly older Red Arrow trains of Italian State Railways have cafes and restaurants.

The local trains from Milan onwards need not be booked in advance, the fare is fixed but since the ticket can be used on any train, you have to stamp it in the yellow machine at the head of the platform before boarding. Many of the trains are run by TrenNord who have hourly services along the east coast of Lake Como, Varenna would be my choice if you haven't booked yet, Como city would be my least favourite but everyone has a different view. 

The on line agencies all charge a fee for booking tickets, much like they do in the UK but the Italian Railways website has an English translation to make booking easier and without fees. If you use it, remember to use the Italian names so Roma Termini and Milano Centrale

The local train tickets can be purchased from ticket machines in Milan, last time I was there, there seemed to be a lot of "unofficial helpers" around some of the machines, avoid them as they are thieves, I easily found a machine hidden around a corner and had no difficulty purchasing a ticket

88micm

Thanks everyone for your help, I'm trying to get a much planned as possible to make it stress free on the other end so this info will all be of great use to me

martindow

Further to Alan's very comprehensive post, it is always good to look at Seat61 for international rail travel advice.  Here's the italy page:

https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-italy.htm