Rome - Travelling with InterNations

Before your trip

Check opening hours for the main attractions before your trip. Visiting early in the morning or late in the afternoon is a good idea to avoid tourist crowds that expect you during peak season. Download Rick Steves Audio Guides for Rome to your smartphone and bring your earphones with you. Download mTrip to your iPhone (includes map, augmented reality, and descriptions from Wikipedia plus a couple of other nice features) - no roaming needed: absolutely worth the 5 Euros. Arrange a personal tour guide for the Forum Romanum / Colosseum. Do your reading on Michelangelo (and his great works: ceiling of Sistine Chapel and Last Judgement on the wall of the Sistine Chapel) and Gian Lorenzo Bernini to enjoy culture with more background information. Do your reading on ancient Roman history to fully enjoy the ancient sites (Forum Romanum, Colosseum). Personally, I recommend staying in the Piazza Navona / Pantheon area. Its authentic and close to all major tourist attractions and saves you taxi rides through crazy Roman traffic. I booked Romemotion limousine service ahead online for travelling from and to the airport. I paid 50 Euros each trip (30 to 45 minutes to and from the city center) instead of the flat fee of 40 Euros for all other taxis and was very happy with the extra investment. http://www.romemotion.com

Must See - Must Do

Activity Vatican Museum / Sistine Chapel Hints Free entry every last Sunday of the month. Go directly to the Sistine Chapel (it took me 45 minutes from the entrance without detour) and you will see enough of the Vatican Museum on your way. In the Sistine Chapel, listen to the audioguide on your smartphone to ignore the crowd. Allow 15 to 30 minutes for your visit in the Chapel (and one hour to get there). When you exit, take the door on your RIGHT, which leads you directly to St. Peters Basilica and saves you 30 minutes of walking. After you exit, jump the cord to enter the line for climbing to the dome of St. Peters. Allow 15 to 30 minutes on the top of the dome to enjoy the fantastic view over the city, (but one hour to get there). When you exit from the dome you are right in St. Peters avoiding standing in line on St. Peters square. Allow 30 to 60 minutes inside the Basilica for your visit (and 30 to 60 minutes to get inside from St. Peters Square). Galleria Borghese can only be visited when you make your reservation for a specific time before you get there. (However, I was able to get in as a single
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Dome of St. Peters Basilica

St. Peters Basilica

Galleria Borghese

Travelling with InterNations - Rome

Forum Romanum

Colosseum

Piazza Navona

Pantheon Trevi Fountain

Spanish Steps

Campo de Fiori Gelateria Giolitti

Get lost in the Piazza Navona / Pantheon area or anywhere in the triangle Spanish Steps, St. Angelos Bridge, and Jewish Ghetto
Travelling with InterNations - Rome

traveller without reservation.) Take the audioguide which is worth it. I enjoyed the sculptures in the basement much more than the paintings on the first floor. Allow around 60 minutes for the visit inside the Galleria. Walk through the park after your visit to contemplate on the beautiful art you have just experienced. Go there early in the morning - opens at 8.30 am. Allow 60 minutes inside the Forum for your visit. Have your Tour Guide show you around. The ruins are only fascinating with explanations. Hold on to your ticket and walk past the long line at the Colosseum. Visit the Colosseum with your ticket from the Forum Romanum. Allow 30 minutes inside the Colosseum for your visit. After your visit purchase a booklet from one of the stands Rome: Past and Present by R.A. Staccioli to see what the sites used to look like then and now. (Costs around 15 Euros, I bargained for 10 Euros.) After that cross the busy streets and enter the park at the back left corner of the Colosseum. Have a drink at the small caf in the park and enjoy the peace. Go there any time of the day, but dont eat at the restaurants directly located at the Piazza, because their food isnt that good. Having a drink and enjoying the atmosphere is ok. For food visit one of the smaller places off the main tourist attractions. Go there early in the morning - opens at 8.30 am. Allow 15 to 30 minutes for your visit. Go there very early in the morning and throw your coin over your shoulder to make sure that you will come again. Even 6 a.m. would be perfect timing: Its quiet and beautiful, unlike the rest of the day, flocked with tourists and pickpockets. Go there very early in the morning. Even 6 a.m. would be perfect timing: Its quiet and beautiful, unlike the rest of the day, flocked with tourists. If you want to use a really nice bathroom: When you climb the Spanish Steps and turn right, there is Hotel Hassler, maybe the most prestigious hotel in Rome. After you enter the hotel turn right and take the stairs down to the elegant restrooms. Have a drink at night and enjoy the atmosphere. Come in the morning to shop for groceries. Have an ice-cream at Giolitti. Pay at the cashier when you enter the gelateria, then take your ticket to the counter to order. Allow 30 to 60 minutes wandering through tiny streets and exploring Rome. You could even spend a day doing just that.

Should See - Should Do

Activity Trastevere Hints Spend an evening wandering around and explore the area. Visit Santa Maria in Trastevere when you have time. I had dinner in Taverna Trilussi. I was also recommended any small restaurant in the streets of Via del Moro and Viculo Del Cinque, which both begin at Piazza Trilussa. If you want to try Italian beer have one in a microbrewery in Trastevere area. (However, Italian mass produced beer does not rival the beers of Germany, Austria, or the Czech Republic.) Inside the Church there is a free (!) audioguide with iPods. Allow 30 to 60 minutes for a visit to the church. There isnt really that much to see in the Castel compared to many other Roman sights, but the view from the top is very nice. Allow 30 to 60 minutes for a relaxed walk up to the top. Climb the stairs to the Capitoline Museums and find the caf at the back of the Monument up more stairs. Enjoy the view across the Forum Romanum from the terrace. I was recommended Catacombe de San Callisto or San Sebastiano, but didnt go there myself. Houses a 4C pagan temple under a 8C Byzantine church under a 14C Church above ground, really unique. You may want to explore the archaeological site inside the church, which I didnt. Have Aperitivo at Gusto. I heard that Aperitivo is typical for Milan, but its also very enjoyable in Rome. You pay an incredible 10 Euros for a (very nice) glass of wine, but included in this price is the all-you-caneat buffet inside. Gusto runs several restaurants in the area, so make sure you visit the one in Via della Frezza for Aperitivo. Climb to the Garden with a very nice view to St. Peters. The former Jewish Ghetto is actually just one or two blocks. Rick Steves has an brief audiotour for it which you may enjoy. Allow 15 to 30 minutes for your visit. Many people would agree that Giolitti is the best icecream in Rome. Gelateria Dei Gracchi offers a unique ice-cream experience. Make sure you are familiar on how to get there. The place is so small that I walked by it twice.

San Giovanni in Laterano Castel Sant Angelo

Piazza Venezia / Vittorio Emanuele II Monument

Catacombs San Clemente

Osteria Gusto, Via della Frezza

Giardino degli aranci (Orange Tree Garden) on Aventine hill. Jewish Ghetto

Gelateria Dei Gracchi

Travelling with InterNations - Rome

Travelling hints
Visit Vatican Museum / Sistine Chapel and St. Peters Basilica together, then take a break. Its a lot of culture and a lot of standing in line and a lot of walking to get to the most interesting points, and you will need rest. Have lunch or dinner and relax. Dont plan on doing much more intensive sightseeing that day. On the other hand, you can visit the Forum Romanum / Colosseum and Renaissance Rome (Campo de Fiori, Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps) in one day without any rush. I visited Rome in the beginning of August: Its hot, its full of tourists, but still its extremely enjoyable. I started my sightseeing very early (between 6.30 and 7.30 a.m.). By 8.30 a.m. the sun was really hot and stayed hot until 5.30 p.m. I went back to my apartment for lunch or after lunch, but no later than 2 p.m. and slept / rested until 5 p.m. when I hit the streets again. I can highly recommend this schedule to you for the summer season. Rome seemed very safe to me. No problem to move around freely even at night. Of course, there are beggars, but not many, and none of them approached me for money. Of course, there may be pickpockets, but I didnt encounter them. Dont worry, be streetwise. I wouldnt bring small children to do sightseeing. I have seen families with two or three children less than 6 years old waiting for up to an hour outside the main attractions in the midday sun - unbelievable. If I were a child I would never do another city trip in my entire life. I guess young people can enjoy the fantastic sights when they are 10 to 12 or older. The one person who was most helpful for my trip to Rome was Tom Shaker. Google and contact him for any questions with best regards from me. Enjoy Rome.

Conrad Prambck August 2011

Travelling with InterNations - Rome