Travel Series (Part #2) Rome, Italy, Must visit Destination
Rome is without doubt one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Every year millions of tourists come from around the world to admire the treasures and masterpieces of Roman art and architecture.
But a trip to the Eternal City can be eternally confusing for first-time visitors.
I will make it easier to uncover Rome offering lots of practical advice that will help you discover and enjoy the city in all its glory.
Planning your Travel
Because Rome is such a huge tourist draw, choose the date for your trip carefully. The best times of the year to visit are April, May, and late September through October.
In the height of summer, the heat and the crowds make the city nearly unbearable. August in particular should be avoided because this is the month all of Italy seems to go on vacation.
Traveling too late or too early in the year can also be risky because the opening hours for many attractions are shorter, and some are closed completely.
Airfares typically drop quite a bit when "shoulder season" begins in the early autumn, making this the optimal time to visit in my book. The days are still warm, the nights are slightly cool, and the tour groups and student mobs have mostly disappeared.
If you can plan to stay as long as a week, you won't run out of things to do and you'll still feel like you're leaving too soon.
But if your time is limited, allow at least 4 days to see all of Rome's major attractions. If you try to cram the entire city into a two-day span and do nothing but run from place to place furiously snapping pictures, you'll only be cheating yourself. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day and it can't be seen in one, either.
Arriving in Rome
Rome's Fiumicino Airport is 19 miles outside the city.
A train station is located right inside and you can travel straight to Termini Station near the center of town but you'll then need to find a way to get to your hotel.
If you're carrying a lot of luggage or just want to make things easier on yourself, take a cab or have your hotel arrange to have a hired car pick you up.
Either option will cost more but the no-stress factor makes it worth the extra money. Renting your own car is always an option, but even if you're planning to tour other parts of Italy I wouldn't advise driving in or near Rome unless you have nerves of steel and the skills and reflexes of a professional racecar driver.
Roman drivers are somewhat exuberant and Roman traffic is often chaotic.
Sleeping in Rome
To plunge fully into the essence a Rome I highly recommend staying in a hotel where you can simply walk out your door and into the heart of the city. Of course the closer to the attractions you are the more you'll pay but trust me it's worth it
Before you make a reservation look at a map of Rome and confine yourself to hotels that are Easter the Taiba River and West of Termini station.
Also be aware that distances on a map might not be as close as they appear. I once dated a hotel in the fashionable the event at our area thinking that it would be fairly close to all the major attractions but in reality took nearly half an hour to reach anything at all from there on foot despite the fact that it looked at polls so close on paper.
The most vibrant area to stay in is the half-mile stretch between Piazza Navona and Piazza Barberini. Some rooms here a pricey but you'll also find plenty of small family run hotels nearby. Guidebooks are fine for gathering ideas but hit the internet to get the best deals.
Dining in Rome
Going hungry is one thing no traveler should ever worry about while in Rome. The city is literally overrun with good places to eat. The busy area just south of the Spanish Steps and the Maison intersecting side streets tucked between Via del Corso and Piazza Navona contains dozens of places to eat.
Most have outdoor seating and offer similar menus containing pasta, pizza, veal, chicken and a few seafood dishes. The food is typically simple fresh and delicious and even the restaurants that seem to be tourist traps will still feed you well.
If you have a tough time choosing your best bet is to simply decide what you want to look at while you're dining and pick a restaurant based on that. For instance the Piazza della Rotonda contains several cafes which face the Pantheon and Piazza Navona is completely encircled by restaurants which offer views of its numerous fountains.
Few Dining Tips
First, Rome is one of the cities where a restaurant's house wine is usually excellent.
Second, Although we recommend learning and using at least a few italian phrases almost every way to real ever meet in Rome speaks English. Germans and other European tourists communicate with Italian waiters in English because it's the more common language.
Some useful phrases for dining are "Mi scusi ci piace ordinare", which means "excuse me would like to order" and "Grazie mille" which means "Thanks a lot" and if the food was good in the waiters attentive then don't forget to leave a small tip. Remember also that especially during summer Roman restaurants will be open until well after 10 in the evening.
Exploring rome
Take out that handy map again. Now draw a diamond shape with the Spanish Steps at the top, Termini station to the right, The Aventine hill at the bottom and Piazza Navona to the left. 75% of your sightseeing will probably take place within this area. And even though it doesn't seem that big on the map, you'll need at least 2 days to see everything within the diamond and three would be better.
Some activities such as touring the ruins of ancient Rome including the Coliseum can easily occupy an entire day up.
Several notable sites like outside the diamond shape including the vatican another full day destination Castel Sant Angelo and The Villa Borghese. Rome subway system can come in handy when you're traveling to these locations look for the big red "M" at the entrance to each station. And a one way ticket costs less than a dollar but there are also tourist tickets called BIET or CIS good for unlimited rides
BIET is a three-day ticket valid until midnight on the third day on which the ticket is validated. The CIS is a weekly. Both BIET and CIS tickets grandeur unlimited rides on buses, subways and some local trains. There's also a ticket called Roma pass- which offers you transport and two museums free of charge as well as reductions for all other museums in major events in Rome for a three-day pass. The Roma passes available in all museums and the tourist information points.
Rome is a city that is best savored slowly like a glass of robust red wine allow yourself the chance to see it properly by formulating a touring plan before you arrive, choose one small section of the city to explore each day.
Leaving yourself ample time to lounge over a cup cappuccino at an outdoor cafe or a scoop of gelato at one of the dozens of ice cream shop you find.
Another hint is to save the attractions closest to your hotel for last you may be tempted to do just the opposite but these will be the easiest sites to visit if time starts to run short.
If the worst-case scenario happens and you're unable to see everything in one trip just toss a coin into the Trevi Fountain before you leave and as legend has it you'll be guaranteed another visit in the future.
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All the credit goes to "Ty Treadwell" https://www.italyguides.it/en/lazio/rome/travel-guides/travel-tips/rome-in-a-nutshell
Feel the Rome, Italy in Pictures
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Previous Episodes:-
Travel Series (Part #1) Bali, Indonesia, Bunch of Beautiful Islands
Wow.. beautifully captured. Thank you for sharing. I shall soon write on my Trip to New Zealand. Do follow and keep in touch. Have a Fab weekend ahead. cheers!!