Best Tips for a 5🌟 stay
This is the kind of guide I would love to find in the places I visit. Suggestions given by a local who lives and loves the city.
Choose according to your taste and...⛲ always bring a bottle with you because Rome is the city of drinkable water and You'll find several nasoni, small fountains with a big nose 🤥
When to visit ✈️
You can travel to Rome anytime. Every period has its pros and cons.
The best weather is in Spring and Fall (10-27 C°) but those are crowded months, especially Easter week which I suggest to avoid.
Summer has lots of sunlight and sunny days but can be hot (20-34 C° with peaks of 39°), crowded and humid.
Winter can be a bit rainy and colder (5-15 C°) even if not usually freezing but this is the best time to visit the half empty museums and monuments. For this reason I usually suggest December to come to Rome due to the lesser crowds, not extremely cold days and Christmas lights decorating the streets, especially Piazza Navona with its Christmas stands 🎄
Getting around 🛵
- 🚅Leonardo Express is the fast train connecting Fiumicino Airport to Termini railway station in 32 mins. It leaves every 15 mins and costs €14. A bus to Termini is also available from both Ciampino & Fiumicino Airports at €9.
- Walking in Rome is the best solution considering that the historic center is not huge and the longest distance, between the Colosseum and St. Peter Square in the Vatican, is about 3,6 kms (2,2 miles). The main and longest street of Rome, Via del Corso, in the centre of the city is 1,5 kms (1 mile) and will give a way to measure distances. Check my list of MAPS of Rome.
- Nevertheless you will find white Taxi stands in the main squares (Piazza Venezia, Piazza Risorgimento by the Vatican, Piazza Cavour, Piazza del Colosseo, Piazza della Rotonda, Piazza delle Cinque Lune, Piazza G.G.Belli in Trastevere) with a reasonable taximeter in the car starting from €3 according to which you pay at the end, tipping the driver at your discretion
- ATAC is the company that runs buses, trolleys and subway lines. A single ticket (€1,5) is valid for 100 consecutive minutes on a bus/trolley and a subway ride. You need to buy it before at news stands, T-shops or subway e-machines and stamp it when you want to use it; daily ticket costs €6. Beware of pickpocets
- Hop on & off Buses stop at Termini, Colosseo, Capital Hill, Castel Sant'Angelo (Vatican), Piazza Barberini, Circo Massimo, Via Ludovisi and cost about 25€.
- Take a relaxing 55-minute circular ride in a mini ATAC e-bus #119 From Piazza Venezia every 15/ 20 mins to the top of the Spanish Steps and down to Piazza del Popolo into the charming narrow streets of Rome before returning to Piazza Venezia (not on Sundays). (e-bus #117 circular line from St. John in Lateran stopping by the Colosseum & Trevi Fountain; #115 from Piazza Paola to the Janiculum Hill)
- Don't forget that with a 1,5 € Atac ticket you can reach the Archaelogical site of Ostia Antica (guided tour suggested) and the sandy beach of Rome in Lido di Ostia. Check my Directions to Ostia.
What to do on own 🙄
- 3D Reconstructions are today an excellent way to visualize the ancient monuments and understand the history of a city like Rome.
- 12 o'clock cannon fire (shooting blanks) over the Janiculum Hill. This was the way to regulate time and start the church bell ringing. Go by taxi and walk down into Trastevere
- Climbing St. Peter's Dome (cupola) early in the morning, not later than 8AM. Enter as if going to the church, follow the sign alla cupola and take the elevator to halfway: be ready for 255 steps. Exit into the church that you can visit afterwards. €10
- Take the Vittoriano panoramic terrace. Enjoy Rome's charming skyline and spot the most famous monuments; open allday. €10
- Visit the Capitoline Museums Piazza del Campidoglio. Ancient work of art illustrating the history of Rome in the oldest public museum in the world (1471). No reservations required, €16 adults, €14 reducedclosed on Mondays. 9.30-19.30
- Rent a bike in the Borghese Park at Piazza delle Camelie where they also rent segways and golfcars. Explore Romans' favourite park (250 acres)
- Museo delle mura (ancient roman walls) Porta San Sebastiano 18. Path along the walls and documentation. Free entrance, open 9-14, closed on Mondays
- Visit the Catacombs of St Sebastian & walk along the Ancient Appian Way to the Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella: reachable by taxi (15 €) or by bus #118 (from Colosseum or from Piazza Venezia on Sundays only) or #218 from Piazza di Porta San Giovanni. The catacombs are early Cristian cemeteries and these offer guided tours every 30 mins w/out need to reserve; open 10-17, €8 closed on Sundays
- Have an evening stroll and dinner in Trastevere Start from the Tiber island and reach the main church of S.Maria in Trastevere open until 10pm exploring a lively medieval distrct
Where to eat 😋
Check my guide to roman food & restaurants below.
Do not miss trying the supplì, pizza con mortadella, carbonara pasta and the carciofo alla giudìa!
Things to do with kids 👨👩👧👦
- Explora Via Flaminia 82, just outside Piazza del Popolo. (a space thought for kids between 1 & 11 years old. There is a space for the youngest explorers between 1 & 3 y.o. €8, €5 between 1-3 y.o. Open 10-17 Tuesday-Sunday
- EUR Lake Central Park Passeggiata del Giappone, reachable with metro B, stop EUR FERMI
- Luneur Park Via delle 3 fontane 100. It is the oldest Italian theme park (1953) recently totally readapted for kids. Check website for time & prices. Reachable with metro B, stop EUR Fermi + 20 mins walk
- Biopark Piazzale del giardino zoologico 1. It is the Zoo of Rome, inside Villa Borghese, active in the education and preservation of the animal world. €16 adults,€13 children, open 9.30-17
- Puppet Show in Piazza Garibaldi on Janiculum Hill every Sunday at 10.30 has been the historic kid show for 70 years
- Civic museum of Zoology Via Ulisse Aldrovandi 18 (Borghese area). The museum is a center for scientific, culture and for the conservation, study and teaching of animal biodiversity. Closed on Mondays
Where to stay 🏬
I suggest to rent an apartment or book your hotel in one of these neighbourhoods:
Monti (trendy & artistic, close to metro B and the Roman Forum)
Jewish Quarter (historic, close to River Tiber)
Campo dè fiori (historic and centrally located)
Prati (modern, close to metro A and the Vatican)
Parks & green areas 🌴
Rome is a city with plenty of green areas so you can always find one according to where you are:
- Giardini del Quirinale (in front of the presidential Palace)
- Villa Aldobrandini (at the end of Via Nazionale, this is a small portion of the historic villa built over the ruins of Constantine public baths)
- Colle Oppio (Colosseum)
- Villa Celimontana (Celian Hill)
- Courtyard of Palazzo Venezia
- Villa Borghese (Romans' favourite park)
- The Botanical Garden of Rome (open everyday 9-18.30) is one of the best in Europe, run by Rome Botanics University that is charging € 8 adults, €4 6-11 y.o.
Shopping 🛍️
The three main commercial streets of Rome are Via Nazionale, Via del Corso and Via Cola di Renzo.
Ideally you could spend a full day covering all the three (4,5 kms) starting your shopping tour from Piazza della Repubblica (metro Repubblica) and walking down Via Nazionale to Piazza Venezia (1,4 kms). On the left enjoy a view of Italy's National Monument called Vittoriano and nicknamed by tourists wedding cake. Turn right and take Via del Corso all the way down to Piazza del Popolo (1,6 kms). Along the way stops at the elegant mall Galleria Alberto Sordi (former Galleria Colonna) for a coffe or a snack (tramezzino) at its coffee bar and have a look at its elegant boutiques and Feltrinelli bookstore and videos. If you haven't had enough...exit Piazza del Popolo and cross the Tiber using the modern bridge Ponte Regina Margherita and have your final round along Via Cola di Renzo, probably the less touristy and more local of the three, to Piazza Risorgimento (1,5 kms) where taxi or the metro Ottaviano can bring you back home.
Piazza di Spagna, commonly known as the Spanish Steps, and especially Via dei Condotti is the high fashion district whereas Via dei Borgognoni is famous for jewelery.
Sunday morning is for the huge flea market of Porta Portese in Trastevere with a bit of everything but beware of pickpockets and street gambling.