Rome - Trip Advice

Merry Christmas - Buon Natale

© vinorosso 2005

posted by JTC @ 10:48 AM 0 Comments

Sightseeing Tips

© 2005-2006 vinorosso

Here are sightseeing tips I have discovered from the best guidebooks and from my own traveling experiences. I am sharing them with you!

* If you plan on seeing lots of sights, consider a combo-ticket (20 euros). It covers admission to the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, National Museum, Baths of Caracalla, Crypt Balbi, Bath Museum, and Palazzo Altemps. It pays for itself after you have visited 3 museums and is valid for 7 days. You can avoid the long lines at the Colosseum (especially during summer). Reserve your ticket in advance for an additional 1.50 euro fee by calling: 06/3996.7700.

* Considering visiting the churches first, as they open early (usually around 7:00 a.m.) and close for lunch. Remember to dress properly for church or else they will turn you away! (No shorts, bare shoulders, shorts/short skirts)

* If you want to avoid the long lines at museums and haven't made reservations, consider visiting during the last couple of hours. You're probably not going to see the entire collection anyway, right? So, after the morning tourists have stood in the long lines to see the great works, you can breeze through the short lines and no crowds. It is great to enjoy the museums in peace, late in the afternoon, when everyone else is eating or cooling off.

* For info. on transportation, click here.

* Remember most sights have a day off, so should you.

Categories: italy, travel, culture, research, rome

posted by JTC @ 10:34 PM 0 Comments

Transportation in Rome

Transportation in Rome is varied - there are the metro, trams, taxis, plus you can always walk to all the sights. As long as your hotel is relatively central you can reach most of the sights within 30-40 minutes, but most within 15-20 minutes. Wear some sturdy walking shoes. Your feet will thank you.


Public Transit
ATAC Website

Eurocheapo's Nice Little Rundown

Also, view Suggested Self-Guided Tours - Using Public Transport

Categories: italy, travel, culture, research, rome

posted by JTC @ 2:42 PM 0 Comments

Day Trips From Rome

If you want to get away from Rome, after experiencing a few days, visit these sites for more info:
Frommers (with info. on Cerveteri & Tarquinia, Fregene, Ostia, Palestrina, The Castelli Romani, Tivoli, Viterbo)
Enjoy Rome (additional info. on Sabaudia, Santa Severa (located in same municipality as Sta. Marinella), Napoli & Pompei)
Italy Heaven (info. on Sperlonga, Palestrina, Cerveteri, Frascati, Tivoli, Bagnaia, Terracina)

For other towns not covered in these sites worth a getaway:
Lago di Bracciano - 39km/24mi NW of Rome. Great weekend getaway. The website is very helpful and has a lot of info.
Capodimonte - Seaside town with spectacular scenery.
Montefiascone - For more info. on this town, go to any of these sites (unfortunately they're only in Italiano!). Montefiascone Turismo Site (Lots of links, plus photos), Comune di Montefiascone Site (More City Tourism Links) - Check to see if they've updated their site and have an English counterpart.
Norchia - Another ancient Etruscan town in Lazio. Not many websites, but visually stunning (do a Google image search). In fact, if you're interested in more Etruscan sites and ancient Tuscia (northern Latium/Lazio), visit this website.


For more ideas, visit Slow Trav's website for more day trips from Rome.

Categories: italy, travel, culture, research, rome

posted by JTC @ 9:19 PM 0 Comments

Beautiful Vistas

Visit these sights to experience the best views that Rome has to offer:

-Caffe' Capitolino in Palazzo Caffarelli (supposedly killer views)

-Galleria del Palazzo Senatorio (same here!)

-Isola Tiberina

-Ponte Sant'Angelo
(can see the Vatican from afar, quite spectacular)

-Ponte Cestio

-Ponte Fabricio

-Gianicolo (hilltop)

-St. Peter's dome (pay to go up)

To see great vistas, make the effort!

Categories: italy, travel, culture, research, rome

posted by JTC @ 5:20 PM 0 Comments

Quiet Breaks in Rome

If you want to escape from tourists and sightseeing, consider taking a break in one (or two, or all of) the following places.

-Villa Borghese (take a walk by Giardino del Lago, quieter than most areas of Villa Borghese - click to see more photos)

- Gianicolo (Janiculum) - popular with the Italians on Sunday

- Villa Celimontana (near the Colosseum)

These parks while offering a nice respite from the crowds also provide great a great vista of the Italian scenery.

Categories: italy, travel, culture, research, rome

posted by JTC @ 5:20 PM 0 Comments

Suggested Self-Guided Tours - Using Public Transport

Visit Roma2000's site for their 6 suggested self-guided tours of Rome. All you have to do is buy a metro ticket and hop on the metro or the bus!

Here is one of their suggested itineraries:

Tour 2: Start at Piazza del Popolo and end at Campo dei Fiori.

This tour itinerary starts from Piazza del Popolo and crosses the old city with its monuments; the ancient Campo Marzio brings us to the heart of Rome with the Pantheon and the most famous squares: Piazza Navona, Piazza Farnese and Campo dei Fiori.

Categories: italy, travel, culture, research, rome

posted by JTC @ 10:48 PM 0 Comments

Restaurants

BOLD Restaurants have reviews or websites.

Ristorante da Vicenzo via Castelfidardo 4. 06/484596. Closed Sunday. Moderate.

Ristorante dell’Arte Palazzo delle Esposizioni, via Nazionale 194. 06/4828540. No CC. Inexp.

Da Sabatino via del Boschetto 28. No CC. Inexp.

Armando al Pantheon Salita dei Crescenzi. Closed Saturday evening and Sun.

Da Gino vic. Rosini 4 (b/t Pantheon and Parliament). 06/6873434. Closed Sunday/August. No CC. Inexp.

Fratelli Paladini via del Governo Vecchio 28. Inexp. Panini.

Enoteca Corsi via del Gesu’ 88. Closed Sunday and in the evening. Inexp.South Rome (Testaccio/Trastevere)

Osteria dei Nostri Tempi via Luca della Robbia 34. 06/57300685. 1-3p, 8p-12a. Closed Sun lunch and Sat. No CC.

Trattoria Zampagna via Ostiense 179. 06/5742306. Open for LUNCH only. Closed Sun. No CC.

Piccola Trattoria da Lucia vic. Del Mattonato 2. 06/5803601. Closed Monday. No CC.

Recommended Food Store: Volpetti branch in Testaccio. Via Marmorata 47. 8am – 2 pm, 5pm-8pm. Closed Th. afternoon and Sun.Good street of food stores: Via Flaminia, start from Piazza del Popolo (usu. Tue-Sat) from subway stop A-Flaminio.

La Campana vicolo della Campana 18. 06/6867820. Trattoria. Closed Monday/August. (This is where we had our only Roman meal. Otherwise it was just pit-stops at pizza joints or whatever was open when we had time to eat. The food was good - I'm sure they're used to seeing the tourists by now. I think I enjoyed the freshness of the pasta, however the sauce was too salty on one of ours. Portions were fine. La Campana has an antipasti bar, which they're known for. My mom and I shared stuffed zucchini blossoms - very good. I don't think we had bad food during our trip in Italy.)

Al Bric via del Pellegrino 51. Enoteca. Closed noon.

Lo Scopettaro lungotevere Testaccio 7. 06/5742408.

Dal Toscano via Germanico 58. Closed Monday. (near Vatican)

Da Cesare via Crescenzio 13. Closed Sunday evening/Monday. (near Vatican/Prati)

Delle Vittorie via Monte Santo 58. Closed Sunday (near Vatican)

Hostaria dei Bastioni Via Leone IV 29. 06-397-230-34. Mon-Sat noon-3pm and 7-11:30pm. Closed July 15-Aug 1.

Asinocotto via dei Vascellari 48. Closed Monday/noon. (Trastevere)

Checco er Carettiere via Benedetta 10. Closed Sunday evening. (Trastevere)

Le Maschere (Calabresan cuisine) Via Monte della Farina 29. 06/686-1550. Tues-Sun 7:30-11pm. (Near Largo Argentina, Near Campo De' Fiori & the Jewish Ghetto)

Antonio Bassetti via del Governo Vecchio 18. (near Fratelli Paladini) 06/333-587-0779.

Luna Piena via Luca della Robbia 15-17. (near Osteria dei Nostri Tempi) 06/575-0279.

Da Alfredo e Ada via dei Banchi Nuovi 14. 06/687-8842. (near Antonio Bassetti and Fratelli Paladini, granny’s homecooking)

Il Matriciano via dei Gracchi 55. 06/321.3040.

Remo Piazza Santa Maria Liberatrice 44. (06 574 6270). Open 7pm-12.30am Mon-Sat. Closed Aug. No credit cards. (Testaccio - Italian site)

Cavour 313 (enoteca) Via Cavour 313 (06 678 5496). Open Oct-May 12.30-2.30pm, 7.30pm-12.30am Mon-Sat; 7.30pm-12.30am Sun. June & July, Sept 12.30-2.30pm, 7.30pm-12.30am Mon-Sat. Closed Aug. (Forum)

Al Pompiere Via Santa Maria de' Calderari 38. 06/686 83 77. Jewish quarter.

Hostaria Giulio Via della Barchetta 19. 06/68 80 64 66. On a tiny street between Via Monserrato and Via Giulia.

Colline Emiliane Via degli Avignonesi 22. 06/481 75 38. Near Piazza Barberini. It serves Emilia-Romagnan food.

For more Rome restaurant listings, click here.

For restaurant listings on other Italian towns, click here.

Also Epicurious.com has a listing of restaurants in Rome and Florence you two to taste!
(P.S. Here's info on Barcelona, too!)

Categories: italy, travel, culture, research, rome

posted by JTC @ 12:19 PM 0 Comments

Shopping in Rome

Ok, these are the areas that we shopped during our recent visit to Rome.

In between the Stazione Termini (Train Station) and the Campidoglio, there is VIA NAZIONALE and VIA del CORSO. There are shops on the streets near those major arteries.
The former is where I purchased a couple of pairs of leather shoes, so did my mom. The latter, is a major street with lots of stores and people; it seems that Romans take their Sunday passeggiata - so watch your stuff.

Near the Vatican, go to VIA COLA di RIENZO and the side street VIA OTTAVIANO. Via Cola di Rienzo is more like Via Nazionale, but with more stores, longer, and more of a mix. If you only have one day to go shopping, go to Via Cola di Rienzo and the surrounding neighborhood.

There are other areas you can go window shop, go break, or whatever your pleasure! Check it out with this guide - the main page is in English, but the city streets are in Italian (however, there is a listing of stores, which is in English/Italian).

Shopping in Rome is so much fun!

Categories: italy, travel, culture, research, rome

posted by JTC @ 2:10 PM 0 Comments

My Photos of Beautiful Sights

© vinorosso Ceiling work of Vatican

(Click on the italicized green links for more info and pictures!)
P.S. All photos taken during my trip to Rome in December 2004. All photos © vinorosso


Vatican Museums


St. Peter's Basilica


Colosseum


Roman Forum


Inside St. Peter's


(Just some of the photos I took while in Rome...)

Categories: italy, travel, culture, research, rome

posted by JTC @ 12:10 AM 0 Comments

Learn Italian Online

Under "General Italy Links" - it is hosted by a professor, of Italian origin.

Italians are pretty forgiving, but if you do learn how to say the basics:
Where, How much, Hi, etc. - before you go...

Ciao

Categories: italy, travel, culture, research, rome

posted by JTC @ 5:38 PM 0 Comments

Ciao!

Hi - hopefully this will be an interactive blog - let me know how you guys want me to help!

Check out the Florence blog. I know it's long, but you can also review my Rome trip report when you have the time.

Ciao!

Categories: italy, travel, culture, research, rome

posted by JTC @ 11:20 PM 0 Comments