Rome: see it all in two days

Scott Balaam — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:44:13 +0000

Rome is a wonderful place. It’s a truly beautiful and sometimes mysterious city. Rome was my home for over two years and these were some of the best years of my life so far. During my time there I learned a lot, although it’s an incredible place it also be a hard place to visit. I hope this guide will help you enjoy this famous and ancient city even more.

Getting around

My first recommendation is to avoid taxis! Personally I am not a big fan taxi drivers anyway but in Rome 90% of the time you feel you have been ripped off. Rome is a fairly small place and easy to navigate around. You can get around most of the city using the bus or my favourite option, walking. Avoid the bus tours everyone tries to sell you and buy either a one day travel pass (€4) or a three day pass (€11). This will entitle you to unlimited travel around the whole of Rome.

Where to stay

When you visit Rome like with so many cities, it’s important to chose the right location when you’re looking for somewhere to stay. I have a few suggestions, Piazza Venezia or Piazza Barberini would be a good choice because of their central location. St Peters and The Vatican is a nice area to stay but it can be a little harder to get to other places from. My personal preference would be to stay in Trastevere; this would give you a real Roman experience although there are only a handful of hotels located there.

Termini seems to be a popular tourist location because it has plenty of cheap hotels and is accessible to all the main sights in Rome. Personally I would avoid Termini, the restaurants are appalling and the crime rate here is above average.

Places to see

No matter how many days you plan to spend in Rome it will never be enough. When people come to Rome they often only stay for two or three days so here is a suggested itinerary for two days:

Recommended Itinerary – Day 1

Early Morning: Take a trip to St Peters. If possible try to visit before 9am as you will beat the crowds and get a completely different experience to one when it is full of hundreds of people all taking photos and driving you crazy.
When you have finished at St.Peters follow the surrounding wall around to the Vatican museum (on your way you will see a little ice cream shop on your right, my personal favourite in all of Rome). Again it is best to get to the museum as early as possible as the queues can get ridiculous. Ignore the people trying to sell you tours and head in on your own, you can always hire an audio guide once inside. Allow a couple of hours in the museum.
Once you have finished in the museum jump on the metro and head in the direction of Termini for three stops. Once at Flaminio jump off and head to Piazza del Popolo. I would imagine that you are now feeling a little hungry and in need of a beer. A great stop for excellent pizzas is Pizza Re (Pizza King) on Via di Ripetta.
Next head along Via del Corso and check out the shops. Some shops you might like and some you might wonder who the hell buys the stuff in them. Romans tend to have a unique sense of fashion (as you will see from those around you!).
Follow the signs or your map to the Trevi Fountain, once there beware of beggars and people trying to sell you useless rubbish.
Round the corner from the Trevi Fountain you will find the famous Spanish Steps. Walk and up feel free to count them (if you’re feeling masochistic!). Now with your back to the steps, head right and make your way to Barberini (along Via Sistina).
Once at Barberini you will see one of Bernini’s famous fountains, an impressive sight before the final part of the journey. Walk along Via Barberini until you come to Piazza della Repubblica. If you feel like you’ve earned a special treat, I would suggest sitting outside the Boscolo Hotel and enjoy an expensive but well deserved Mojito.
After a pretty hectic day you might fancy a quiet meal. I would recommend “Perdincibacco” next to St.Peters on Via delle Fornaci. The food here is good and you’ll get a very good litre of house red for just €6.

Recommended Itinerary – Day 2

The first stop is to visit the Colosseum, if possible I would suggest trying to get a ticket in advance, there is a good chance you can get it from your hotel or they will point you in the right direction. Again avoid the offers of tour guides or having your photo taken people dressed up as gladiators. It may look fun but they will charge you over €10 for the privilege!
After you’ve exhausted the Colosseum head to the Forum , here you can walk around ancient ruins for free.
You will end up in Piazza Venezia, from here it would be a good spot to stop for a coffee. In cafes you will rarely see Italians sitting down having a coffee, this is because they know the coffee prices are ridiculous in tourist spots (two or three times the normal price!)
After you’ve enjoyed your probably very expensive coffee, make your way down Via del Corso until you see signs on your left for the Pantheon. The Pantheon is a very busy spot, but a good mix of locals and tourists. Once past the crowds head inside and have a good look around, it’s an incredible monument and my personal favourite.
For lunch you can do as Romans do and stop off for Pizza al Taglio. You will probably have seen various places selling large slabs of pizza. A slice of pizza will be cut off for you depending how hungry you are! They will then weigh it and tell you how much you owe. The pizza in Rome is incredible and very different to what you have probably eaten in the rest of the world!
After the Pantheon and lunch make your way to Piazza Navona and Campo di Fiori (field of flowers, not that you will see any there!), both places are fantastic spots to stop for a coffee (this time it’s worth paying the extra and having a seat). Kick back, take a rest and do some quality people watching. Caffe della Pace behind Piazza Navona it isn’t a cheap stop at €5 for a freshly squeezed orange juice, but it’s well worth it.
Once the sun has gone down, I would highly recommend heading back to the Colosseum to get some photos, an incredible sight with the lights inside turned on.
Then head to Trastevere and take a stroll around the cobbled streets before choosing one of the many excellent local restaurants. I would recommend “Da Agusto” or a lovely trattoria “Da Lucia.” A good tip when choosing a restaurant is that if you see a group of Italians waiting outside it’s a pretty safe bet.
After dinner and maybe an ice cream (you can’t come to Rome and not try their ice cream!) you may fancy a bar or club. Most tourists would head to Campo di Fiori but some of the city’s best night clubs are in Testaccio. Rome’s nightclubs are a pretty unusual experience but definitely worth a visit.

Rome is a wonderful place with so much to offer. If you enjoy it half as much as I did you I’m sure you’ll have a great time!

Rome: the Lowdown

Rome is the capital of Italy and is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber river. Rome is a very historic city and is over two and a half thousand years old and was one of the founding and most powerful cities in Western Civilization. It is often cited as one of the best cities to visit in the world. Rome has hot dry summers, wet and cold winters and pleasant temperatures in spring and autumn. It is not uncommon to have fine beach weather from the start of May until the middle of October.

Good value popular hotels in Rome

WRH Trastevere (One of only a few hotels in Trastevere)
Apollo Hotel (near the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain)
Hotel Artorius (quiet but very central location)
Caesar House Residenze Romane (close to the Colosseum with views over the Roman Forum)
Or search over 30 major travel sites at once to find the best price for all hotels in Rome.

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