Going to Rome - general questions?

Question

Hi

Me and my girlfriend are thinking of going to Rome. I'd like some advice regarding certain things.

>> Our visit is centred around the cultural and religious parts of Rome. We don't really have an interest in excursions out of the city. Where are viable places to stay bearing in mind we won't be driving and would like to be somewhere quiet but a maximum of say 30 minutes from cheaply getting into Rome (either by train/bus etc)?

>> What can we expect the weather to be like late August/early September?

>> A lot of companies thrown up by google, seem to be charging about 1000 euro for 6 nights in a villa close to Rome; does this sound about right for the time of year as well (it needs to sleep 3 with 2 bedrooms at least - 1 child)?

>>Capital cities are always more expensive; could someone give me a rough guide on how much the following is:

Lunch (light lunch of perhaps pizza or pasta dish, or sandwich etc)

3 course evening meal

public transport

any major attraction

Answer 1

I'm Italian so excuse my English... i can tell you that Rome is really expensive!!! you can move around the city with the tube that is fast and not very expensive... about lunch and dinner you can found everywhere place where you can eat pizza or pasta... finally an advice... you'd better  go to fontana di trevi in the evening because it's more beautiful!! bye bye

Answer 2

hi! I'm Italian...In Rome you must visit Vatican, Colosseo, and all monuments in the centre (Piazza di Spagna, Piazza Navona,...) where there are various shops.

For food there are various possibilities: pizza is good everywhere, but there are also salad bar,restaurants...

Remember only that in Italy shops close at 7.30 p.m., and most restaurants don't give you food after 11 p.m....

Transports are very cheap: you can get bus or tram at 1 euro, or 3 euro and travel all the day, but also train is cheap! here you can find a guide:

http://www.romecity.it/EnglishVersion.ht...

Answer 3

Hi,

Try http://freereservation.com/ for apartments. I stayed at an apartment a block from the Colosseum in May and it was perfect. I could not have asked for a better room... I've read enough horror stories about hotels within the same price range (about $100 euro a night, can't beat it!!) The price included breakfast coupons for a nearby coffee shop. Also use tripadvisor.com.

Answer 4

not a clue. but know: they use goat cheese in Italy.

HAVE FUN :] vita bella.

Answer 5

Hello,

Rome is a wonderful place to visit.  

If you are interested in culture, you might want to stay in Rome rather than staying outside Rome in a villa.  Check out venere.com for rooms in the Trastevere area.  This is authentic Rome.  Here you will find great family run restaurants and shops and in the evening you will truly get a sense of what the culture is like.   If you decide to stay in a villa outside of Rome, 1000 euros for 6 nights is not bad.  That's about 166 euros a night.  You can also check out venere.com for these types of accomodations.

You won't need or want a car while in Rome.  The city has a wonderful public transportation system.  There are two metro lines that get you close to most of the major attractions.  There are buses that run all over the city.  Taxi's are inexpensive and everywhere.  

The weather in August/September is going to be hot and humid.  Think of Florida on a summer day.  It's about the same.  

Rome is not an expensive city to visit.  You can find great hotels and restaurants all over the city. You can get  a large slice of pizza and a soda for under 5 euros.  A pasta lunch with soda will cost about 7 euros.  Keep in mind the portions are very large.  A ham and cheese sandwich will cost about 1.50 euros.  If you are looking for more authentic places to eat, make sure they don't have an english menu or a menu with pictures.  These are the touristy restaurants and tend to be a little more expensive and not as good.  You will find better restaurants if you go a block or two away from the  normal tourist routes.  You can get a nice 3 course meal for about 16 euros.  

Public transportation is very cheap.  A 70 minute metro pass costs 90 cents.  If your child is under 10, it is free.  You can also buy three day or week passes.  Sorry, I don't know the prices for those, we never really use the metro.  We find that we just don't need to.  Rome is very small and walking is the best way to go.  This last trip I think we only used the metro  twice in 12 days.  

As for the major attractions: most are free but a few are not.  The colosseum/palatine hill will cost 12 euros, however, you can walk all the way around the colosseum for free.  The baths of Caracalla are also a pay site but well worth a visit.  All musuems will charge for entrance.  Usually it is about 12 euros, maybe less.  Churches are all free, however, you must cover your shoulders and your knees when inside, even children must obey these rules.  The forums, the circus maximus, churches, the pantheon, piazza navona, the spanish steps, piazza del popolo, and the trevi fountain are all free.  

Hope this helps, Donna

Answer 6

Hey :) Well first of all... Rome is gorgeous so I'm sure you'll have a great time. August/September will be hot... specially around that area so pack clothes for summer, but maybe a couple of sweaters for the night because sometimes it gets chilly.

As for hotel reservation, depends on what your looking for, if you're looking for comfortable yet cheap (but not spectacular) I recommend this site: http://en.venere.com/hotels_rome/

As for the subway, it's really good but PLEASE be careful when ridding it, it's very common to get your wallet stolen in it, just keep your eyes open and all will be good.

As for the food, well italian food is great... and Rome isn't as expensive than other large cities like Milano. My advice is to try to eat away from large monuments, for example never get a sandwich in one of those carts in front of the coloseum, they cost waaay too much and they're not very filling. There are a lot of very nice restaurants or trattoria where you can eat nice food and wont end up broke, just have to know where to look.

Good luck and have a great trip!

Answer 7

Wow lot of questions.  I will try to help.  First It will be hot in August and September and very busy.  200 Euros a night is the average for a place to stay.  public  transort is really cheap and easy to use.  The tram runs about 1 euro.  You can find cheap meals if you stay away from the tourist areas.  Such as the spanish Steps.  We spent on average 10 Euros per meal.  Most attractions in Italy are free...Yippee.  I reccomend checking out the Vatican it is worth the hike out there but go early and go with a tour better chance of getting in.  Also, check out the sights at night. Rome is amazing at night.  Do realize Italians eat dinner late in the evening.  Also check out tripadvisor.com and also a resource many people are not using much of these days...a good travel agent.  They still have the inside leads on the best places to stay.  Many of them have first hand knowledge on lodgings.  Have a great trip

Answer 8

I came back from Rome on Monday, fantastic city, and not as expensive as you'd expect.

Stay in Termini area, this is near the main train station.

I stayed in hotel Quisisana, it was €85 per night per room with breakfast. And the staff were lovely.

The area is not only useful for accessing the public transport, it's actually no more than a 15 min walk to the Colloseum, which is a useful starting point for any Roman points of interest.

The best way to discover the sites of Rome, is just to walk around.

Public transport is €1 per journey (trams and buses), you must pre-buy tickets from tabacco shops, you cannot buy from the driver. Services run regularly, but are crowded and pickpockets are rife. You can walk pretty much everywhere, it really is a better option. Make sure you've got a decent map.

It's usually too hot to have a big meal during the day, pizza slices and panini are widely (and cheaply, €2-6 pp) available.

Most Italian restaurants expect you to order at least two courses, so make sure you look at the prices carefully on the menu. You're best bet is to find an area of Rome you like, then walk round two street corners to find the same food for cheaper (I paid no more than €25 for food, incl. wine).

Rome, like Paris, shuts up shop in August, so you may find some smaller attractions/restaurants closed.

Take some time to learn a few basic Italian words, don't take any valuables with you (particularly jewellry) and have a hidden money belt. Overall, Rome is a very safe city, so you should be fine.

Rome is fantastic, the people are friendly, there's loads to see and do, you'll have a really wonderful time.

Answer 9

Rome is an awesome city, and so much to see, you won't regret not going to other cities (at least not on this trip!) First of all, let me tell you, Italy in general can get very expensive, so be prepared for some "surprises" during your visit. Good thing public transportation is cheap, I think it currently runs at 1Euro per ride.

Now for where to stay, every time I go to Rome, I book my hotel through http://www.venere.com, why? because they have listings of places you can't find in other websites, for example, one star hotels, b&b's, or even apartments. However, don't expect too much luxury in these hotels... as I said before, Italy is expensive, but since I guess you just want a place to bunk at night, you can check it out. Also, the listings in the web page show you the area of the city where the hotel is located, and how accesible it is. On my previous visit to Rome, I stayed in a B&B called "Anfiteatro Flavio", it is a couple of blocks away from the Coliseum and relatively inexpensive, not a luxury hotel and very small elevator but accessible to public transportation. I would not reccomend staying near the Vatican, because it is more expensive in that area! About your 3d question, I think you could probably get something cheaper than a villa for 1000 EUROS for a week... check http://www.venere.com

As for the weather, august/september is still summer, just like in North america. Temperatures are comparable.

Food... expensive in Rome. For some pizza, I highly recommend buying it by weight... there are many of these places, one chain that comes to mind right now is "Il Diavoli di la pizza" and basically you go in and they have a counter with different types of big pizzas, you ask for a piece of this and that, you can specify the size of pizza pieces, and they will weigh it and box it for you. This is much cheaper that ordering individual portions of pizza. Also if you can, buy your sodas (pops) in a store by sixes or 12 packs, then keep them in your hotel's frigobar (if you have one), it will save you lots of money.

But if you are out and about (surely this is the case), then there are many little cafe's and trattorias that are not too expensive, just be sure to use your common sense when looking for a place to eat... if the place looks a bit fancier that a regular cafe, then for sure it will be more expensive. Streetside cafes are also expensive. If you want a really good "typical" sandwich... ask for a "hamburgesa"... in a street cart (they are all over the place)... they are yummy! Oh, these also sell calzones and pizza slices... so there you go.

For 3 course meals, and at dinner, I think you will have to be prepared to shell out a bit more money.

Rome attractions:

Coliseum - you have to get inside, but avoid the "tour" offers you will get while waiting in line, unless you can afford it.

Roman Forum - the place of the emperors palaces, it is all ruins now but there are some vestiges of the roman glory.

Pantheon - Impressive monument... it has a dome dedicated to the planets and has the tomb if Vittorio Emmanuelle, Italy's hero.

Piazza Navona - A beautiful baroque style square, surounded by other great buildings.

Fontana di Trevi - This is just an awesome fountain on the facade of a building, it is impresive, showing Neptune and some other marine figures. It is tradition to toss a coin standing with your back to the fountain and over your shoulder.. this means you will return to Rome some day.

Vatican City - If you are catholic, it is the mecca of the religion activities. Even if you are not catholic, it is a must for art lovers. It is amazing! The best renaissance artists adorned this place, like Michelangelo and Rafael.

Vatican museums - I absolutley love this place, it is awe inspiring! this includes the sistine chapel... enough said.

Castel Sant Angelo - This place is a museum but used to be the fortress for the popes and before that, the mausoleum for emperor Hadrian.

Piazza del Popolo - one great plaza to hang out.

Palatine - another place of ancient palaces.

Spanish steps - beautiful and in the heart of Rome.

I could continue on and on... but the best bet is when  you get to rome, go directly to an information kiosk, and they will give you a map for free and recommend you places to go depending on what you want to see.

TIP: if you want to find great bargains, don't miss the sunday flea market Porta Portese... it is HUGE!

For information on Rome's public transportation system, check out this page: http://europeforvisitors.com/rome/resour...

And this page has tons of great information for everything you will need while in Rome:

http://www.enjoyrome.com/tourist/citygui...

Have a great trip!

Answer 10

There are lots of places to stay in Italy if you are looking at Villas thats not that bad but remember villa are different than hotels and they may not have basic things in the room like towels, toliet paper because Itally go there to vacation and they bring everything with them. I use www.selectitaly.com to find good hotels and they have some good ones at cheap prices. Villas are usually not in the city either.  I live here and travel often, plus you would be more in the city so it would be easier for transportion.

Rome's food is not that bad as in other big cities. I suggest to try if possible to stay out of touriest resturants because they are more experienive. Lunch would be anywhere from E5-10 for a sandwich or pizza and soda.

Dinner maybe 15-25 depending if you do the course thing but remember you don't have to do course. Tips are included in the bill and there is no tax!!

Public transport (buses and subway)  is cheap. Subway is the easiest and very cheap but danger watch for pickpocketers they are really bad. They do have this doubledeck bus tour thing where you hop on and off and it goes though out the city and you get on and off all day as much as you want and it about E20 a person and it also gives you a tour or the city.

The weather should be hot but remember shorts and tanks are not allowed in any churchs or the vacation mus.