10 Tips for a Rome Vacation
What extra information do you need to enjoy your trip to Rome the most?
Here are some exclusive tipps you won’t find anywhere else.
One day to visit the Vatican and the other for the Colosseum and Forum Romanum, so two days are enough to experience Rome, right?
Wrong! Rome was not build in one day and you definetly should stay at least for 5 days. While the Vatican and the Colosseum are very important tourist magnets, they are just the surface of what Rome has to offer.
With around 1.000 Churches, 100 Museums and dozens of archeological areas, catacombs, Piazze, Palaces, fountains and much more, the city offers endless posibilities.
- The Via Cola di Rienzo and the Via del Corso offer everything you need for a shopping trip.
- The Via Appia Antica with its legacy as mother of all roads.
- The Papal Major Basilicas with the Holy doors and Relics.
- The exclusive Museo Nationale Romano with the Palazzo Massimo, Terme di Diocletiano, Palazzo Altemps and Crypta Balbi.
- The impressive fountains like the Fontana di Trevi, Fontana del Tritone, Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, Le Quattro Fontane and the Fontana San Marco.
- The incredible views from the Gianicolo, the Pincio and the Orange Gardens.
- Visit Ostia Antica and Tivoli.
I can’t say this often enough, check out “The Fork”. Making reservations with this app will often secure you a discount on the meals and drinks for up to 50%. (The discount depends on the day, time and amount of persons) So if you are traveling on a budget or prefer spending your money on guided tours or shopping, then this app will be one of your biggest money savers.
The process is simple, reserve through the app. When you arrive at the restaurant, just tell them you made an reservation and you are good to go. The discount will be applied automaticaly.
If you are walking around the city and don’t want to reserve a table, there are a few rules to avoid a bad experience.The popular rule of avoiding tourist/important places does not really apply one to one to Rome. The city is filled with popular places, piazze and so on.
Instead follow this steps:
- Does the restaurant have a person exclusivly to attract customers? If it does then avoid it.
- Does it not have an public menue? If it does then avoid it.
- Does the menue not have prices listed? If it does then avoid it.
If the answer to all the questions is no, then you have found at least an decent place. If it’s also filled with locals then you just hit the jackpot.
Rome is a city that wants to be explored and will definetly reward you with impressive sights for doing so. If you have an appointment use your navigation system but if you have some time, then experience all the Eternal City has to offer.
No need to worry about security, the city is completly save. Just don’t walk while throwing money around. No reason to attract possible pickpockets.
While doing reservations for the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are definetly recomended, there are some attractions that can only be visited if you reserved on time.
- The Domus Aurea, the golden palace from Emperor Nero
- The Palazzo Quirinale, the old summer residence of the Popes, of the Royal Family and now the residence of the Italian President
- The Palazzo Farnese, where the embassy of France is now located are just a few examples.
These are just a few examples.
Avoid the mistake of booking a last minute guided tour in front of the attractions. Not only will you pay for overprized tours, they also have huge groups, making it impossible to satisfy the needs and questions of all participants, but also the quality, the informations and therefore the overall experience will be subpar.
You are also running into the risk of falling for a scam. You might buy a guided tour that never existed.
So please do yourself a favor and research and book your tours ahead. I personaly suggest booking private tours or tours with small groups. You can check out our semi-private tours here.
During winter it’s rarely a problem but during the hot summer days you definetly have to remember the dress code. Rome is the capital of the Catholic Religion and is filled with holy and sacred places. Because of that shoulders, back and knees have to be covered. If you can’t bear the heat then bringing an extra cloth to cover yourself is an solution.
While not being a mandatory thing, wearing comfortable shoes is highly advised. There will be lots of walking during your Rome visit. Also having a refillable water bottle is an great thing, because it can be refilled on hundreds of fountains for free. Do not worry about the quality of water, it is from some of the best springs in the world.
If you are using an audio guide or are in an guided tour with a big group, you will get some one use headphones. They usually consist of one earbud, have an terrible audio quality and are extremly uncomfortable. Luckily you can plug in your own headphones and enjoy the tour without pain in the ears.
If you bring an audio splitter then you can even save some money by easily sharing one audio guide with two persons.
Even though the churches in Rome seem like museums, and with their priceless artwork, cost an unimaginable fortune to maintain, they are always free to visit.
While visiting the archeological areas of the churches might cost a bit, never pay someone to visit the church. It’s a scam and in such a case, please inform the local authorities.
While walking around the city, you will regularly come across fountains known as "nasoni". All of them, in fact, even most of the decoration fountains, have drinkable water.
There are so many different foods to try besides pizza. If you get the chance try:
- Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe
- Pasta alla Carbonara
- Bucatini all'Amatriciana
- Carciofi alla Romana
- Trippa alla Romana
- Coda alla Vaccinara
Treasures of Rome – Rome Guided Tours
Roberto Alois Lautenschlager Kung
Via Tibullo 16, 00193 Roma RM
“ROMA AETERNA EST”
Rome is eternal – (Albius Tibullus)