Discussion
North3rn Monk3y said:
Is the metro similar to say, London Underground? ie ticket machines and automatic barriers?
Pretty much, yes - IIRC you can get a day ticket and the machines have English language mode. Be wary for 'helpful' beggars who try and assist you in buying the ticket, then demand money for doing so. Also watch out for street con-artists, I had a guy get shirty with me after he tried to put a bracelet on my wrist and I told him to sod off.It's a lovely city though, you'll thoroughly enjoy it
BenWRXSEi said:
Whatever you do, make sure you go to the Capuchin Crypt - creepiest place I've ever been! 
Mad, never heard of this one, thanks!Cheers for the underground/bus info. I've been looking at the tour busses which, although are probably more expensive, will take us to the key sites we want to at least start from. There is one from the Termini so we could metro there and then pick up on a bus which would be fine for us.
BenWRXSEi said:
Whatever you do, make sure you go to the Capuchin Crypt - creepiest place I've ever been!
I couldnt find that place when I was there. Must be hidden somewhere. Oh, going from the airport to the centre, use the bus. Costs about é8 return. The train describes itself as 'rapid' or 'express'. Its not. That just means it doesnt stop many other places, it takes longer than you might expect and is more expensive than the bus.
I took my wife there for a surprise 40th birthday trip last November, secured maximum man points by staying at the Hassler Roma, not the cheapest but the location (literally right at the top of the spanish steps), views across Rome and the history of the hotel could not be beaten.
http://www.hotelhasslerroma.com/
From memory they also had a sister hotel across the piazza but can't recall the name of it.
Even though we flew easyjet, the other tip I found could not be beaten was to book a driver transfer - we used Rome Shuttle Limousine, €40 each way which was a similar cost to a taxi and avoided public transport etc. Driver at the gate and a nicely turned out E-Class did the trick.
Due to the hotel location we walked everywhere and had a fantastic long weekend - would go back in a flash; you will love it!
MarkG
http://www.hotelhasslerroma.com/
From memory they also had a sister hotel across the piazza but can't recall the name of it.
Even though we flew easyjet, the other tip I found could not be beaten was to book a driver transfer - we used Rome Shuttle Limousine, €40 each way which was a similar cost to a taxi and avoided public transport etc. Driver at the gate and a nicely turned out E-Class did the trick.
Due to the hotel location we walked everywhere and had a fantastic long weekend - would go back in a flash; you will love it!
MarkG
- Colosseum
- Trevi Fountain
- Pantheon
- Piazza Navona
- Piazza del Popolo
- Worthwhile seeing the Vatican imo, some epic art on show including the Sistine Chapel.
- Roman Forum
- Spanish Steps
If you're planning to see a lot of stuff, might be worthwhile investing in the Roma Card.
All can be done on foot imo.
- Trevi Fountain
- Pantheon
- Piazza Navona
- Piazza del Popolo
- Worthwhile seeing the Vatican imo, some epic art on show including the Sistine Chapel.
- Roman Forum
- Spanish Steps
If you're planning to see a lot of stuff, might be worthwhile investing in the Roma Card.
All can be done on foot imo.
g3org3y said:
- Colosseum
- Trevi Fountain
- Pantheon
- Piazza Navona
- Piazza del Popolo
- Worthwhile seeing the Vatican imo, some epic art on show including the Sistine Chapel.
- Roman Forum
- Spanish Steps
If you're planning to see a lot of stuff, might be worthwhile investing in the Roma Card.
All can be done on foot imo.
I'd agree with that, apart from a couple of buses we walked everywhere (we were staying very central though).- Trevi Fountain
- Pantheon
- Piazza Navona
- Piazza del Popolo
- Worthwhile seeing the Vatican imo, some epic art on show including the Sistine Chapel.
- Roman Forum
- Spanish Steps
If you're planning to see a lot of stuff, might be worthwhile investing in the Roma Card.
All can be done on foot imo.
I'd add Castel Sant'Angelo to your list, it's fascinating.
Been a couple of times now and love it, stayed at the Radison Blu last time, fantastic hotel, and the roof top pool came in handy as it was the height of summer, so half the day sightseeing, half the day catching the rays.
Usual 'big city' rules, they all have 'rough' spots and just keep your wits about you to avoid any issues.
We flew on a 'budget airline' and they sold the bus transfer tickets in flight, and as our hotel was quite near the train station this worked out well.
Usual 'big city' rules, they all have 'rough' spots and just keep your wits about you to avoid any issues.
We flew on a 'budget airline' and they sold the bus transfer tickets in flight, and as our hotel was quite near the train station this worked out well.
If you are travelling by train from the airport to the city when you arrive, one tip, which you may read on the other PH Rome threads, is to ensure that you stamp your ticket in one of the little machines BEFORE you board the train.
If you don't, and the conductor reaches you, you will get fined heavily. They won't speak English (or won't let on to speak English) and no excuses will be entertained.
I've seen them in action and it's not nice way to start the trip. On my first time there I didn't know about this but avoided getting caught with my unfranked ticket as the conductor spent an age busting an unfortunate tourist, who was met by police when the trained pulled into the station.
If you don't, and the conductor reaches you, you will get fined heavily. They won't speak English (or won't let on to speak English) and no excuses will be entertained.
I've seen them in action and it's not nice way to start the trip. On my first time there I didn't know about this but avoided getting caught with my unfranked ticket as the conductor spent an age busting an unfortunate tourist, who was met by police when the trained pulled into the station.
Ahh nice, thanks for the tip!
I've been emailing our hotel and they are able to sort out a private taxi for us to and from the airport for a really reasonable charge.
As the Mrs will want to pack everything including the kitchen sink, I figure its just going to be less hassle and 1 less thing to worry about. Flight get into Rome at 9am and the last thing I'll want to do is drag a suitcase over to the other side of Rome!
We're staying here > http://www.hotelprincipetorlonia.com/en/default.ht...
I've been emailing our hotel and they are able to sort out a private taxi for us to and from the airport for a really reasonable charge.
As the Mrs will want to pack everything including the kitchen sink, I figure its just going to be less hassle and 1 less thing to worry about. Flight get into Rome at 9am and the last thing I'll want to do is drag a suitcase over to the other side of Rome!
We're staying here > http://www.hotelprincipetorlonia.com/en/default.ht...
We had a week in Rome last year. I am not really into city break type holidays but Mrs R was keen to go.
Well, how great was that!! We rented an apartment about 5 mins walk from the Colosseum and the whole week was fabulous. We walked everywhere, saw loads of the sites, did the whole pavement-cafe-culture thing, popped into churches (never would have doing that before) wandered around museums, sat in the squares, browsed the shops... It really was a great time.
Well, how great was that!! We rented an apartment about 5 mins walk from the Colosseum and the whole week was fabulous. We walked everywhere, saw loads of the sites, did the whole pavement-cafe-culture thing, popped into churches (never would have doing that before) wandered around museums, sat in the squares, browsed the shops... It really was a great time.
DJRC said:
see the Vatican if you must but you aren't missing anything if you don't. It's just a ceiling.
Don't pay attention to this ! I think DJRC is thinking about the Sistine Chapel, which is worth a visit if you have time but you do have to walk through a lot of museum to get to it. The Vatican is amazing and covers over 100 acres so hardly just a ceiling, if you only go into the square and St Peter's it is worthwhile.
Corpulent Tosser said:
Don't pay attention to this ! I think DJRC is thinking about the Sistine Chapel, which is worth a visit if you have time but you do have to walk through a lot of museum to get to it.
The Vatican is amazing and covers over 100 acres so hardly just a ceiling, if you only go into the square and St Peter's it is worthwhile.
I agree - the interior of St Peters is built on a very impressive scale indeed. Whereas the Sistine Chapel experience is a little spoilt by the number of people, queues etc.The Vatican is amazing and covers over 100 acres so hardly just a ceiling, if you only go into the square and St Peter's it is worthwhile.
The second time we went to the Vatican it was the day after the Scotland rugby team got beat by Italy, we went to see the Pope give his blessing, he even blessed the Scottish supporters, which was nice of him.
The only 'fly in the ointment' was a Scottish piper playing The Sash, which for those who don't know is a protestant bigot song, fortunately the crowd just enjoyed the tune and didn't know what it was, his idiotic sniggering mates did though.
I wasn't particularly proud to be Scottish at that time and nothing to do with the game loss.
Chris Type R said:
Corpulent Tosser said:
Don't pay attention to this ! I think DJRC is thinking about the Sistine Chapel, which is worth a visit if you have time but you do have to walk through a lot of museum to get to it.
The Vatican is amazing and covers over 100 acres so hardly just a ceiling, if you only go into the square and St Peter's it is worthwhile.
I agree - the interior of St Peters is built on a very impressive scale indeed. Whereas the Sistine Chapel experience is a little spoilt by the number of people, queues etc.The Vatican is amazing and covers over 100 acres so hardly just a ceiling, if you only go into the square and St Peter's it is worthwhile.
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