Rome - Give me the basics
Discussion
I'm off for a long weekend city break in October with some family. I have not considered it as a break before but I am open minded and have done a little research and very quickly became swamped by the huge array of attractions there.
What should I do/read/watch to get into this ancient Roman stuff? I want to be educated
Is an Opera worth seeing? I just want to get the most out of the experience. Thanks 
What should I do/read/watch to get into this ancient Roman stuff? I want to be educated
Is an Opera worth seeing? I just want to get the most out of the experience. Thanks Take plenty of money, wear comfortable shoes.
We went for a long weekend there last year and found it most enjoyable - I think I've put info on here a few times now as there have been a lot of Rome threads since then.
The "basics" are all quite obvious and feature on most maps - we found the bus tours to be a convenient way to get around the place and just hopped on and off as we fancied and walked between other bits. Lots to see, far too much for a short stay, personally I found the cat sanctuary quite interesting but then I like cats
Colosseum - big queues can be avoided by booking onto a pre-paid trip, just make sure they have a time slot and aren't just selling you tickets to stand in the same queue as everyone else.
Our hotel was very good at recommending places to eat and on a couple of occasions booked tables for us which meant we were then really looked after.
Locals pay less for things in some of the shops than you will and a lot of items don't have prices on.
The train from the airport to Rome is very good.
Lots of other stuff but I should get on with some work.
Download free travel guide from www.bookboon.com, they appear to have most major tourist destinations, have looked a couple of the places we have been to in the past and they seem to be ok
The train from the airport to the city is good, make sure you get your tickets stamped in the little machines before you get on. Otherwise even though you have a valid ticket, if it hasn't been validated, the conductor will come round and try to charge you again. On the way back, make sure you have enough in cash, they dont take cards.
We had 3 nights there. Did the Coliseum, try and get there early to beat the queues. Then we walked through Palentine Hill. Then on to the Pantheon, and the Trevi Fountain. Pantheon is lovely, my favourite place. Also there is a fantastic ice cream shop near by that has over 100 different flavours. Trevi fountain is nice, but always busy, looks good at night too.
Next day we went to St Peters Basilica. Well worth the trip to walk up the inside of the dome for excellent views. Then went to the Vatican. Wasnt over whelmed by it to be honest, but there wasnt a queue to get in. Over priced though. If I had to wait to get it I would not have bothered.
Food near any attraction is over priced. ( 9 euros for a beer, 5 euros for a bottle of water). Worth walking a little way out as its much cheaper. Also get in a good up to date map. Wear comfy shoes, we did a lot of walking and our feet were sore at the end of the day. Rome hotel rooms are small too, and the bathroon was tiny, but that is the norm.
We had 3 nights there. Did the Coliseum, try and get there early to beat the queues. Then we walked through Palentine Hill. Then on to the Pantheon, and the Trevi Fountain. Pantheon is lovely, my favourite place. Also there is a fantastic ice cream shop near by that has over 100 different flavours. Trevi fountain is nice, but always busy, looks good at night too.
Next day we went to St Peters Basilica. Well worth the trip to walk up the inside of the dome for excellent views. Then went to the Vatican. Wasnt over whelmed by it to be honest, but there wasnt a queue to get in. Over priced though. If I had to wait to get it I would not have bothered.
Food near any attraction is over priced. ( 9 euros for a beer, 5 euros for a bottle of water). Worth walking a little way out as its much cheaper. Also get in a good up to date map. Wear comfy shoes, we did a lot of walking and our feet were sore at the end of the day. Rome hotel rooms are small too, and the bathroon was tiny, but that is the norm.
We took a punt on a tour guide around the Colosseum and Palatine Hill. It was fantastic and well worth it (there will be crap ones but we got lucky!) Colosseum bit was good but short (not really much to talk about) but then Palatine Hill was brilliant, the chap had a lot to talk about and was very entertaining. I think we would have missed out on the finer details as essentially it was 'just a bunch of rocks' but when accompanied with a story it really came to life.
Based on the experience we also paid for a tour guide around the Vatican. There was sooo much stuff that you'd have spent ages going round. A guide made it more interesting and told us about the important things... again, you'd probably just have dismissed certain parts has 'a painting' or 'a statue'.
Based on the experience we also paid for a tour guide around the Vatican. There was sooo much stuff that you'd have spent ages going round. A guide made it more interesting and told us about the important things... again, you'd probably just have dismissed certain parts has 'a painting' or 'a statue'.
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