This picture is deceiving -- people walking calmly across the wide street at a traffic light is a rare occurence in Rome.
The very best piece of advice I can give you about Rome is this: never try to drive in Rome! No matter where in Italy you are when you head there, arrange to turn in your rental car at a train station and to take the train (TrenItalia) into Rome. All trains go to the station called “Termini” at the center of town, and from there you can take a taxi to your hotel. Walking in Rome can be an adventure — crossing the street can be a thrill! Driving should be left to the natives!
I made suggestions in my previous post for the first half of your second week, reserving the latter half for Rome. Three or four days are necessary to really begin to see all that Rome offers the tourist and the person with an interest in its history. Everywhere you walk in the center of the city, pieces of ancient Rome are there. And of course, the Forum, at the center of the ancient city, and the museums on Capitolina Hill above the Forum, hold the remains of that great civilization. You will also need a full day in the Vatican to experience both the basilica there and the Vatican Museum, the world’s greatest. But there’s much more to Rome than ruins and old churches and museums. Near the bottom of the Spanish Steps you’ll find trendy shops and fun people-watching. At the Piazza Navona, more of the same. Restaurants are wonderful! Gelato is everywhere. Rome is a hectic, intense city! It’s not to be missed.
I can recommend two hotels in Rome, but I’m sure there are a great many others that are equally good. Recently my group stayed at Hotel Modigliani near the Spanish Steps. Very well located near the metro and close to many good restaurants and shops, we walked from there on one day to the Forum and Colisseum, and the next day to the Vatican, via Piazza Navona. Not expensive by Roman standards, the hotel was very comfortable and the front desk staff was charming and extremely helpful.
When we returned to Rome at the end of our cruise/tour, my group stayed for one night in a Mercure hotel located northeast of the center of the city, but still on the metro and not too far from the center. The Mercure Piazza Bologna is a modern, business-class hotel with a bar and breakfast area; it’s very comfortable and again, the reception staff was more than patient and helpful. (Hotels designed for business travelers can be very affordable on weekends.)
The Leonardo daVinci airport which serves Rome (known as Fiumicino, code FCO) is located some distance from the city, and getting there can be expensive. I would recommend that you plan to go home on Sunday, as there will be less traffic to fight on your trip the airport — and also so you’ll have as much time as possible in Italy. Flights to the U.S. leave between 8:00 a.m. and noon — there are several in the hour between 10:00 and 11:00. Because you gain six hours during the flight home, you’ll arrive mid-afternoon. Leave your hotel at least three hours prior to your flight time. You can travel to the airport by public transportation and by shared, chauffeured vans or by taxis or limo’s (expensive!) Be sure to plan for this prior to leaving home.
My advice to anyone who asks me about European travel is this: do your homework! Go to the library or bookstore and get several books about the places you plan to visit. Google endlessly. Make frequent use of the excellent website called SlowTrav.com. Choose those areas that appeal to you and mark their locations on a map. Find accommodations nearby. We like to find a week’s worth of places to visit within 100 miles of one another, and to find a place to stay in the center of the circle they make on the map.
For me, preparation for a trip and the anticipation is almost as much fun as being there, and it lasts much longer! Buon viaggio!
Libbie
