Rome, the Eternal City, the city of love, a city that has a lot of tags attached to its name. A city that is immune to modernity, chaotic and it’s like an oven during the summer months. Rome inspires all of us and we have to live it with all our senses. It enters our heart and astonishes us. It seems to have come out of a movie, it’s covered with the white color of marble and it smells like cheese, tomato and basil. In our last post we showed you our 21 favorite, magical places in the city and this time we want to give you some tips to make your visit even more enjoyable and help you to save some money, too.
1. When to visit Rome
Rome can be visited during the whole year. The winter months are never really cold, although locals say that there has been some change in this during the last few years. Fall and spring are the best periods to visit, when the climate is just perfect and this is when the parks are the most beautiful. Summer usually is really hot and visiting the city can be very exhausting. If you visit the city during the months of July and August, drinking lots of water during the day is fundamental to avoid dehydration. We don’t recommend to visit Rome during Christmas, Easter and May 1, when usually everything becomes full and prices become ridiculously high.
2. How to get to the city from the airport
There are two airports close to Rome: Fiumicino (FCO) and Ciampino (CIA), both having good connection with the city center. From Ciampino, which is situated 15 km from the city, the cheapest way is taking a shuttle bus of the Schiaffini company, the price is 3.9 euros and the bus leaves us at the Roma Termini railway station in the city center. From Fiumicino (30 km from Rome), the best option is to buy a return ticket for a shuttle bus with one of the several companies, the return trip costs 8 euros.
– If you fly with Ryanair, you will probably offered a ticket on board, and even though they tell you it is cheap, it’s more expensive than the tickets you can buy at the terminal.
– We really advise you against taking the bus of the Terravision company. It’s a company of shamefully bad service, bad manners and in many cases people can’t take the bus they want on the return trip (risking to lose the flight). we saw many travelers shouting with them desperately.
3. How to move around in the city
Although the quality of the metro service can’t be compared with that of many European cities, that is, there are still only two metro lines and traffic can be chaotic, public transport is satisfactory in general. What is a little bit more difficult to get used to is that you will need to practice your fighting skills when you try to get off the metro, as many people try to get on as soon as they open the door. The daily ticket costs 6 euros, and there are 3-day and weekly tickets too.
Rome is not a typically dangerous city, but as in most European big cities, pickpockets are never on holiday, so take care of your belongings, especially in the crowded areas.
4. Where to sleep in Rome
In Rome there are all types of accomodations, from cheap hostels to luxury hotels. When people visit cities like Rome, they tend to forget that the best option is staying in a central neighborhood away from the typical touristic itineraries. This way you not only save money on accomodation, but you have a better chance to get a taste of the authentic local life of the city. Some of the neighborhoods that are highly recommendable and well connected to the center are: Nomentano, San Giovanni, Ostiense, Monteverde, Flaminio, Trieste and Monte Sacro.
5. What to see in Rome
In our last post we have given you plenty of suggestions for not missing out on any of the most beautiful attractions of the city. However, Rome is probably the biggest open-air museum in the world, that is you don’t need to pay for experiencing the magic of its past, you just have to get lost in the narrow streets of the city, where you will bump into beautiful buildings, old churches, Roman ruins and marvelous squares without even knowing the name of most of these wonderful places. Every inch of this city has hundreds of years of history, waiting for to be explored by you.
6. Where to eat in the city
Rome, just as other touristic cities, is full of restaurants close to the main attractions that are usually expensive and are not always of the best quality. The first tip we could give you is to try to move away from the more touristic areas, although in the case of Rome it’s probably easier saying then actually doing it. We can simply recommend you to find some restaurants with home made food (these places are usually called “trattoria“) in the less frequented streets, and as usual, the best option is following the locals or at least asking them. In the restaurants in Italy they usually charge you the cover, the price of which is not written in the menu, it’s better asking than having unpleasant surprises.
If you travel on a low budget, the best option is eating a slice of pizza (“pizza al taglio”) which you will find everywhere. It’s not as good as the pizzas you can eat in a regular pizzeria, but it’s usually quite decent and very cheap. Don’t leave without trying a good Italian pizza and an ice cream. You can find these in really every corner of the city, we can recommend you the Da Ivo Pizzeria that you can find in a less touristic street of the popular Trastevere neighborhood. It’s a place mostly frequented by locals, the service is quite slow, but when you are in Rome, you can’t be in a hurry. The most antique ice cream shop is the “gelateria Giolitti” where amongst other flavours you can even try an ice cream that tastes like champagne.
If you have any interesting tips for those who are going to visit Rome, please share that with us in the comment section!
My top tip: go hungry!!!
That’s the best tip Raul!:)
Great bread and more at ‘Romeo’ near the Ottaviano metro. 2 blocks away.
Also hotel Tuscolana
Thanks for your tips!
My first time in Rome I was two months pregnant in the middle of July. I tend to walk everywhere when I travel but my feet were never sore in my life. I had a wonderful time but never will I go mid-summer again… or pregnant 😉 Great tips!
Yeah, summer can be really exhausting in Rome. Actually I have never been there in summer, but my cousin lived there for a while, so I have some first-hand information on this issue:) Thanks for your comment!
Great tips guys. I also love street food at a place called 00100, they offer ‘trapizzini’ which are pizza bread sandwiches filled with traditional Roman delicacies such as abbacchio (roast lamb) or pajata (some sort of offal, delicious though). So much to see and do in Rome, not to mention so much to eat!
Wow, I know “tramezzini”, but never heard about “trapizzini” (I should ask Rachele), we also like eating in Rome! thanks for the great tips!
Great tips. I was there a few years back in October and it was super hot but I still had a great time. Rome is a great city: very walkable and the metro is quite useful.
Thanks Marsha for your comment!
Rome is the one place people are surprised to find I haven’t been to. It’s definitely on my must visit list though.
Yeah, I think you should give it a go in one of your next trips, Rome is an essential place to visit!
One of my favourite cities! I agree with the visiting out of season tips too, it’s lovely at any time of year! 🙂
Yeah, Rome really is great during the whole year, summer is the toughest season to visit, but with lots of water and ice cream you can manage:)
I am writing down your tips and bookmarking this page. Thanks so much for the help trip planning.
We really appreciate if our post can be of any help! I hope your trip will turn out great!
Awesome advice!! Do you know if homestays or house sitting is common in Rome? When the day comes when we visit Italy, I’d love to live like a local and try to avoid the hotels. Our friend just invited us to go to his hometown, Venice this summer so maybe we will finally make it over there!
In Europe there are several webpages to find accommodation in people’s flats, instead of hotels. AirBnB and Wimdu are probably the most popular. The other option is Couchsurfing, but of course with that you have to be lucky to get hosted (have a proper profile, etc..) If you come to Venice, don’t hesitate to contact us, Rachele is from there, we can even meet up if our visit to her parents coincide with your travels!
That would be fabulous! 🙂 I want to go this year but it’ll probably have to be next year. I can’t wait!
I am sure we’ll meet, sooner or later!
I love Rome we visited a few years back but made the mistake of going a week before Easter. Some of the best pasta we ate was a little restaurant near the Spanish Steps. It was so good that we went back twice. Great tips.
Thanks Carmen! I hope you can get back to Rome one day in a less busier period!
Genuinely useful post – thanks. We are thinking of a family trip to Rome, and not sure what time of year to go. We were thinking of October, and that seems reasonable from your post? What do you think? Thanks again
I think October is also a great month to visit, although some people told us that it was too hot even in that month. I think it’s a question of some luck too, but you’ll be OK. I am happy if our post helped, feel free to contact us for any matters, my fiancée is from Italy, so she will probably be able to give you information!
Great tips! I would love to go back one day. You’re right in saying the city is like one big open air museum. There is just so much to see! And all that food. I still dream of all the gelato, pizza and pasta I consumed. So good.
Yeah, it’s sure that Rome is not the best place if someone’s on a diet. We also eat lots of carbohydrates during the days we go there, but it’s just too good to resist! Thanks for your comment!
Another great list of tips!! I think it would be a beautiful place to visit in the spring. The flowers blooming would make the perfect backdrop for the historical architecture of the city.
Spring is beautiful there, although don’t expect such beauty of flowers as you have in Taiwan, probably that’s really unique! Thanks for your comment!
Its been a long time since I visited Rome or Italy, but this is a pretty good guide! Nice post guys! I found that Rome, despite being pretty big, if your feet are up to it, is a great city for walking because you never know what will be around the next corner. Thanks for sharing!
I fully agree with you Andrew that it’s better walking as much as you can, since there are hidden gems everywhere, and if you take the metro, you just loose them. Thanks for commenting!
These are great tips! I haven’t been to Rome yet but it’s high on my list, so I’ll bookmark this for when I do finally get there.
Love the first photo, btw. 🙂
From Barcelona there are always really cheap flights to get to Rome! I hope you can visit this magnificent city soon!
Great tips! I have been twice, both times in Summer, and I would definitely recommend going in the shoulder season and it was so hot and crowded when I was there. Still love it though and can’t get enough of Roman style pizza – I actually prefer it to Napoli style (Shock horror!)
I agree with you that in summer the weather is really hot in Rome. You have to eat loads of ice cream, that’s the only way to cope with that!:) The problem is that most people know that the weather is like this, so the shoulder season is not much less crowded.
Great tips for visiting Rome! You are so right about pizza al taglio. It was very good at any place we’ve tasted it. And there are so many varieties of toppings to choose from. We stayed all the time at my aunt’s place in Rome, and obviously had meals cooked and prepared for us at home. But we’d always had a slice of pizza too (my aunt would have find this a pure waste of money, so our pizza escapes we had kept secret 🙂 )
Haha, I understand what you say, it’s so hard to resist a slice of pizza with all those different toppings! Thanks so much for commenting!
Great tips! I visit Rome in summer and found it too crowded and too hot. When I do revisit someday it will be in spring or autumn for sure. My favourite thing to do in Rome was just getting lost in the streets and discovering hidden squares and quiet local only cafes.
That’s the best Jen, just getting lost in the narrow streets of the city. If you go in Spring, the weather will be much better, but in Rome there’s always crowd:)
Thanks for great tips. Also, I totally love the first pic.
Thanks Zofia, I am glad if you liked it!
thanks for sharing that beautiful experience in rose I think if I ever went to Italy I would want to see Tuscany and that area
Thanks for your comment!
Great tips! I never would have thought to avoid religious holidays but it certainly makes sense! This will be great for when my husband and I make it to Europe someday! 🙂 -Alexandra
Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things
Thanks Alexandra! I hope you will have a wonderful trip in Europe and Rome will be one of the best part of it!
Great Tips i loved Rome so much
Thanks Wesley! I am glad you liked them!
I loved Rome! I was there last spring and it was still 30 degrees everyday! I can’t imagine being there in July or August!
Yes, in July and August it’s really hard to cope with the weather there!
Great tips for visiting Rome – Loved my short time there and can’t wait to go back! Thanks for linking up to the #SundayTraveler!
Thanks Ashley for your comment! It’s always a pleasure to link up!
Totally agree about going in fall, its when we went and the lack of tourists made it SO much more enjoyable.
I am glad you skipped the crazy amount of tourists and went in fall! I am sure you had a wonderful time!
Great tips. I was just there this spring and it’s certainly a good time to go. Have also been over New Year and though it’s a bit pricey the atmosphere is well worth it. Trastevere is terrific no doubt!
I can imagine that there’s a special atmosphere over New Year, so probably it’s worth paying the extra money!
Terrific tips! All I can think about right now (other than how beautiful Rome looks) is digging into some real, authentic Italian pizza… mmmmmm!
I can fully understand what you are thinking about:) Italian pizza is irresistible.
I’ll be in Rome for the first time in 4 weeks. This is very helpful. Thanks!
Great to hear that our post was helpful, have a nice time in Rome!
Great tips! When we were still students, my sister and I visited Rome in July and it was so hot that it was very difficult to walk around and see the sights. Would love to go back someday in the spring, fall (or even winter) and be able to walk around and really enjoy Rome.
Thanks Matilda, I hope you can get back to Rome one day when the weather is more bearable!
I really appreciate how spot-on this is: Rome in unbelievably beautiful but there are cons to it as well (subway, heat and pickpockets). I would also avoid going the last 2 weeks of August when the city is deserted because everybody is on holiday, and you’d have a really hard time finding a cafe or shop that’s open. And Giolitti!!! Love it!
6 Tips for your trip to Rome that you share here are very useful for me. I am still very confused about what should be prepared when on vacation abroad. Thank you for sharing your holiday experience at the end of the year
Enjoyed your Rome tips. Your photo of classic domes through the flowers is particularly charming, too!
In our experience, service/booking issues are not uncommon with the airport shuttle buses from Fiumicino and we would suggest spending the extra money for the Leonardo Express train. It costs a lot more, but it is clean, secure, and takes at least half the time, as well.
Thanks for such a useful article, you beautifully explained everything about Rome from travelling there to accommodation to the places where to eat, lovely content. 🙂