Opinion
Why Should You Go To Rome?
Rome is definitely one of our favorite cities in Europe. It’s like a gigantic open-air museum where old Roman constructions meet the more modern and colorful buildings. It is one of he most photogenic city we visited. The weather is extremely pleasant being located in the southern part of Europe and the food is simply delightful. Rome is also a real city, full of life and trendy bars and nice shopping opportunities. If you are looking for romantic escape, to a wine tasting and gourmet stop or a cultural trip, Rome has it all!
CHAPTERS
What You Will Find In This Post
What Is The Best Time To Travel To Roma?
We investigated the web and read guides in order to define when would be the time to go visit the Eternal City. We decided to go there in mid May, as it was, for us, the best compromise regarding prices, weather and the number of tourists.
The weather condition in order to take good pictures is probably one of our main concerns. It was already a little bit busy but not as much as in the summer and temperatures were just amazingly right for both walking all day and chilling in our outdoor terrace Jacuzzi in the late afternoon.
Be aware …May is full of Catholic holy days so choose carefully your dates! If you want to feel the devotion of many Catholics traveling from all around the world to listen to the Pope during these celebrations, bear in mind that most of the Roman sites will be more crowded. If you want to avoid the endless lines, you may want to avoid these catholic celebrations.
For more information, check out our full article on the most beautiful boutique hotels in Rome
Colosseum
Where To Stay In Rome?
The heart of the historic center is with no doubt the most convenient place to stay.
We do love beautiful hotels, nice furniture, beautiful views, and delicate scents… For us a good hotel is 100% part of our global experience when we are traveling… When we started looking for a place to stay in Rome, we were chocked by the prices of the luxury hotels. We realized that a very old school designed 15sqm room with a small balcony would cost over 600 euros…
After hours of research on websites like Trip Advisor, Booking, Splendia, we found the Relais Orso and more specifically the Nietzsche Suite with its incredible terrace, outdoor Jacuzzi, and extraordinary view on Roma’s rooftops. The hotel is amazingly well located (just next to Piazza Navona), it is well decorated with a good balance of old and modern. It reminded us the theme of our first travel together in Bali: Luxury villa with private swimming pools! … (Yes…we sometime define themes for our trips…we know that’s weird!)
View from our terrace at the Relais Orso – Nietsche Suite
What Are The Best Things To Do In Roma?
Rome is definetly one of the must-do city in Europe. You can visit old Roman wonders, eat beautifully or stroll the busy streets that make Rome it so lively. Here is a sneak peak at the different types of things that you can expect when visiting this great city.
How Long Should You Stay?
One of the toughest questions we asked ourselves…« Are 2 days enough in Rome? »…
We would say that the sweet spot lies between 3 and 4 days. We would surely not spend more than a week and would rather come back at another time instead. You can go around Rome easily by foot, and this is what we would recommend because traffic is just impossible. Be aware that there is certain amount of walking time on pebbled roads…and your feet will hurt, so you will long for a foot massage back at the hotel. Having 3 days allowed us to do the must-do at an easy pace. We started early (around 8.00am) to beat the crowds, and came back to the hotel around 3.00-4.00pm to rest our feet and profit from the nice weather on the terrace.
If, for some reason, you only have 2 days, you will have enough time to visit the highlights of the city like the Peter’s Basilica, the Colosseum, Trastevere, the Trevi Fountain…but you may have to rush into things a bit more. So take on very comfortable shoes and start early as, in our opinion, it is always better to go than not going at all…and who knows, if you throw a coin in the Trevi fountain, you may be able to come back if you wished so!
Pictures of the Trastevere neighborhood: upper left: Trastevere square; lower left: Porta Settimiana; right: lively street
Where To Eat?
No wonder why Julia Roberts in Eat pray love has chosen Rome for living a new life! She was searching for beauty and learnt many things about herself when discovering the astonishing Italian food! From the 10 euros trattorias to gastronomic restaurants the infinite food offer in Roma will just blow your mind!!
And this is nearly the problem, there are so many options that making a choice is very hard. It took us a tremendous amount of time to scan the menus, the areas, the pros, the cons… and we are glad having done so (the only restaurant we didn’t check before was a complete tourist trap!)
The best gastronomic restaurant we did was La Pergola. This 3-star Michelin located in a luxury hotel offered us an unforgettable show and stirred up all our senses! From the smell and the taste of these amazing dishes to the sight from the pergola where you have a stunning view over Rome that you will find nowhere else….
The best trattoria we did in Rome was Da Francesco! We have friends that are Roman who strongly insisted that we go there. I have to say that, even if it is very well located, without our friend’s recommendation, we would have probably missed this incredible experience! The restaurant from the outside doesn’t look really fancy with its plastic garden chairs on the terrace, but the true magic is coming from the bruschetta and more so from the taste of the delicious crisp wood-fired pizzas.
Best pastas at la Pergola restaurant
Do You Need A Tour Guide In Rome?
Generally speaking, we don’t hire any guide in Europe, and in Rome, the most romantic city in the world, we didn’t want to share our time with a third person 🙂 but we have many friends that were thrilled with their tour guide. Some companies have a real value added and to tell you the truth, when we will come back, we really are eager to book a few tours with these companies:
For an ultimate luxury experience
You can go for IMAGO ARTIS. The very high-end « Elite Destination Management Company » seems able to bring you on unbeaten path like a noble villa with amazing panoramic view over Rome, exclusive sites like a church with an incredible view over the Roman Forums… The many delighted reviews described how the company knows every corners of the city and offers unforgettable memories to their clients…and they have quite exclusive ones from Jeff Bezos to Natalie Portman… they aree used to cater to your every need and they manage to open doors that are normally off limits for the public like the wonderful gardens of Knights of Malta.
For a more social experience with locals
You can try to book tours through Withlocals. The concept is really cool as they put you in touch with locals who are offering their services. The tours they offer are personnalized, and original: from going shopping with a Vogue Stylist to local food tasting and more traditional visit. Each tour can be customized and you can often choose the guide amongst several options.
For Dan Brown’s fans
In another style, for Dan Brown’s fans, the Angels and Demons tour was made for you! You will decode the riddles of Rome, discover who the Illuminati were, decode the secret messages hidden in Bernini sculptures and Galileo texts, enter the Church of Illumination for a glimpse of “Il Passetto,” the secret passage connecting the Vatican to the notorious Castel Sant’Angelo!
An interesting door in Vatican City
Useful Tips And Info For Preparing Your Trip
Buy The Roma Pass In Advance
Don’t forget to buy the Roma Pass (you can buy it here : romapass ) in order to avoid the infinite lines that can cost you hours! We were so happy to walk pass all the people queuing with our pass in our hands (I know we should be ashamed, but honestly… we’re not!).
Walk By Night In Rome
As said previously, Rome is for us the most beautiful city in the world, with endless photo opportunities. One of our best advice would be to walk by night in the streets, when all the illuminated monuments reveal another aspect of themselves. You will get the best of both world: you will wander in the lively Roman streets, and you will be able to take shots with less crowd on the sites. In addition, you can stop by one of the numerous terraces in order to enjoy a drink!
And if you ask yourself, is Rome safe to walk at night? We would tell you that we did a lot of walking by night in the touristic area and we felt safe. Obviously like in other cities, try not to look like a tourist with pockets full of cash… but it is basic common sense.
Another concern we often hear is « how bad is pickpocketing in Rome ? ». We are still wondering why this city has such a bad reputation, yes there are pickpockets in Rome and they are targeting tourists, just like any other big cities though… if you take the right precautions you won’t have any problem! Rome is a safe city.
Is Rome Expensive?
Rome is an expensive city, but it is possible to travel there on a budget.
It is important to note that most of the best things we have visited in the Eternal City were outside (architectures, streets…) and it was just free to enjoy… The only sights we paid for were probably the most disappointing ones. also, the first Sunday of the month, state museums and archeological sites are free in Rome, so if you are ok with the crowds it can be an option. On the food side, you can easily eat for an average of 30 euros per day (of course forget the good Chianti for that price :-)). Accomodation is a bit more problematic: we felt that hotels were very expensive in Rome (and in Italy more generally) and sleeping out of the city is really a hassle that is not worth it. On the bright side, in cities like this Airbnb can really be a good option if you are on a budget as you will have all the commodities close by and won’t need that much service. Now, if you’re wondering whether Gucci is less expensive in Rome? …unfortunately, the answer is no All the brands, even if they are Italian are at quite the same price than in the rest of Europe.
How Much Should I Tip In Rome?
And now, the question that will interest especially my American fellows! In Rome, service is included, so it’s important to be clear, you don’t have to tip. The Italians themselves only give a tip when the service is exceptional… The idea is absolutely not to discourage anyone from giving a tip, but Italians mostly tip if the person has tried to reach the extra mile. If you do tip in a restaurant, we would recommend not to give more than 10 percent of the check (more is unnecessary). In bars, or in taxis you can leave your extra change if you are happy with the service. They don’t expect any tips, and don’t worry, the taxi already charge you numerous extras (for luggages, night fare, pick-up fare)…
Vatican City
What Is The Best Way To Visit Rome?
The best and only way to really feel and visit Rome is by walking. People often wonder if Rome is a walkable city? and the answer is a big YES. You’ll never get bored, all the streets are different, we were amazed by the architecture mix we encountered. Don’ forget that many of the best sites are clustered together in traffic free zones.
Another cool way to visit Rome would be by renting a Vespa but for this week end, we were just in the mood of walking… and I have to say Julien already drives like mad person (being Italian and all) so I didn’t want him to go crazy on Roman streets 😉
Don’t rent a car, there is traffic jam, a lot of streets are pedestrian zones and it is impossible to park… Public transportation and taxis are really cheap so if you really need to get somewhere by car, it may be a better option.
How To Get To Rome?
By Plane : All roads leads to Rome, but the easiest way remains the plane. Italy is the 5th most visited country and Rome itself attracts more than 40 million passengers in its two international airport each year. Beware if your airport is not Fiumicino or Ciampino you may land far from Rome. Fiumicino Airport (FCO : official name Aeroporto Leonardo da Vinci) is the largest airport in Italy and a 35-45 min taxi ride from the city center and Ciampino Airport (CIA, crazy isn’t it?) is the second most important airport in Rome and also a a 35-45 min taxi ride from the city center.
From the US you will find many direct flights (NY, LA, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Philadelphia, Washington DC…) and sometimes with several flights per day. Our Canadian friends also have some direct flights (Montreal, Toronto…).
If you already are in Europe, and if you are well organized and flexible, you can visit the Italian capitale for less than 50 euros with Easyjet, Vueling (we had too many problem with this company so we won’t recommend), Ryanair (if you’re ready to takeoff from an off the beaten path airport ;))
By Train: if you plan to discover Italy and visit other cities, train can be an excellent option (Ally and I are not really into it but some friends of ours find it is a cool way to travel in Europe). The high speed trains (Frecciarossa) connect Rome to Florence in one hour and half, and Rome to Milan in Three hours. Other slower trains exist and connect Rome to many other cities in the country. But if you come from Paris for exemple, the train is less of an option: more expensive than a plane, and the quickest would take you almost 10 hours versus 2 hours by plane. Julien took the overnight train once in order to reach Rome from Paris, it took 14 hours and the shared cabins were far from bucolic…
By Bus: You can find companies like Eurolines that operates throughout Europe, but like the train, in our opinion regarding the time and the price it is not a good option.
By Car : It can always be an option, depending of what kind of trip you are planing.. if the idea would be to tour in Italy, renting a car could be nice but we would avoid it for the Roman part of your trip.
By Boat: Even if it is not our cup of tea, many cruises stop in Citavecchia port and organize a one or two day trip.
What To Pack For A Roman Escapade?
Very important to take good comfortable shoes, I had ballerina with thin soles and I suffured … a LOT. This is the first time I struggle like this with the walking… My feet were all swollen and red! If I had to re-do this I would go for stylish sneakers.
Italians tend to dress well, so don’t be surprise if you go to a restaurant in the evening and people are dressed “casual smart”. So up to you if you want to fit in or arrive with your crocs and bermudas 😉
Than it really depend on the season but if like us you’re going in May, it is hot and you will walk a lot so light clothes and a light jacket at night.
If you plan to visit churches, don’t forget to take a scarf to cover your shoulders (just in case!)
Our Roma Picture Gallery
We’re not professional photographers, Rome made it easy for us. The only thing you really need is a wide angle camera/lens. These are a selection of our most beautiful pictures of Rome. Hopefully, they’ll make you want to go there!
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