Truth to be told, we are not painting addicts, and, even if we enjoyed the sublime artwork displayed in the Vatican Museum…. it was the experience we enjoyed the less during our 72 hours in Rome. It was just impossible to even walk or stop in front of a painting because of the never-ending flood of people. We do understand the passion people feel about this place, and it is truly beautiful but the huge crowds totally faded our experience.

When describing our frustration to our friends, one told us that he had experienced a visit before it opens to public and for sure the experience should be totally different: Visit the Sistine Chapel before it opens to public

Naively, when entering in the Colosseum, we thought we would see Russel Crowe AKA Maximus Decimus Meridius defying Joaquin Phoenix, but, when visiting it, we were a little bit disappointed. Honestly, it was cool to imagine the cheering crowd, the machinery and the cages beneath the arena, but overall, according to us, it was underwhelming. If you are in a rush, or on budget, there is no need to do the visit inside the Colosseum… The real spectacle is outside!

A huge part of your pleasure when visiting Rome could be gone if you are not well prepared and end up in infinite lines. We didn’t enjoyed much the Vatican Museum but it would have been a real nightmare if we had waited 3 hours to get in. With the romapass you will skip the lines and it is a MUST HAVE, doesn’t mean you will avoid the crowd though…

Picking the first restaurant you find is clearly one of the mistake to avoid in Rome. In Trastevere, we did go in the first restaurant we found and were really disappointed. Italian food is marvelous, but there are tourist trap everywhere… Don’t rush, try to dig a little before you go…Some of the real treasures are not always behind the most beautiful storefront…and when you time is limited there, it’s a real shame to waste one of your shot by eating pastas that taste like sh*t! One of the best trattoria we did was Da Franscesco, it was advised to us by a friend who lives in Rome and we would have never picked it without this recommandation! (Update: I believe they remodeled the restaurant since we came and it looks much nicer now!)

In Rome people are definitely driving nuts and it would definitely a bad idea to try to drive there… and there are policemen waiting for you… Even if you wanted to brave the danger many portions are closed to traffic, it is very difficult to park there and you will definitely miss half of the show. In order to maximize your experience there, the best advise would be to walk whenever you can in the historic center.

In Rome and in other parts of Italy, people do respect the Church and you should know that you may not be able to visit some if you don’t have your shoulders covered or if you wear shorts… it would be a pity! Most of the time they will let you in but if you are unlucky you can come across someone overzealous or ill-disposed and they have the right to refuse to let ou in… personnally I wouldn’t take the chance, just bring a scarf that should do the job !

The summer in Europe may really be painful… The city will be full of tourist and it can be too hot during July and August, to really enjoy the long walk you need across the Eternal City… temperatures can reach 40°C sometimes which is just unbearable in a city.. and you’ll look all sweaty on all your lovely picture… this is another thing that you should avoid if you can. I would recommand going between April and June for the best experience.