While planning the trip
For hassle free and comfortable trip, you should know in advance what you do every day of your stay in Rome. You can also check travelogues and fare aggregator websites and compare the flights and accommodation rate online and make your booking accordingly.
Airports may be very crowded at the tourist places and during long public holidays. So, plan accordingly and don’t waste your time in the long queues there. If you find any such problem or want to skip the queues and avoid the crowds at the airports you can check Fasttrack Airport Services. Here you can instantly book a trip online even at the busiest international airports around the world.
Then this general plan, you can introduce variations on the fly. All the time you spend planning before you leave, will help you get more out of the trip. Once in Rome, time is money: do not spend with things you could have foreseen earlier.
Travel on foot
Whenever you can, go walk to the sites. It is the best way to get to know a city like Rome, where every corner can hide a surprise. Most important monuments are located within the Aurelian wall that delimits the city center and whose area is quite affordable walk.
Especially nice for walking are the areas that keep the medieval and Renaissance layout: around the Piazza Navona , the Pantheon, Campo de ‘Fiori , the Jewish Ghetto and Trastevere. When you are familiar with the city a bit, it takes some time to wander without a map through these areas, leaving out by intuition.
It is important to wear comfortable shoes (never just bought) and prepare for the end of the day exhausted. Some even train, the days before the trip, with long walks in the city to reach Rome better prepared.
Midday meal
If you like to wring the maximum time, do not lose at noon with a formal meal in a restaurant. Look for one of those places where they served pizza al taglio (pizza by the slice, is charged by weight) and in 15 minutes you ‘ll be ready to further explore the city.
At night , however, you can find a good restaurant for dinner, a quiet and charming place in Trastevere, near Campo de ‘Fiori or Piazza Navona .
Roman times
In Rome everything starts to work half an hour before a Spanish city, and also eat a little earlier. By mid-afternoon, many monuments are already closed, and sets an hour earlier than in Madrid. So it is good to wake up early. Try out the hotel no later than 8.30.
The following general guidelines on Rome schedules will help you better plan your trip:
- Some of the main monuments (Colosseum, Roman Forum, Baths of Caracalla …) open at around 8.30-9.00, and soon close in the afternoon, especially in winter, because the closure is associated with the sunset : in winter and in summer 1630 at 19:15.
- The public museums, however, also open early (9.00 or something before) but endure more open time (until 19.30-20.00), so they are a good option for late in the day.
- The 4 major basilicas (S. Pedro, S. Maria, Letran and S.Pablo) open very early (7.00) and close at mid – afternoon (between 18.00 and 19.00). They do not close at noon.
- The vast majority of churches Roman themselves close at noon, from 12.30 to 15.00 or 15.30. Keep this in mind, especially if you’re going to see those who are furthest from the center, not to make the trip for nothing.
Beware Sundays and Mondays
Almost all the churches of Rome have worship, and some of them can not be visited during liturgical celebrations. Weekdays, small churches usually have a mass early in the day and another at the last, so that hardly interfere with tourism. But Sunday Masses are more frequent .Therefore, if it is possible for other visits planned for Sundays.
On the other hand, Monday is the closing day of the museums public of the city.
The History of Rome
Rome is not just any destination. The capital of the ancient empire retains much of our cultural roots (in fact, two of the best Roman emperors born in Hispania ).
It would not hurt therefore review some history of Rome before the trip. Knowing who were Pompey, Julius Caesar, Augustus, Vespasian … give an unsuspected depth to your Trip To Rome.
Clothing in holy places
You have to be careful with clothing in the holy places, especially in summer. Do not let in many if not go with long pants, covered shoulders and knee – length skirt. They are especially strict in St. Peter’s Basilica and St. Mary Major .
Alternate visit to churches, ruins and squares
Rome has a rich heritage from different historical periods. The ruins of antiquity allow us to reconstruct in imagination how imperial Rome was.But after spending three hours at the Roman Forum, seeing scattered broken columns and stones, it fancy you enter a building that still remain standing. Similarly, if in a single day visits 20 Baroque churches, you will stay as “saturated” all you seem equal.
Our advice is to go alternating monuments of one kind and another : ancient ruins, medieval, Renaissance and Baroque churches, art museums and lively squares of the city. In Rome you have enough variety to avoid monotony.
Beware of scams and pickpockets
Rome is not a dangerous city, but should go a little prevented. There are always people waiting to take advantage of the great mass of tourists.Two of the hot spots where you must be careful are:
- The subway, especially at peak times where pickpockets abound.Always carry wallet safe. Not in the bag, where they can steal you without realizing it.
- The taxis, especially at airports and Termini. In our article on taxis in Rome , we give you some tips on how to avoid scams.
You do not try to see everything. Leave things to return
Rome is an “inexhaustible” city. The Romans often say that to meet non basta una vita . If this is your first visit, want not see everything. Take the opportunity to ask you a general idea of the city, to know what is and what you need to see. Visit places calmly, learning its history and meaning. Each monument is a world. You do not want to leave running, just after arriving to see the following. Thus, you’ll see fewer things, but you can enjoy them more.
Today few can afford to travel as romantic nineteenth century, who remained months, even years in the same destination, soaking his soul, and returned transformed. But it is not about making a crazy tourist who just wants to get to places to pull out the photo and go at full speed.
If you savor calmly you’ll be “trapped” by this unique city in the world: Rome always just coming back.
