If you love history, ruins, beautiful leather, and most importantly, pasta and wine, Rome is the place for you to visit. It is one of the most beautiful and interesting places in Europe and is unlike anything you’ve seen before.
The first drive through the Eternal City is exactly like the sightseeing montages from the Lizzie McGuire Movie or Roman Holiday — and probably like any movie montage set in Rome. Everywhere you look, there are beautiful two-thousand-year-old ruins incorporated into modern architecture, marble statues, and beautiful Italian homes. But because there are so many sites to see, planning a trip here is challenging, to say the least.
Here are just a few tips and tricks to make the most of your vacation to Rome.
Prepare yourself for the Mediterranean summer
Even if you’ve lived through this summer’s heat waves in the United States, nothing will prepare you for it to be over 80 degrees before 9 a.m. If you choose to visit Rome during the hottest part of the year, do your best to plan around the timing of the weather — or just go at a different time in the year. If you are going to sites that are largely in the sun, choose to go before the peak heat and spend the peak inside a museum or another air-conditioned facility. Make sure to have water and electrolytes on hand as much as possible. The best part of Rome, especially if you’re there in the hottest weather, is its ever-present water sources. Although you can buy water almost anywhere you are, ancient Romans invented the aqueduct. Therefore, there are free faucets, always flowing with water, everywhere. You can’t always guarantee you’ll find the faucets right when you need them, or that the water will be cold, but it is a good way to keep your water bottle filled.
Be prepared to wait for transportation
If you have ever lived near public transportation that works well, like the New York City MTA, getting around in Rome is the complete opposite. The buses are usually delayed or not coming. While the subway is way more reliable, there are only two lines in the Rome so it is less convenient to use. You’ll probably have to walk at least 15 minutes to get to the closest train station. If you choose to take a taxi, order the car through the Uber app; it’ll be easier to get the car and it’ll be cheaper than hailing down a taxi from the road. And though sometimes you can’t get a car through the app, you usually do not have to wait too long for it to come. Most importantly, if you have timed plans and plan to take a bus, always have a backup option.
Despite the inconvenience of intercity transportation, the buses and trains in and out of the city to travel to other parts of Italy are incredibly convenient and easy to use. These are great options for taking day trips to other places, like Pompeii. A few train companies you can use include Italo and Trenitalia.
Know that Google and Apple Maps are not always updated or reliable
The bus times and schedules on the apps frequently change and say that buses are coming or just delayed, even when they aren’t. The information on both Maps apps is not always correct about the hours of operation for shops and restaurants, so you can’t rely on the app to tell you if something will be open. Luckily, if you do go somewhere that ends up being closed, you can usually find something similar nearby, especially if you’re going for food. What Rome lacks in convenient transportation, they completely make up for in quality and quantity of food.
Prepare for the sites in advance
Rome has gotten tourism down to a science: In all fairness, they’ve been doing it for basically 2,000 years. That being said, you should get tickets in advance for whatever activities you want to do or sites you want to visit. It’s much easier to get tickets online in advance than waiting in long lines and finding out there are no tickets left.
Additionally, though getting up very early on vacation is probably not what you want to do, getting to the sites earlier means smaller crowds and weaker sunshine. As the day gets later and later, you will find yourself in more and more congested crowds and the sun will get even hotter with fewer areas of shade. Unless getting packed into a museum or ruin site like a sardine is your preference, choose the earliest tickets possible.
Use our bestie, Rick Steves, if you don’t go on a guided tour
Though some places make much more sense to take an official guided tour, most of the time, it’s extra to pay for that guide or the audio tour and can be more inconvenient. If you choose not to take a guided tour, use the Rick Steves’ Audio Europe app. He created guided tours for most places you could want to visit. However, review his guided tour before you arrive at the location so you can figure out where the best place to start the tour is. Because many of these places are huge, it can take a while to figure out where he wants you to start and his tours only really make sense if you follow the correct order. The only downside to his tours is that they are not the most up-to-date and may not include information on some of the newly opened sites. For example, Steves’ guide to Pompeii does not include a large section of newly uncovered archaeological sites. Still, you can follow his guided tour and then take some time to wander around the rest of the sites.
Additionally, if you do choose to go on audio tours hosted by the site, bring your own plug-in headphones. Though the device for the audio tour will include headphones, they are not always the most comfortable. So, if you have a pair that you like, throw them in your bag, just in case.
Rick Steves also has a lot of helpful information to answer many of your burning questions, so take a look at his website.
Know that going to the Vatican is very overwhelming
If you choose to go to Vatican City, you should be warned of the intensity of the experience. While seeing Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel frescoes is incredible and touring the old private chambers of popes is fascinating, everyone and their mother wants to see it too. Opt into the Vatican’s official guided tour. Though it won’t bring you through everything, it is quite difficult to go through any parts of the museums without a group because of the sheer size of crowds and the set-up of the museums. While you can take the Vatican’s audio tour through, there is very little written information in any of the rooms explaining the art of artifacts so it makes it even more difficult to go on your own.
While the Vatican’s official tour is about two hours and leads you to the Sistine Chapel at the end, you could probably spend at least an entire day at the holy site. We’d recommend setting out a little bit of extra time to stay in the museums. However, between the guided tour and walking around on your own, take a bit of time to sit in one of the Vatican’s two cafes, to eat lunch and sit down for a bit — the tour is a ton of walking with very little space to sit, if there is any at all.
You should also know in advance that Rome is preparing for a Jubilee year in 2025. While there are signs and construction everywhere in the city for it, it will impact your visit to St. Peter’s Basilica. Because of preparations, there are way fewer things on display or accessible for the public.
Say “When in Rome” to yourself as much as possible
Although you may finish your trip in Rome and decide to come back, you may only be in Rome once. So, say “when in Rome” to yourself when trying to decide something. Want a cannoli and gelato for dessert? When in Rome! Want to change your itinerary up because you found something else cool and interesting to do? When in Rome! Don’t know if you should do something or not? When in Rome! It could help get out of your comfort zone and experience even more of Rome than you ever thought possible!
If you find yourself in Rome, prepare to have a fantastic experience. The city is rich in history, food, and personality, and you won’t regret your visit.
What's Your Reaction?
