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Rome!

smmudge

smmudge

i know the smudge is true
Searched for similar threads but they're all a bit old, so looking for some up to date tips.

Apart from the obvious sights (colosseum, Vatican etc) I know I also want to take a trip out to Ostia Antica, which you can get a train to with your travelcard. And the train out you have to change at Pyramide, where the non-Catholic (read: souls going to hell) cemetery is, so I can see Gramsci's grave and also the Angel of Grief.

We're there for 5 days, get there early Monday and leave Friday, staying near Barberini metro.

I am especially interested in any good restaurants, if anyone has any recommendations for anything not too expensive.
 
You’re staying near the Trevi Fountain. So, obviously go there. And the National Gallery of Ancient Art is also nearby. Rafael, Caravaggio, painters like that.

I was last in Rome a few years ago, so my restaurant tips will be out of date. But if you stay away from main tourist piazzas, look out for a place that priests and workers are going into: the food will be good and inexpensive. When I was last there, the best inexpensive, traditional food was found in the Testaccio area.

The Garbatella area is very interesting. I was there in 2006 and was absolutely taken with it. It’s probably full of bearded hipsters now, but that won’t have changed the architecture and layout. It was a working class area designed around vegetable gardens. Do try to get there.
 
I loved Rome.
I really enjoyed having a coffee at the top of the Castel Sant'Angelo and looking over Rome. It was spectacular.
 
Saffy said:
I loved Rome.
I really enjoyed having a coffee at the top of the Castel Sant'Angelo and looking over Rome. It was spectacular.
Click to expand...
Yes thats a lovely cafe/restaurant I thought it would be great to go for a meal at night there
 
Foodwise go to Trattoria Luzzi on via di San Giovanni in Laterano, 5 minute walk from Coloseo underground station. Fantastic Roman food and always full of Romans eating. Not a glitzy place but the food is fantastic and cheap given its location.
Have a look around the Nuovo Mercato Esquilino near Manzoni underground and Termini station. Fantastic place to look around and get some things to eat/take home.
Also try the Jewish ghetto, some fantastic if expensive places to eat and a great old Jewish bakery run by two sisters. Pasticcereia Boccione.
Try and get to the top of Gianicolo/Janiiculum a hill over looking Rome, it's a fantastic view and get a wee tramezzini and beer at the top.

Just round the corner from the 'Strangers Cemetery, though it started as such, ie outside the Rome city walls, it is no longer strictly a non Catholic cemetery as there are Catholics buried there as are Keats and Shelley.
Next to the cemetery is the 'Gatti di Piramide' where there are feral cats who live by the pyramid. Just round the corner is a famous bit of anti-fascist architecture the Testaccio post office. Built during Mussolini's reign by a leftist/rationalist architect
Edificio delle Poste



By the way, it is the Rome Derby, ie Lazio v Roma this weekend so you will get there in the aftermath of that, an interesting time....

Forza Roma faccigol.
 
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I know it's tourist tat, but it provided me with one of the most romantic and memorable meals ever. It was at a pizza place in piazza Navona.
A place we liked was the Spanish steps with Keats house next door and the Babbington tea rooms opposite.
obvious thing not mentioned is St Peters, the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. The are many other great churches in Rome often overlooked but worth checking out.
 
Looks the most likely place for me for a May trip, since flights and accommodation are very cheap. Will be keeping an eye on this thread. Can anyone recommend an area to stay in?
 
I added up shuttle to & from the airport, travelcard for a week and tickets to all the sights we want to go, €160 for both of us which was cheaper than I thought it would be. More to spend on pizza and gelato :thumbs:
 
danny la rouge said:
You’re staying near the Trevi Fountain. So, obviously go there. And the National Gallery of Ancient Art is also nearby. Rafael, Caravaggio, painters like that.

I was last in Rome a few years ago, so my restaurant tips will be out of date. But if you stay away from main tourist piazzas, look out for a place that priests and workers are going into: the food will be good and inexpensive. When I was last there, the best inexpensive, traditional food was found in the Testaccio area.

The Garbatella area is very interesting. I was there in 2006 and was absolutely taken with it. It’s probably full of bearded hipsters now, but that won’t have changed the architecture and layout. It was a working class area designed around vegetable gardens. Do try to get there.
Click to expand...

The Trevi fountain is best discovered by chance whist wondering through backstreets, much of Rome is best visited that way, there's so much stuff just waiting to be come across.
 
Johnny Vodka said:
Aye, not planning on spending a fortune while there. Will definitely be looking for locals places rather than tourist traps.
Click to expand...
Without a guide some are hard to find. One day we walked the length of this street looking for the eaterie our guide said was there. Eventually knocking on what looked like a front door to an ordinary house only to find it was a fully fledged restaurant inside, invisible from the street.
 
FYI there's a Mary Berry in Rome programme on the iplayer. She's not really my cup of tea, but it's getting me in the mood.
 
We had a great time. We were knackered at the end of every day and our phones were saying we'd done 10,000 steps around lunchtime. I still came back feeling like I'd missed lots of stuff (for instance didn't get a chance to go to Ostia Antica) but I figure that's normal for a place like Rome!

Mrs Miggins the Capuchin crypts were amazing and creepy at the same time!

I would say if you want to go to Colosseum or Vatican Museums/Sistine Chapel, get tickets online rather than queue on the day. We used Tiqets for the Colosseum which aren't a guided tour but get you in. We didn't for the Vatican however and queued over an hour!

We tried first time to go to Vatican museums on Tuesday 20th but it was closed, turns out it was someone's day, who knew? So my advice would be to check it's open before you go!

I was surprised how walkable everything is, it's not really that far between all the major sites.

Finding good cheap food is really easy, there are restaurants everywhere, just eat away from the main attractions. It is also really easy to find good bars with live music playing filled with friendly Italians!

I learnt that Rome has a real problem with escalators breaking. Repubblica station has been closed since October since an escalator crumpled, and then they had a minor incident at Barberini while we were there (which is where we were staying) and they closed the station for a day.

We saw the Chinese president go past, accompanied by a LOT of police including a helicopter. He probably thought people were lining the streets to see him but it was just because they wouldn't let us cross the road.

I also learnt that it must have to be at least 25 C before Romans will take off their scarves and jackets!

In summary, had a lovely time and would defo go again if there weren't so many other places in the world to see :)
 
smmudge said:
We had a great time. We were knackered at the end of every day and our phones were saying we'd done 10,000 steps around lunchtime. I still came back feeling like I'd missed lots of stuff (for instance didn't get a chance to go to Ostia Antica) but I figure that's normal for a place like Rome!

Mrs Miggins the Capuchin crypts were amazing and creepy at the same time!

I would say if you want to go to Colosseum or Vatican Museums/Sistine Chapel, get tickets online rather than queue on the day. We used Tiqets for the Colosseum which aren't a guided tour but get you in. We didn't for the Vatican however and queued over an hour!

We tried first time to go to Vatican museums on Tuesday 20th but it was closed, turns out it was someone's day, who knew? So my advice would be to check it's open before you go!

I was surprised how walkable everything is, it's not really that far between all the major sites.

Finding good cheap food is really easy, there are restaurants everywhere, just eat away from the main attractions. It is also really easy to find good bars with live music playing filled with friendly Italians!

I learnt that Rome has a real problem with escalators breaking. Repubblica station has been closed since October since an escalator crumpled, and then they had a minor incident at Barberini while we were there (which is where we were staying) and they closed the station for a day.

We saw the Chinese president go past, accompanied by a LOT of police including a helicopter. He probably thought people were lining the streets to see him but it was just because they wouldn't let us cross the road.

I also learnt that it must have to be at least 25 C before Romans will take off their scarves and jackets!

In summary, had a lovely time and would defo go again if there weren't so many other places in the world to see :)
Click to expand...
Did you see my friend Loriana? Is she still beautiful?
 
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Also anyone planning to go please attempt a full 8 course italian meal and report back whether you were successful. For me it was like something you'd see on Man vs Food.
 
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