My Guide to Rome
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
Rome is not that hard to get around in. We learned quite quickly that almost everything was within walking distance of our hotel, so we didn’t have to use much money on transportation. Good food you can find anywhere and people are really friendly if you ask them for directions. But here is a little guide that might help you on your way.
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This guide is written only by my own experience!
Where to live:
Hotel Continentale
Via Palestro 49
This is the hotel we stayed in. It was cheap (we payed €240 for two people for a week) and the rooms were really nice. It was cleaned every day, new towels every day, internet and best of all: air conditioner. The hotel is only 3-4 minutes walk from the bus and train station and there are many restaurants, mini banks and grocery stores close by. You can also pay €6 for breakfast.
The Yellow Hostel
Via Palestro 44
A hostel located on the other side of the road from the hotel we slept in. If you are planning to only stay a few nights in Rome or you don’t want to spent that much money on a place to sleep then this seems like a good place. I never went inside, but many of the people I met in Rome stayed here. The only bad this is that there is no air condition. You can buy breakfast in the bar and the staff are very nice.
Where to eat:
Rossi Tiziano
Via Palestro 57
A lovely restaurant just by our hotel that we ended up going to a few times. They have a big menu so you can order whatever you like for a reasonable price. The steak and fries are really good, as is the pizza.
Via Magenta/Via Milazzo
On the corner of these two streets is a Chinese restaurant. Cheap and with good food. The dumplings and the noodle dishes are amazing!
Cin Cin Bar
Piazza Venezia
A nice place to sit in the shade and have a glass of Coca Cola when it’s too hot to do anything else. They also have good chicken with mini potatoes and salad.
Via Nazionale/Via Napoli
On Via Napoli there is a small restaurant we went to once. They have very good chicken with fries and pizza. Big menu, cheap prices.
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For breakfast we usually bought something quick at the supermarket to save money and then had something better for lunch.
Bars and clubs
The Yellow
Via Palestro 44
The Yellow is not just a hostel, but a bar too. The place is always full of people and I met some amazing people there! We didn’t really have to go anywhere else because we were having so much fun at The Yellow. Cheap drinks, great staff, amazing people and you can play Beer Pong, Flip Cup or whatever you’d like in the basement.
Scholars Lounge
Via del Plebiscito 101
Nice Irish pub we went to with live music.
Shopping
Via del Corso
The main shopping steet in Rome (as far as I know). Here you will find regulairs such a Zara, H&M and Mango along with brand stores and shops selling underwear, bags, wallets, jewelry and shoes. I found a Valentino wallet and a Lancetti bag on sale. And a lot of other stuff too! It is a very long street which takes you from Piazza Valencia, past the Spanish Steps all the way to Piazza del Popolo. So you will get to see a lot of stuff besides shopping as well.
Via Nazionale
Another shopping street with a lot of good shops and restaurants. Many bikini shops and nice clothes!
Transportation
Tourits busses
The morning after we arrived in Rome we decided to take a tourist bus to get to know the city a bit more and to find out where the major tourist attractions were located. The bus follows a route (Termini – Danta Maria Maggiore – Colosseo – Circo Massimo – Via del Teatro Marcello – Isola Tiberina – San Pietro – Castel Sant’ Angelo – Augusto Imperatore – Trevi, Barberini – Termini) and is available the whole day. We payed €15 for a 24-hour ticked, so we took the bus to San Pietro (The Vatican City), spent a few hours there, and took the bus back to the hotel (right by the Termini). So this is very recommended.
Busses and metro
We didn’t really use this kind of transportation, but the bus routes looks very easy to follow and we saw busses even at 2AM, so apparently they run late. Very handy! The one time we were going to use the metro it was closed.
Taxi
All taxies in Rome are white and have a taxi symbol on them. Make sure you don’t use a pirate taxy. Prices are not that high, so you’ll be fine if you take a taxi a couple of times.
Walking
We walked mostly everywhere in Rome. Our hotel was only 20-30 minutes from the centre of Rome, so we could not be bothered to pay for transportation when we knew the way. Just bring a map, good shoes, sun cream, sunglasses and water and walking can be really fun because you get to see so much more of the city.
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I will advise you not to buy fake brand bags from any of the people selling on the street. Many of the sellers are doing it illegally and the bags may be taken away from you on the street or at the airport.
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Avoid the people with trained birds in populair tourist places. They put them on your head, you take a picture and they will charge you €10 for ONE photo. And they are very rude.
