Rome FAQ

[fmax]

Saw a posting on the Princess thread which might be worth duplicating. Have a posting for each of the ports where people can post tips and answers to most often asked questions and it can be the first place to look.

 

I think the idea was that people didn't ask questions in the thread it was purely for posting useful information. And if the information couldn't be found there, they could start their own new thread, or search the boards This way the link doesn't get hijacked and become irrelevant.

 

So here goes

[fmax]

Tourist Sites

 

 

 

arch of Constantine

http://sights.seindal.dk/sight/299_Arch_of_Constantine.html

 

Barcaccia Fountain

http://www.romaspqr.it/ROMA/Fontana-della-barcaccia-ing.htm

 

bocca della verita (mouth of truth)

http://www.dpsusa.com/bdv.html

 

capitoline hill

http://www.wilhelm-aerospace.org/Architecture/rome/capitoline/capitoline.html

 

CapitolineMuseum

http://www.museicapitolini.org/it/index_net.htm

 

castel sant' angelo

http://www.floria-publications.com/italy/italian_culture/castel_sant.htm

http://www.roma2000.it/zmusange.html

 

catacombs

http://www.catacombe.roma.it/

 

Circus maximus

http://www2.siba.fi/~kkoskim/rooma/pages/CIRCUSMA.HTM

 

Coliseum

http://www.the-colosseum.net/idx-en.htm

 

compo de fiori

http://www.romaclick.com/Pages/Roma/Vedere/defiori.htm

 

National gallery of modern art

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/rome/A20683.html

 

fontana delle tartarughe (fountain)

http://www.romaspqr.it/Inglese/Fontana-tartarughe.htm

 

four river fountain

http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/4rivers/4rivers.html

 

galleria borghese

http://www.galleriaborghese.it/borghese/en/edefault.htm

 

gallery of modern art

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/rome/A20683.html

 

Gallery of ancient art

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/rome/A20676.html

 

Herculaneum

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Italy/Campania/Herculaneum-151419/TravelGuide-Herculaneum.html

 

Il Vittoriano (VictorEmmanuelIIMonument)

http://www.ambienterm.arti.beniculturali.it/vittoriano/

http://www.aviewoncities.com/rome/victoremmanuelmonument.htm

 

keats-shelley memorial

http://www.keats-shelley-house.org/

 

knights of malta keyhole

http://www.theculturedtraveler.com/Archives/MAR2003/Rome_Openings.htm

http://www.igougo.com/planning/journalEntryActivity.asp?JournalID=33108&EntryID=3 7178&n=Knights+of+Malta+Keyhole

 

national museum of rome

http://www.roma2000.it/zmunaro.html

 

ostia antica

http://www.initaly.com/regions/latium/ostia.htm

 

palazzo altemps

http://www.letsgo.com/ROMA/05-Museums-145?PHPSESSID=c901093e27759193b9b03d1f78aacaa8

 

palazzo Massimo alle colonne

http://www.letsgo.com/ROMA/04-Sights-225?PHPSESSID=7dff1ab8d3b803bbd77a1df2f1399055

 

Pantheon

http://www.romeguide.it/MONUM/ARCHEOL/pantheon/the_pantheon.htm

 

Piazza della Signoria

http://www.mega.it/eng/egui/monu/signo.htm

 

Piazza navona

http://www.romainteractive.com/pznavona.htm

 

pasquino

http://www.romeartlover.it/Talking.html

 

Roman Forum

http://www.tickitaly.com/galleries/forum-rome-italy.php

 

san clemente

http://www.exseminarians.com/rome/Churches/sclemente.htm

 

san luigi dei francesi

http://roma.katolsk.no/luigifrancesi.htm

 

sant agostino

http://roma.katolsk.no/agostino.htm

 

sant andrea della valle

http://www.initaly.com/regions/latium/church/sandrea.htm

 

Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza

http://roma.katolsk.no/ivosapienza.htm

 

santa maria in aracoeli

http://www.initaly.com/regions/latium/church/aracoeli.htm

 

Santa mariadel popolo

http://roma.katolsk.no/mariapopolo.htm

 

santa maria in cosmedin

http://www.romainteractive.com/smcosmed.htm

 

santa maria in trastavere

http://roma.katolsk.no/mariatrastevere.htm

 

Sistine Chapel

http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/CSN/CSN_Storia.html

 

Spada Gallery

http://www.galleriaborghese.it/spada/en/einfo.htm

 

Spanish steps

http://www.romaclick.com/Pages/Rome/Tosee/Rome-guide-Spanish-Steps.htm

 

St. Peter’s Basilica

http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/St_Peters_of_Rome.html

 

St. Peter-in-chains

http://roma.katolsk.no/pietrovincoli.htm

 

Trevi fountain

http://www.aviewoncities.com/rome/trevi.htm

 

villa giulia (estrucan museum)

http://www.ticketeria.it/villagiulia-eng.asp

 

Vatican City

http://www.vatican.va/

 

VaticanMuseum

http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Home.html

 

Vatican guided tour

http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/z-Info/MV_Info_Servizi_Visite.html

 

Village Borghese

http://www.aviewoncities.com/rome/villaborghese.htm

[Pammie poo]

This infomation is great and now easy to find!

Thanks so much!

Pam

[fmax]

another useful site. Information ranges from Hotels, Things to do, Restaurants, Customs, Nightlife, Off the beaten path, tourist traps, warnings, transportation, sports, shopping, general tips and even suggested packing list.

 

 

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome-144659/TravelGuide-Rome.html

 

 

Frances

[fmax]

Update and excerpts from Rick Steve's site (http://www.ricksteves.com/)

 

In Rome, you can avoid the longer-then-ever lines at the Colosseum by buying a combo-ticket at the nearby Palatine Hill. Recently damaged by heavy rains, Nero’s Golden House has closed and won’t reopen for at least two years.

 

________________________________________________________________

 

if all you have is a day in Rome, it's one of the most exciting Europe has to offer. See the Vatican City (2 hrs in the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel, 1 hr in St. Peter's), taxi over the river to the Pantheon (picnic on its steps), then hike over Capitol Hill, through the Forum, and to the Colosseum. Have dinner on Campo de' Fiori and dessert on Piazza Navona.

 

________________________________________________________________

 

Catacombs

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/italy/0200catacomb.htm

 

Museums

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/italy/1299rome.htm

 

Note the comment above though on Nero's Golden House.

[fmax]

A reminder, if you're stopping for coffee, it always costs more to sit down than to stand at the bar.

 

 

Frances

[smeyer418]

Yeah after spending 6,000,000(lira) on the trip I need to save 2 euros to stand and drink my coffee....

[PrincessYoga]

Cheers for consolidating all of this. I am real type-A personality that has research everything about everything I do. :) This helps.

[fmax]

Some Rome hotels suggested on this board and most of these, I would presume, would be reviewed on tripadvisor.com

 

Hotel Locarno

Hotel Alimandi

Britannia

St.Regis Hotel

Hotel Raphael

Hotel Miami

Hotel Kennedy

 

Airport Hotels

Hilton and Marriot

 

Frances

[Robin G]

Yeah after spending 6,000,000(lira) on the trip I need to save 2 euros to stand and drink my coffee....

 

 

You made me laugh!!

[NAS-KARR]

You r a great time-saver........thanks much

 

Ciao

[Mark_in_Colorado]

If you taking the train to Rome (from Civitavecchia), the train will stop at the San Pietro station near the Vatican about 20 minutes before arriving at the final stop at the main Termini station. If you are heading to the Vatican first, you can easily save an hour by getting off at San Pietro rather than Termini, where you would have to take the metro, taxi, bus, or a long walk to the Vatican.

[fmax]

Other hotels & B&Bs mentioned on these boards.

 

Some general sites for hotel reviews

http://www.venere.com

http://www.travel.it/roma/ourhotel.html

http://ww.sleepinitaly.com

 

Alimandi - http://www.romeby.com/alimandi/

Cesari - http://italia.traveleurope.it/see3.php?id=1573&lingua=spa

Dei Consoli - http://www.hoteldeiconsoli.com/

Farnese - http://www.romaclick.com/hotels/Farnese-hotel.htm

Nicolas Inn - http://www.romeby.com/nicolasinn/

San Carlo - http://www.hotelsancarloroma.com/

 

58 Via Cavour - http://www.58viacavour.it/

Daphne

Cellini - http://www.romeby.com/cellini/

Hotel Diplomatic - http://www.benotel.com/italy/rome/diplomatic/

Hotel Aberdeen - http://www.travel.it/roma/aberdeen/

Hotel Napoleon - http://www.napoleon.it/Lounges_eng.htm

 

Frances

[kazwaz]

How far is the station at Civitavecchia from the port?

[fmax]

I had aprivate tour that picked us up at the port. However, here is some info I came across

 

http://www.europeportreviews.com/Rome2.htm

http://rome-hotels.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187791-i22-k391974-TRAIN_from_cruise_port_to_Rome-Rome_Lazio.html

 

 

 

Frances

[smeyer418]

Rome from tomorrow's Sunday times

 

http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/02/05/travel/05going.html

[fmax]

Useful sites

 

Lonely Planet's guide to rome

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/europe/italy/rome/

 

Fodor's guide to rome

http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=rome@130

 

Time Out's guide to Rome

http://www.timeout.com/travel/rome/

 

Rick Steve's Rome

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/italy/italy_menu.htm

 

frances

[cruisingmimi]

Hi Frances,

 

Great sources of info you have provided. I, too, started a Do-It-Yourself-Rome thread a while back and I am going to reference it here in case there might be something else people may find helpful. I would also like to reference this thread on the one I started. That way, there will be lots of wonderful information for people to read. There was nothing when I was doing my research.

 

Here's the one I started:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=147961&highlight=Do-It-Yourself-Rome

 

Having returned from our October Galaxy cruise, I would also be happy to make recommendations, suggestions for tours and hotels.

 

Mary

[cheftgc]

The dock is about a 15 min. walk to the city. From there its 5 min. to the train station. Your cruise line may have a shuttle bus to take you to the entrance of the city.

[sweetpea916]

At the Colosseum, beware of people offerring tours. They tell you to line up in a certain location (with all the others they signed up for their "tour") then leave you in the line while they go buy your tickets with the fee you just gave them. Except they never come back. We were warned about this before going to Rome (May 2005) AND the warnings were true... not only were we approached near the entrance to the Colosseum and offered a tour, but we also saw groups/lines of people seeming to be standing around waiting for... nothing.

 

Also, for the best camera-shot view of the Colosseum, go to the Victor Emmanuel Monument (locals call it the "Wedding Cake"). Go inside, climb the stairs all the way up, and go out onto the balcony. Here you will get a beautiful view of the Colosseum with the Roman Forum in the foreground. It's a postcard shot, worth seeing. Pay your respects the Italy's grave of the Unknown Soldier while at the Monument.

 

And if you want to experience the real, MODERN Rome, ride the Metro. There's no subway system like it, trust me. :cool:

[vetralla]

To prepare for your visit, you are invited to read articles on Rome that I've published over the last 40 years here. Besides the "Awesome Italy" pieces you'll find out about the city's unusual museums, animal sculptures, historical women, how writers saw Rome . Feel free to browse these on my site. Happy Exploring!

[scampi]

Vetralla, how fortunate to have someone with such expertise to help us make the most of our time in the vicinity of Civitavecchia. Fellow cruisers, this website is also a wealth of information & should be added to your lists:

www.elegantetruiria.com

I read where you suggested traveling on the local bus or renting a car. We did that in Southern Italy a few years back but with just a few days this November before our cruise leaving from that port, can you suggest a guide or tour group? Your itineraries are Awesome!

 

Scampi (Santa)

[Robin G]

At the Colosseum, beware of people offerring tours. They tell you to line up in a certain location (with all the others they signed up for their "tour") then leave you in the line while they go buy your tickets with the fee you just gave them. Except they never come back. We were warned about this before going to Rome (May 2005) AND the warnings were true... not only were we approached near the entrance to the Colosseum and offered a tour, but we also saw groups/lines of people seeming to be standing around waiting for... nothing.

:

 

 

Also, friends of ours from the UK told us that also at the Colosseum, there are people walking around and offer to take your picture. You hand them your camera, they snap the photo, and then they want $$ before they return your camera to you. They said they saw this problem more than once. How do so many people sleep at night!

 

Robin

[Andym]

At the Colosseum, beware of people offerring tours. They tell you to line up in a certain location (with all the others they signed up for their "tour") then leave you in the line while they go buy your tickets with the fee you just gave them. Except they never come back. We were warned about this before going to Rome (May 2005) AND the warnings were true... not only were we approached near the entrance to the Colosseum and offered a tour, but we also saw groups/lines of people seeming to be standing around waiting for... nothing.

 

Just outside the Metro entrance is a green hut. You can get tickets here with guides for 10 euros per person. they don't run away and you will skip the lines. The tout guide we had was fantastic.

 

If you are from the UK and under 21, take your passport with you. You don't pay for entrance anywhere.

[Andym]

Hi Robin,

 

So you are getting to Europe this year.

 

You'll have a fantastic time.

 

Andy