Buses in Rome

[TDOTCRUISR]

Does anyone know if there is a bus stop near the Pantheon or Piazza Navona that will take me to Vatican City? What is the bus number(s)? Where does the bus stop when at/near vatican city?

 

-Thanks

[sea-explorer]

I think it is easier to walk through to Corso Vittorio Emanuele where you can catch the 40, 46 64 or even the 62 to the Vatican. The majority (46 & 64) take you to the back of the left hand side of St Peter's, dropping you off at via di porta cavalleggere, just walk through & you are in the square. I think these two are the easiest to use.

 

If you want the Vatican museums from the same area, you can catch the 492 from corso del rinascimento which goes the other way.

 

This link should show you the bus routes & numbers. You can enlarge it to show everything clearly.

 

http://www.atac.roma.it/docunet/file.asp?mid=3&rid=383

 

Edit. It is a PDF file & can sometimes take a little while to load.

[iancal]

You can also take the small Electico bus that goes by both sites and will drop you off near St. Peters. You have to ensure that the bus is headed towards St. Peters, not Borghese. There is an Electico stop right beside the Pantheon. I like the Electicos because the wind thru the streets of the old city. Sometimes hard to get a seat, but that is true about the regular buses. The Electrico also passes right by Piazza Navona, but not right in the square.

[samavarcruiser]

Rome 's Metro (subway) system is very useful and quite safe as long as you are alert. Although the bus network is extensive and buses run frequently (though they're still crowded!), the Metro is much simpler to master.

Note: Rome is a very safe city, but you should be careful of pickpockets on crowded buses and Metro trains. Carry your money and documents in a secure bag or money belt in front of you, and always keep an eye on where other people's hands are!

 

There are hundreds of bus lines, running from 5:30am until midnight . All buses run in both directions.

 

The most useful for the traveler are:

• 40 Express: Termini (Viale Einaudi) - Via ****onale - Piazza Venezia - Largo Argentina - Chiesa Nuova - Piazza Pia (for Castel S. Angelo and St. Peter's)
  
• 64: Termini (Viale Einaudi) - Via ****onale - Piazza Venezia - Largo Argentina - Corso Vittorio Emanuele - Stazione S. Pietro (basically the same route as the 40 Express except it's smaller, more crowded, and makes many more stops)
  
• H: Termini (Viale Einaudi) - Via ****onale - Piazza Venezia - Largo Argentina - Ponte Garibaldi - Viale Trastevere - (then continues into the western suburbs, ending at Via Capasso)
  
• 8 Tram: Connects the historic center with Trastevere. Largo Argentina - Ponte Garibaldi - Piazza G.G. Belli - Piazza Mastai - Piazza Ippolito Nievo - Stazione Trastevere - Monteverde - Casaletto
  
• 492: Stazione Tiburtina - San Lorenzo - Termini - Piazza Barberini - Piazza Venezia - Corso Rinascimento - Piazza Cavour - Piazza Risorgimento (for the Vatican Museums)
  
• 23: Piazzale Clodio - Piazza Risorgimento - Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II - Lungotevere - Ponte Garibaldi - Lungotevere - Via Marmorata - Piazzale Ostiense - Basilica di S. Paolo
  
• 170: Termini - Via ****onale - Piazza Venezia - Via del Teatro di Marcello - Bocca della Verità - (then south to Testaccio and EUR, ending at Piazzale dell'Agricoltura)
  
• 714: Termini - Piazza S. Maria Maggiore - Piazza S. Giovanni in Laterano - Viale delle Terme di Caracalla - (then south to EUR, ending at Piazzale P.L. Nervi)
  
• 660: Largo Colli Albani - Via Appia Nuova - Via Appia Antica (near the Tomb of Cecilia Metella).
  
• 910: Termini - Piazza della Repubblica - Via Piemonte - Via Pinciana (Villa Borghese) - Piazza Euclide - Palazzetto dello Sport - Piazza Mancini
  
• 590: Handicapped facilities. Same route as Metro Line A, but it runs every 90 minutes (schedule posted at the bus stop).
  

Electric buses

 

In an effort to minimize pollution in the small backstreets of the historic center, the city has established several electric bus lines to navigate alleyways barely wide enough for a Vespa. They do not run on Sundays.

• 116: Via Veneto - Piazza Barberini - Piazza di Spagna - Corso Rinascimento - Campo de' Fiori - Piazza Farnese - Via Monserrato - Via Giulia - Campo de' Fiori - Corso Rinascimento - Pantheon - Piazza Colonna - Piazza Barberini - Via Veneto (It also does a loop inside the Villa Borghese, stopping near the Galleria Borghese, before making its final stop at the top of Via Veneto.)
  
• 117: Piazza S. Giovanni in Laterano - Piazza del Colosseo - Via dei Serpenti - Largo Tritone - Piazza di Spagna - Piazza del Popolo - Via del Corso - Piazza Venezia - Piazza del Colosseo - Via Labicana - Piazza S. Giovanni in Laterano
  
• 119: Piazza del Popolo - Via del Corso - Largo Goldoni - Piazza Venezia - Via del Tritone - Piazza Barberini - Piazza di Spagna - Via del Babuino - Piazza del Popolo
  

Night buses (from 12:30am to 5:30am )

There are over 20 night bus lines. The main terminal stations are Termini (Piazza dei Cinquecento) and Piazza Venezia. From these two piazzas buses leave for all directions every 30 minutes. You can recognize bus stops for the night buses by signs with an owl on the top.

 

The most useful night bus routes:

• 78N: Piazzale Clodio - Piazzale Flaminio - Piazza Cavour - Largo di Torre Argentina - Piazza Venezia - Via ****onale - Stazione Termini. A good bus to know if your hotel is near Termini but you plan to be out late in the historic center.
  
• 40N: Same route as Metro Line B. Good connection between Testaccio (use the stop at Piramide, in Piazzale Ostiense) and Termini, or if you need to catch a night train from Tiburtina station.
  
• 55N: Same route as Metro Line A.
  
• 29N: Piazzale Ostiense - Lungotevere Aventino - Lungotevere de' Cenci (across the Tiber from Trastevere) - Via Crescenzio (Vatican area) - Via Barletta - Piazza Marina (Flaminio) - Via Belle Arti - Viale Liegi (Parioli) - Viale Regina Margherita - Via dei Marrucini (San Lorenzo) - Via Labicana (Colosseum) - Viale Aventino - Piazzale Ostiense
  

[Kimjergen]

Since you are asking about getting to the Vatican, I thought I'd suggest that you try and get yourself a tour reservation directly with the Vatican before you arrive in Rome to avoid the extremely LONG line to get in. We faxed in our request about 29 days prior and they sent a confirmation via fax directly to our home & hotel only 3 days prior to the reservation. They don't accept email or phone request etc and you can only request tours within 30 days of visit by fax. Italians have unusual and antiquated methods sometimes for things;) There is no fee for making reservation, you just go in and pay at the ticket window when your reservation date and time arrives. Bring the fax reservation confirmation with you to show the guard at the front of the line of the Vatican Museum.

For your fax reservation request to the Vatican

Give them the full names of everyone in your party, dates you will be in Rome(more likely to have at least one slot open this way), times you'd like to request tour, language preference and the exact name & fax number of your hotel in Rome and/or your work or home fax number labeled as such. We literally received the reservation confirmation the day before we flew out. So you might try calling your hotel when it gets close to your trip to see if they have a fax for you. But the tour was awesome and went right in at reservation time without waiting in line and the price was the same as those waiting in line.

 

Vatican Museum Tour Reservation Request Dept (fax # 011 39 06 69885100)

 

Or the line just to get into St Peter's Basilica isn't as bad as it looks and gives you a taste of the Vatican and moves quite quickly as opposed to the Vatican Museum line which takes forever but is amazing.

 

 

As far as getting around Rome

 

Depending upon how much time you have and how active you are, you might consider just walking there as just strolling along in Rome is such an incredible experience. While in Rome, we walked about 14 -15 miles a day and loved it and go to see so much up close and personal. If walking all day isn't for you than I guess the buses could work or taxis are available everywhere. People in Rome do drive a bit crazy though, scooters, buses, cars just kind of in a derby of sorts all the time. Fun to watch but a bit nerve racking at times.

 

Anyhow, We did use the subway a few times and it went quite well (also there are restrooms located at them if you can't find one where you are), the buses were so unbelievably crowded like sardines that we didn't bother but there are some good routes to get around and yet we were there in the shoulder season (7 days in late April) so I can't imagine what they are like in high season. The thing with the subway is that it really just skirts the area because every time they would try and extend it's service and dig new tunnels they'd run into another historic sight etc. So you can use the subway more to get the the fringes of the city and then walk from there. One good stop of the subway is directly across the street from the Colliseum which is convenient. We also used the train out of Roma Termina to go to Venice for a few days and the ride was about 4 hours long.

 

Best,

Kim

[sea-explorer]

Just a quick couple of points.

 

The little electric bus iancal refers to is the 116. (That, & the 117, is very useful in getting around the main sights in Rome.) It just doesn't take you quite as close to St Peters as the others.

 

Vatican museum reservations can be made online here, no need to fax etc.

 

http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/

[Kimjergen]

Wow, awesome! When did the Vatican finally get into the 21st century? Florence had it for the Ulfizzi(spelling) in Florence but the Vatican was still in the dark ages.

 

I'm definitely saving this info for 2010 trip.

Thanks!

[sea-explorer]

Wow, awesome! When did the Vatican finally get into the 21st century?

 

Sometime last year I think. :)

 

Just to add too, whilst I think about it. If booking a ticket or tour & there is some-one aged 18-26 in your party who qualifies for the reduced student rate, they will be allowed to enter with the rest of their party, also without queueing, & purchase their ticket inside..as long as they have their appropriate ID of course. (Other reduced tickets can be purchased on line.)

[martyap]

We stayed at the Albergo del Senato adjacent to the Pantheon. The #116 electric bus stopped about two minutes away and we took it to Borghese.........Largo Argentina is a 10 minute walk from the Pantheon and it is a major hub for many buses including the #40......Marty