Major Cities of the World!

About Rome

Roma: the name inverts neatly to form ‘amor’. And thats it - people tend either to love or to hate the place and Rome can reward you as no other city can. Rome, the eternal city which exerts the most compelling fascination, has to be visited by the Italy traveler. 29 million pilgrims and tourists went to Rome in the year 2000 alone.

Few cities have such a long and turbulent history as has Rome. No other city has been the focal point of the world for such a long period. The mistress of the Roman Empire, lavished with architectural jewelry by her emperors, but also often seiged raided and destroyed. Also fires and earthquakes left their scars, but each time the eternal city recovered from her injuries.

Romes history is tightly connected to the history of Europe. Not just the Roman emperors, but also medieval emperors and kings like Charlemagne or Otto I saw Rome as the true seat of power. They challenged the new rulers, the popes for the supreme power. It was the dispute about who was the true representative of God. Both emperor and pope claimed to be true inheritors of the Roman Empire.

It is said that one life is not enough to get to know Rome. Maybe youll need about nine, as much as the countless stray cats that also populate the city, but a week will do for a first introduction. At each corner of each street theres a story to tell. Thousands of stories together tell the history of a three thousand year old city. Two weeks may be enough for a hasty tour through most everything; a month would be better. Fortunately, Rome (pop. 2.900.000) is compact enough to skim the best in three (full) days, and if you have more time we guarantee you will find delightful and fulfilling ways to use it.

Highlights in Rome include the Trevi fountain (remember Anita Ekberg in the classic scene in La Dolce Vita) and the Spanish Steps, the Roman heritage sights such as the Pantheon, the Colloseum and the Forum Romanum, at least some of the world famous churches such as Il Gesu, S. Giovanni in Laterano or Sta. Maria Maggiore. Make sure not to miss a stroll through the Vatican City with the incredibly huge St. Peter’s Cathedral and the unrivalled Vatican Museum.

Rome - Practical Information

Tourist information offices: at Fiumicino airport and at Stazione Termini.
inside the city: Via Parigi 5, Tel. +39 (0)6 - 488 991
Openings: Mon - Fri 8.15am - 7pm, Sat 8.15am - 1.45pm

Enjoy Rome
Via Marghera 8a, Tel. 06 4451843, Fax. 06 4450734
info@enjoyrome.com or http://www.enjoyrome.com
Openings: Mon - Fri 8.30am - 7pm, Sat 8.30am - 2pm

Privately run Tourist info: very friendly and helpful.
Address: Via Varese 39, Tel. +39 (0)6 - 445 1843
Openings: Mon - Fri 8.30am - 1pm and 3.30pm - 6pm, Sat afternoon and sun closed.

Hospital/24 hour service: Tel. +39 (0)6 - 884 0113
Police station: Questura, Via Genova 3, Tel. +39 (0)6 - 4686
Post office: main office at Piazza San Silvestro 6771, open Mon - Fri 8.30am - 7pm, Sat 8.30am - noon. Tel. +39 (0)6 - 160.

Vatican Post office: Some Romans, frustrated with the some times too leisurely rate of the Italian Post, have turned to the Vatican for help. It costs the same as Italian mail, but you must buy Vatican stamps and can only mail them (get this) in the Vatican. In addition to the “Citta’ del Vaticano” postmark, you can tell your friends that the stamps were blessed by the Pope. There are Vatican post offices inside the Vatican museums (near the entrance) and two locations in Piazza San Pietro.

Rome - Eating Out

Rome, pasta, wine, pizza. Here is no need to search for restaurants. Everywhere you will find small and cheap but nice trattorie, osterie and ristoranti. Prices, even in the centre, are reasonable and the quality remains of a fair standard. Many nice places are to be found in the Centro Storico, along Via Cavour and around Stazione Termini. Similarly, you can eat cheaply in the Borgo district around the Vatican.
Trastevere is Romes traditional restaurant ghetto touristy now, but still the home of some fine and reasonably priced places. Testaccio is also a popular evening place with good selection of restaurants and pizzerias. Of course there is a huge selection of both Italian and international restaurants, but we live for the “god in italy” version and warmly recommend the local.

Rome - Getting Around

by bus:
The city bus company is AT AC and most of the main buses terminate at the bus station outside Stazione Termini (where you can get a map of the bus routes). Buses run from around 6am to midnight with some services running throughout the night.

by metro:
The city’s Metro service has only two lines, A (red) and B (blue), both of which go through Termini. Unfortunately, the metro misses most of the historic district, which can be frustrating at times. The reason for this is because there is quite a bit of ancient Rome beneath the ground; enough so that they cannot dig a tunnel very far without running into some 2,000 year old brick wall, column or other such artifact. The metro automatic ticket machines only take exact change (and even then they are known to eat your money leaving you with nothing to show for it) so it is recommended that you buy your ticket from a tobacconist, newsstand or vending machine before you get on the train or bus (your bus tickets will also work on the metro). For the metro, validate your ticket before boarding the train; for the bus, look for the validation machines onboard. Use the orange validation machines for the old paper tickets and the yellow ones for the newer magnetic tickets. If you are caught without a validated ticket, the fine is 51.65 Euro. The metro runs about every 7-10 minutes, from 5:30am until 11:30pm everyday, except Saturday when it runs until 12:30am.

by car:
Driving in Rome is the next best thing to suicide - especially on a motorbike. Most of the historic centre of Rome is closed to normal traffic although you will be allowed to drive to your hotel. You’ll need to get a parking permit from the traffic police if you wish to park anywhere in the centre or you’ll risk being towed.
To have the opportunity of using a car in Rome is a good point of freedom but there are also a lot of problems linked to it. If youre with your own car, protect it really good with alarm systems (electronic or normal pedal blocker) and dont leave the radio, your bags or other important things inside: they say that in the whole Italy they open or steal at an average of 2 cars per minute. If you can, during the night, park it in a safe controlled parking house like the “ParkSi” of Spain’s Square / Via Veneto.

To rent a car you’ll need to be at least 21 years old. If you organize your car in advance it will cost you less. There are several rental agencies for cars motorbikes mopeds and bicycles. If you’d rather leave the driving to someone else you can pick up a cab from one of the city’s many taxi ranks or phone one any time of day. If you call a cab the driver will turn the meter on as soon as he is rung rather than when he picks you up.
Another negative point is the traffic: the situation is very difficult due of the “work in progress” in many different areas of the city. Anyway, be aware of the fact that the traffic youre going to find in Rome is a little bit wilder than normal and there are a lot of young people driving small scooters or big motorbikes often in a very dangerous way.

by foot:
Rome is a very easy city to navigate by foot, assuming you’ve procured a decent map. A decent place to find maps and other information is a company called “Enjoy Rome” located at Via Marghera, 8a near the Stazione Termini, Rome’s central train station.

Although the modern metropolitan section of Rome is spread out, the historical center of the city is really quite compact. Even if you do get lost, you’ll no doubt run into some baroque art work or marble fountain that will make your trip worthwile. After two or three days of walking though, you’ll feel like a pro at navigating the Roman streets.

A word of caution: the motorists of Rome are quite crazy. According to Bill Bryson, people in Rome park their cars they way you or I would if we had just spilt acid in our laps. Crossing the street can seem like a daunting experience, but you really needn’t worry. Make sure you follow these simple rules, and you’ll be fine:

1. Only cross the street at crosswalks.
2. Don’t wait on the street corners expecting the traffic to slow down. You’ll be there forever.
3. Wait for a small break in the traffic and just go. The first time you try this, your heart will no doubt be beating in your throat the entire time, but you’ll soon see. As soon as you start walking, and as if by some miracle, the cars, busses, trucks and everything will just stop to allow you to pass. This has often been likened to the story of Moses parting the Red Sea. Two pieces of advice on this subject: Don’t dart deer-like across the street; that upsets the Romans. Also, whatever you do, don’t under any circumstances stop in the middle of the road once you’ve started crossing. Hesitating only confuses and angers Roman drivers and their wrath could endanger your life. After the first few successful crosses, you’ll see there really is nothing to it.

Francesco Tranchinas
A professional Bicycle, Scooter and Motorbike hire service to Romans and visitors to the Eternal city. When in Rome … get a round the old fashioned way. A bicycle will allow you to go every were, including pedestrian-only zones and traffic-free areas, such as St. Peter’s Square.
If you mention the World66 site you get a 15% reduction, says FRANCESCO TRANCHINA.
address: Via Cavour 80a url: www. scooterhire it tel: +39 0648158669

Rome - Getting There

All ways lead to Rome - like the Romans said. This is more or less still true today. by car:
You can easily reach Rome by car. Four motorways lead to the urban ring road (A 12 from Fiumicino - west, A 1 from Firenze and Orvieto - north, A 24 from northeast which includes A 25 from Pescara, A 1 from Napoli - south). Using the motorways costs a fee of about 10.000 ITL per 100 km. Motor-way Informations you can get at ‘Società Autostrade’, Tel. 39/6/43632121 (24 hour service)

by air:
Airport Leonardo da Vinci, generally known as Fiumicino, handles most scheduled flights. It is located 26km (16mi) southwest of the city. Rome’s other airport is Ciampino about 20km (12mi) southeast of the city and is used by the majority of charter flights. Telephone nubers are:
Fiumicino: +39/6/65951 and Ciampino: +39/6/794941.
One of the most convenient ways to get into town is by the Stazione Termini direct train, which usually runs hourly from the airport Fiumicino. You can also get a train from the airport to Trastevere Ostiense and Tiburtina. There’s also a night bus service to Stazione Tiburtina. If you’re driving an autostrada runs from the airport to the city via EUR - it’s a 45-minute drive and will cost you a small fortune by taxi. From Ciampino you can catch a COTRAL bus which connects with a subway to Stazione Termini or you can drive down the Via Appia Nuova.

by train:
Rome’s main railroad station (stazione centrale Roma termini) you will reach by every train station in Italy. It is situated east of the historic city centre. Within an 15min walk you can easily reach Santa Maria Maggiore, San Pietro in Vincoli, Piazza Vittorio, Colosseo or Museo Nazionale Romano.

Rome - Nightlife and Entertainment

Rome has many bars and nightclubs where you can drink, relax, talk or dance until deep in the night. The choice is wide: There are vast glittering palaces with stunning lights and sound systems, innovative alternative to the mainstream spots, rock and jazz places with a large offer of styles performed by a healthy array of local talents.
For further entertainment discover the various theatres, cinemas and concert halls.
For younger travellers, there is a brilliant ‘Colluseum Bar Crawl’ that starts around 8:30pm upstairs from the Colluseum metro stop. There are usually people handing out flyers around the Colluseum by day so grab one and have a chat to them about it. Its a great opportunity to meet various nationalities, play some fun/friendly drinking games and have a good night out.

Rome – Practical Informations

The water that is continually flowing out of those little fountains found around the streets of Rome is cold, refreshing and absolutely safe to drink. It flows constantly down from the mountain springs on the outskirts of the city and is quite good. These small fountains are called “il nasone” by the Romans as the curved pipe resembles a “big nose.” As well as these, the water in the larger, decorative fountains is also safe to drink, unless there is a sign posted “acqua non potabile.” Mind you do not bathe in them. If you are caught in a fountain, you can expect a trip to the police station and a fine of at least 500 euro.

Rome - Economy

Consumer consciousness is low and does not exist among the locals, so you are at the mercy of the sellers. Always be very careful that you don’t walk away with faulty goods. The is no “return-policy” even if you come back on the day of purchase. You might have to ask for help in most of the stores for any little thing you want to buy as goods are generally kept behind the counter. The street markets are always good, like many other tourist destinations and there are some pretty amazing things on sale a great prices.
For a tourist Rome is a great place to go shopping. There is always the great siesta, (everything closes for the entire afternoon) when you will be forced to take a break from your Great Roman shopping expedition.