Rome

OLDYELLAR

So it looks as though myself and the bf are off to Rome for 4 or 5 days this summer , Now Ive been trawling the net all evening and I dont know a thing about Rome so Im wondering whats the best area to get acomodation in and could anybody recommend us a hotel , nothing too expensive say 90 per room per night would suit.
What are the main things you`ve got to see while in rome?
By the way is there any theme parks in rome?

Also is Rome very far from Venice or Florence as there 2 places Id like to see but if there very far We`ll just stick to rome:)

I hear Rome is gone very expensive for eating and drinking lately , Not sure how true this is ?
Im definately a girl that likes to shop , so how does rome fair on the shopping front?

Ruu_Old

lo try needahotel.com. i looked up a random date, Wed July 5th for 6 nights, 1 double room, the cheapest hotel cost €249 total incl taxes, but there are others closer to the city center. It gives you lots of details about how fair they are from the city, where the nearest metro is, etc.

OLDYELLAR

Will do , thanks Ruu

Kinetic^

Well if it isn't Old Yellar, just a few things, I was there about 18 months ago with the other half. Food & Drink is dirt cheap, 2 course meal plus wine about 25-30 for both people so it's not that expensive. The pizza is beautiful by the way and when you come home to likes of four star & pizza hut you'll turn your nose up at them.

Get to an eason's and get the little tourist books on rome, they were very helpful for us.

I enjoyed St. Peter's alot and the Vatican was class.

Try expedia.co.uk as well for hotels.

OLDYELLAR

Is there any thing away from the touristy stuff for a day?

For example when we were in Paris last year it was nice to get out of the centre and spend the day out in Disney , is there anything like that?

Will we have enough to do there for 5 days? We wont be bored or anything , were getting scared it`ll be all holy stuff

*yoda*

when we went to Rome we travelled up to Florence, Pisa, Verona and Florence for really really cheap on the train. it doesnt take too long. no entirely sure the exact time but i think it was only about 2 hours to Florence and maybe 4/5 at the most to Venice. It's really handy cos you can book which train time/type you want to get so you can get really cheap train journeys and they run on time! Florence is well worth seeing and has some really good markets where u can get really good quality leather jackets and bags for half the price of a shop.

OLDYELLAR

Ou really?

Thatd be fab a leather jacket from florence
hey where did ye stay in rome yoda?

Thats brill because Im mad to see Florence ever since I saw a room with a view.

daiixi

You can also head down to Naples and there's apparantly day tours you can do from Rome to Pompeii. Pompeii is awesome!

OLDYELLAR

Ou whats in pompeii?

Eoin

OLDYELLAR wrote:

Is there any thing away from the touristy stuff for a day?

For example when we were in Paris last year it was nice to get out of the centre and spend the day out in Disney , is there anything like that?

Will we have enough to do there for 5 days? We wont be bored or anything , were getting scared it`ll be all holy stuff

Hi there, been to Rome a couple of times and loved it, though we were there for the 6 nations rugby as well. We are not religious at all, but seeing the Vatican etc was still very interesting. You could quite easily spend a day in the Vatican. The Colloseum is well worth a look as well, and there are a few sites to see in that area as well. The Trevi fountain, Spanish steps etc may also fill a bit more time. 5 days is quite long for Rome though, so heading down to Pompeii is a good idea (that's where Mount Vesuvius is).

Herself wasn't overly impressed with the shopping there, but I don't know if she was looking specifically for bargains, as opposed to just designer stuff at normal prices.

If you are still looking for a place to stay, we stayed at Hotel Des Artist, it's close to the city centre, and near the bus terminus and underground. The prices are alright, and that was at peak times as well.

As Keyser Soze 5 said, the food is excellent. Try going to the family style restaurants rather then the tourist type places (I think they are called tratorias). The prices are for nothing, and the food is top notch. Restaurants around the main squares (e.g. Campo de' Fiori) tend to be overpriced, and the food is not as authentic as you will find in a trattoria. Still good compared to an Italian in Ireland though!

Lastly, if you find you are looking for a few drinks, remember that Rome does not have the same type of drinking culture we have at all; a "bar" there is much more likely to be a cafe style place that also sells alcohol. If you are looking for a more Irish/British type bar, somewhere like the Druid's Irish Pub is a place to start.

*yoda*

OLDYELLAR wrote:

Ou really?

Thatd be fab a leather jacket from florence
hey where did ye stay in rome yoda?

Thats brill because Im mad to see Florence ever since I saw a room with a view.

ya we got some seriously good bargains in Florence. there are stalls in the street and shops along the side and they all try to under price each other so haggle all the time. We stayed in a hostel pretty much in the centre but it wasnt the best. suited us as students though!!

OLDYELLAR

Thanks Eoin that hotel looks decent , Im liking the champagne in the photos

I actually found a really nice hotel on the ryanair site last night , has a pool and a bar but its 10km from the centre and I think a 20 min walk to the nearest metro but its faitly near the airport , Might go with that but I dunno if its too far that one you recommended eoin lokks good.

Yea I dunno meself would we get 5 days out of Rome , think we`ll head down to florence , would a day trip to Florence be doable or would travelling eat up the day?

Ou scratch that I see yoda said it takes 2 hours
Thanks for all the suggestions and help people.

Say now clothes shopping , is it possible to do that there cheaply? Or is the day of knockoffs abroad gone?

daiixi

OLDYELLAR wrote:

Ou whats in pompeii?

Umm not a lot? You just get to take a tour around the excavated city or wander around it yourself and see what the city looked like - frescos/diners/shops/houses/roads etc before Vesuvius blew. Or at least get a pretty good idea of what it would have been like back in the day.

Dodge

Drink can be expensive. its double the price if you sit down and get served by waiter/waitress. The Plaza de Venezia is the center of Rome so look for a hotel around there.

p~b

beware of the water sold on the street, some traders just fill the bottles up in the fountain.

make sure you go and see;
the panteon
colosseum
vatican
sistine chapel (give yourself about 6 hours for this its huge and q's are massive.
castel d'angelo

visit naple on a day trip and see;
pompeii
herculanium
mount vesuvius (you can walk up it and around the rim)

if you have time visit florence and pisa to see ;

the leaning tower
michaelangelos david
and loads and loads of museums all vey good

CountryWise

Are the Collosseum,vatican city etc all within walking distance city of the city Center???

Eoin

CountryWise wrote:

Are the Collosseum,vatican city etc all within walking distance city of the city Center???

The Colloseum is pretty much in the city centre. The Vatican is only a short ride on the metro.

Dodge

Trevi fouontain about 5 minutes from Plaza de Venezia, Spanish steps about 10, Colosseum about 10 (great walk down the road though)

Didn't visit the Vatican

OLDYELLAR

I heard the Vaticans excellent , why not visit Dodge?

p~b

the vatican was the highlight for me, its just huge and loads of history.

the swiss guards were were brilliant

Dodge

OLDYELLAR wrote:

I heard the Vaticans excellent , why not visit Dodge?

Only there for a couple of days and basically one day for sightseeing. Decided to do the others. If I go back I'd visit it though

bounty_hunter

OLDYELLAR wrote:

I hear Rome is gone very expensive for eating and drinking lately , Not sure how true this is ?

Most of your questions seem to have been answered, but a word of warning regarding this bit. If you don't want to be paying ridiculous prices for food/drink/little bits and pieces, STAY OUT OF THE TOURIST AREAS.
And by tourist areas, I mean the shops/cafés, etc. specifically targetted at Americans wearing money pouches and sunglasses (generalisation, but you know the sort).

Obviously if you want to get a proper feel of the city you'll be wanting to visit landmarks such as the Trevi Fountain and places like that, where there will be plenty of shops set up to ensnare unsuspecting holidayers, but if you just walk a little bit further out of the main tourist centres you'll come across smaller shops and things where you can buy odds and sods for much less. Basically, don't be tempted by the things you see right in front of you when you're visiting touristy areas, there will be much better bargains further on.

Dr.TV

I went to Rome last year, around this time of year. We were there for about a week. First thing I found was that the taxi man screwed us. The meter was not running and we were 5 minutes from the train station when we first got there and charged us 20 Euro. We gave him 20 and then turned around saying that we only gave him 5 Euro. We got our bags and just left him. We were staying 2 minutes away from the Spanish steps. Everything was in walking distance in Rome. The Vatican was great, make sure that you do go to the top of the Vatican, you can actually go to the steeple and look over the whole of Rome, the sights are magnificent. The only thing about that is that you have to climb about 500 steps to get up there, there is a lift that goes half way up, but you have to walk the rest of the way. Myself and the girlfriend didn’t mind, and it was so worth it.
Pompeii was great, you will have to get a train down and the journey is about 4 hours, but worth going. You will have to stop in Naples half was down for a transfer train.
One last thing, as bounty_hunter just said, stay out of tourist areas, i got a beer and cost me €9 and it was only half a pint. you will get some nice cheap resaurants though.