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Rome

GETTING THERE

 

AIRPORTS

 

Fiumicino Airport(FCO)

Tel: 06 65951.

Website: www.adr.it

 

Rome's principal airport (also known as Leonardo da Vinci) is 26km (16 miles) southwest of the city centre.

Ferrovie dello Stato(tel: 06 44101; www.trenitalia.com) offers a half-hourly service of non-stop trains to Rome's Termini station (journey time - 30 minutes). Also available a slower train service (destination Orte or Fara Sabina), reaching several local stations including the centrally located Trastevere and Tiburtina stations (journey time - 20 and 40 minutes respectively).

 

Ciampino Airport(CIA)

Tel: 06 65951. 

Website: www.adr.it

 

Over 100 airlines use Ciampino, particularly low cost flights. Rome's second airport is located about 15km (9 miles) southeast of the city centre.

The Terravision shuttle service (www.terravision.eu) runs between Ciampino and Stazione Termini from before the first flight arrival to after the last one at night.

 

LOW COST FLIGHTS

There are many low cost flight options for Rome:

From and to Ciampino airport

 

www.ryanair.com

www.easyjet.com

Wizzair

Tuifly

 

From and to Fiumicino airport

 

www.airberlin.com

Eurofly

Vueling

Blu-express

Aegean Air

Meridiana

Aer Lingus

Windjet

Air Europe

Air Baltic

 

PORT

From the port of Civitavecchia

trains to Rome run approximately every 30 minutes and the journey to the centre lasts about one hour.

 

TRAINS

Stazione Termini, Piazza Cinquecento, is Rome's main station, located in the city centre.

Other important stations include Tiburtina, Piazzale della Stazione Tiburtina; Trastevere, Piazza F Biondo, at the end of Viale Trastevere; and Ostiense, Piazzale Ostiense.

The Italian State Railway, Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) (www.ferroviedellostato.it), runs a fast, efficient and good value service throughout the country.

 

MOTORWAYS

Rome is surrounded by a network of motorways, prefixed by the letter "A". The A12 leads into Rome from the west, the A24 from the east and the A1 connects Rome to Florence and Milan.

Speed limits are 130kph (80mph) on motorways, 90/110kph (56/68mph) on country roads, and 50kph (30mph) in urban areas.

 

CAR RENTAL

Airport Connection Italy www.airportconnection.it

 

Alamo Rome

www.alamo.com

 

Aprea Tours

www.apreatours.com

 

Autoservizi Meridionali Roma

www.ambus.it

 

AVIS Rome

www.avis.com

 

Easitaly Tours

www.easitalytours.com

 

Miles and Miles

www.toursofrome.it

 

National Rome

www.nationalcar.com

 

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

 

BUSES & TRAMS

Termini station represents the core of Rome's transport network. The city transport authority, ATAC (www.atac.roma.it), operates the city's large fleet of buses and trams. It consists of over 300 bus lines and six tram lines reaching every part of the city.

 

TO SEE

CHURCHES

Basilica di San Pietro (St Peter's Basilica)

One of the main Rome's landmark, this architectural masterpiece lies above a former shrine, which is said to mark the burial ground of the saint.The famous architect Bramante put down the project and the  construction lasted 120 years, with the help of some of the most important artists of that time, including Alberti, Bramante, Raphael, Peruzzi, Sangallo the Younger and Michelangelo) (www.stpetersbasilica.org ).

 

S.Giovanni in Laterano,

San Paolo,

Santa Maria in Trastevere are only few of the wonderful churches visitors can discover in every part of the city.

 

MUSEUMS

 

Cappella Sistina & Musei Vaticani (Sistine Chapel & Vatican Museums) alone could easily worth a day or two of a trip to Rome; a simple look to Michelangelo's depiction of The Creation is unforgettable (www.vatican.va ).

 

Musei Capitolini (Capitoline Museums) represent the oldest public collection in the world (www.museicapitolini.org ).

 

Museo e Galleria Borghese

The collection includes  famous paintings by Caravaggio, Bernini, Botticelli, Giorgione, Guercino and Raphael; the building was acquired by the Italian state in 1902 and a lengthy restoration took place in the 1990s (www.galleriaborghese.it

 

More, visitors can choose among other important museums, such as: 

Galleria Doria Pamphilj (www.doriapamphilj.it ),

National Etruscan Museum,

National Gallery of Modern Art

Modern Art Museum Carlo Bilotti (www.museocarlobilotti.it)

MACRO (Museo d'Arte Contemporanea di Roma) (www.macro.roma.museum)

 

MONUMENTS

Foro Romano (Roman Forum) and Palatino (Palatine) is a unique open air museum, featuring a plenty of  marble fragments, columns and floor layouts, which in origin was the political, commercial and social heart of ancient Rome Empire (www.pierreci.it).

 

The Pantheon is the best-preserved and most beautifully proportioned of Rome's ancient monuments. It houses the tombs of many important personalities of the past.

 

The Colosseo (Colosseum), constructed between AD70 and AD60, was the scene for entertainment between gladiators, lions and wild beasts, with death guaranteed (www.pierreci.it ).

 

Mercati e Foro di Traiano (Trajan's Forum and Trajan's Markets): it represents the last built and most impressive of the Fora and houses the impressive new Museum of the Imperial Fora (www.mercatiditraiano.it)

 

Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain) almost fills an entire piazza among a tangle of narrow streets close to Via del Tritone, in the very centre of the city.

 

Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps) is a landmark with its sumptuous steps leading up to the 16th-century Trinità dei Monti. From there, spectacular views over the city rooftops more than warrant the steep climb.

 

Piazza Navonais a dramatic square, characterized by an oval shape and lined with cafes and restaurants. It houses the wonderful Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers) built by Bernini.

 

 

NIGHTLIFE

 

The biggest concentration of nightclubs lies in the Testaccio and Ostiense districts, with a plenty of  bars, pubs, live music venues and clubs, open till very late in the night (Metaverso, Alien www.aliendisco.it, Alibi, Fake).

The wine bars and cafes around Piazza Navona and Via della Pace, in the historic centre, are glamour and chic (Antico Caffè della Pace, Societé Lutece). Close to Campo de Fiori there is a more trashy style (La Vineria, Il Nolano).

 

For live music choose Alexanderplatz, Via Ostia 9 (www.alexanderplatz.it), near the Vatican, Big Mama, Vicolo di San Francesco a Ripa 18 (www.bigmama.it) or the Circolo degli Artisti, Via Casilina Vecchia 42 (www.circoloartisti.it).

 

The weekly Roma C'è (out on Wednesdays; www.romace.it) and TrovaRoma (out on Thursday free with the La Repubblica newspaper) publications have good information on nightlife in Rome.

 

 

RESTAURANTS

Italy and Rome as its capital are world famous for the delicious cuisine: everywhere in the city you can taste traditional dishes and Italian flavours.

 

Checchino dal 1887

For traditional Roman cooking with classic dishes evolved, such as coda alla vaccinara (braised oxtail).

 

Via di Monte Testaccio 30

Tel: 06 574 3816.

Website: www.checchino-dal-1887.com

 

Il Convivio Troiani

It is one of the city's foremost foodie temples, featuring three elegant rooms, two with murals on the walls, for a really unbeatable gourmet experience.

 

Vicolo dei Soldati 31

Tel: 06 686 9432.

Website: www.ilconviviotroiani.com

 

La Pergola

It is a three Michelin stars, offering over 50,000 wine bottles and a breathtaking view from  the roof garden restaurant as one of Italy's best.

 

Cavalieri Hilton Hotel

Via A Cadlolo 101

Tel: 06 35091.

Website: www.romecavalieri.it

 

La Rosetta

This famous restaurant stands close to the Pantheon and is considered Rome's best fish restaurant.

Via della Rosetta 8

Tel: 06 686 1002.

Website: www.larosetta.com

 

Enoteca Capranica 
Housed in a 15th-century renaissance building a few step from the Parliament, it offers traditional dishes with original touches.

Piazza Capranica 99

Tel: 06 6994 0992.

Website: www.enotecacapranica.it

 

Antica Hostaria Romanesca

Campo de' Fiori 40

Tel: 066864024

The ideal place to taste delicious food (try "bucatini all'amatriciana") sitting on the happening Campo, watching the flower market by day and the bar hoppers by night.

 

Alberto Ciarla

Piazza S. Cosimato 40, Trastevere

Tel 065818668

It is a famous fish restaurant and a historic landmark on Rome's gastronomic map.

Gusto

It is a split-level, open-plan restaurant, pizzeria, wine bar and osteria, very trendy at the time. It serves mediterranean cuisine, mainly meat and fish prepared with aromatic herbs and spices.

Piazza Augusto Imperatore 9

Tel: 06 322 6273.

Website: www.gusto.it

 

For a true Roman experience visistors must go to Trastevere district and try one of the numerous traditional "trattorias".

 

SHOPPING

 

The smart and glamour designer shops are concentrated in the tangle of streets spanning out from the Spanish Steps. Via Condotti has most of the big names: Gucci, Max Mara, Valentino, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Salvatore Ferragamo andGiorgio Armani. The centre houses all the most important design windows, but there are still so many small one-off businesses and family-run shops that must be seen.

 

Opposite Piazza Colonna there is the Galleria Alberto Sordi shopping centre. Named after Rome's favourite actor, who died in 2003, the small but elegant arcade houses some interesting shops, including Jam Store, Zara, AVC, Feltrinelli, Coccinelle, Gusella and the Bridge, as well as a café - ideal for a quick and cool coffee break.

 

Just off Campo de' Fiori, Via dei Giubbonari shows hip shops and a range of accessible labels (like the colourful Roman designer Angelo di Nepi). You can do affordable shopping also in Via del Corso, Via del Tritone, Via Nazionale and Via Cola di Rienzo.