Huge epic city full of ancient/medieval world wonders.
Rome is a giant place full of “wow” things everywhere you look. Historic monuments, buildings, and waterfronts…with tourists clamoring everywhere to get the best photo. Even if you never paid attention in history class, you will definitely recognize many things here from movies and books throughout your life. I was drunk the very first night here and even still, I kept saying “OH CRAP, I seen this before!” on every block I walked.
Where and how do you begin to digest the magnitude of this place? I’ll help you chop it down to digestible size! What I love most about this place is that despite it’s tourist value, it’s still very much a real and liveable city with lots of locals and local places to explore.
I’d recommend at least 4 days to feel like you not only saw everything but got to enjoy the Roman vibes. Rome is also nice because even though it’s geographically in the center, the culture and mentality feels more like southern Italy. More warm, friendlier, different foods and different vibe from usual northern Italian cities (like Milan, Turin). Btw, an Italian will tell you Rome has a distinct central Italian vibe and is not exactly southern, but definitely more like the south than the north. 😉
Where to stay:
- Trastevere – the most ideal spot if you ask me. Good restaurants, bars, local hangouts all around here. It’s where you’ll spend most your day, meals, and partying. Nearly all your daily activities is (or should be) within walking distance from here.
- Ponte, Regola, Monti – all nearby areas across the river from Trastevere. They also have lots of bars, restaurants, shops, and touristy areas nearby them.
- Spanish steps – another good busy area with plenty to do and close to tourist things.
- Centrale (by train station) – sounds like a smart idea until you realize it’s not particularly pretty or convenient since it’s actually not close to anything. Not fun to walk through and you also can’t walk to anywhere from here (except maybe Coliseum). Despite the “central” location, it actually doesn’t feel central because you have to keep using public transpo or Uber/Taxi to go elsewhere.
- East of Roma Termini (train station) – if you’re staying here, it’s because it’s cheap and you’re ok taking transportation to get anywhere. FYI…depending on the neighborhood, there may be some trashy dudes sitting on the sidewalk streets. The kind that make catcalls at women. I almost got into a fight with a guy who made a racial remark at me.
Hostels:
- They’re usually so expensive, I prefer to go AirBnB. But a great idea if you want to pub crawl and meet people. Rome is good for partying.
Neighborhoods & Walking areas:
- Look at the stops that the hop-on/hop-off buses take, and visit them.
- Prime areas – are Trastevere, Spanish Steps, Ponte, Regola, Monti. You can easily walk all these in a day.
- Buildings and monuments to see – Colosseum (go inside), Roman Forums (can scooter past all sides or just walk past the main street), Trevi fountain, Panteon, Vatican, Castel Sant-Angelo. And others are along the way.
Activities to do:
- Hop-on/hop-off buses – I always recommend this for big cities. Especially on your first (full) day there. They take you to all the important areas and help you get a contextual idea of where you want to explore the city and what things appeal most to you. Key things to compare are prices, running hours, stop intervals, and languages available (if you speak an uncommon one).
- Partying – Rome is a working city. So the best clubs are only open on weekends. You must definitely factor this when visiting Rome. If you come during the weekdays, then all you get is loungey bars.
Restaurants & Cafes:
- Trastevere area – go here and look around. I would prefer the ones closer to the back area by the church, rather than near the main-streets and water. I highly suggest making a reservation. La Canonica, Enoteca, Taverna 51, Ditta Trinchetti, Carlo Menta.
- Other areas – use Google maps.
Bars & Clubs:
- Bar crawls – a lot of fun for first timer visitors, you meet lots of people while walking through the beautiful Rome at night with many historical buildings. Some of the spots are not the best or classiest so you might want to explore on your own for other nights. Another pro or con about pub crawls (depending how you look at it), is they usually have only tourists. If you’re hoping to meet locals or Italians, I try going to local bars.
- Have to research clubs – it’s so sad that many of my favorite ones died out during the corona times.
- The Magick Bar – decent local spot by the water (cool ambiance) that has good food and drinks. I’d come here early for tables/food and then stay later for when things get sexy. It WILL fill up.
- Yellow Bar – fun place with a nice bar area (where you can talk) and underground club area (where you can dance). It’s frequented a lot by many foreigners and tourists and has more people compared to other bars on weekdays.
- Big Hilda Public Bar – in Trastevere area. You don’t have to go exactly here but there are many bars around here for you to explore. Some more chill, others more loud/clubby.
- Circolo Degli Illuminati – I freaken loved this place but they closed down (I hope it reopens again). Check their Instagram for events? It’s like a jungle maze with many areas to socialize or enjoy the music. You can also use this location as a marker to explore other nearby clubs. There are many people walking everywhere and lining up for different clubs around here.
- Ask a local – especially if you’re picky about what type of music/vibe/crowd you want.
Miscellaneous tips:
- Pickpockets – there are tons in Rome around busy outside tourist areas and in public transportation. I would never sit alone in the back (of bus/train) if I was a female. Sometimes they just gang up on you in numbers and try to snatch your belongings, or one guy grabs at your breasts while another grabs at your items/pockets.
- Public transportation – many people don’t pay on the buses/trams. Not suggesting you freeload but this can give you some relief if you’re out of time and don’t know where to buy tickets. Tickets are usually bought from tobacco shops (“tabacchi”, “tabbacheria”).
Nearby towns:
- Haven’t been to any. Rome is kinda far from everything else.