Visiting Rome is a dive into history. You’ll be immersed in an enchanting world of art and culinary paradise, and you cannot help but notice how precious, romantic, and mysterious a city can be.
Once you’ve decided to visit Rome, it’s important to know the important things you need to take care of and what to keep in mind. The answer to your worries might be the essential itinerary that’ll make your trip a memorable one.
In particular, your ability to understand the Latin language by learning Latin online can be a formidable prerequisite. Other than that, below are 10 tips to prepare yourself for a trip to Rome.
1 Best time to visit
The best time to visit Rome is in the offseason, a period between October and March, and the winter season, with a lot of rain from December to February and a bit cold during the preceding months.
During these times, things are much cheaper, and the city is less crowded. Contrary to the summer, where there’s a boom of tourists trickling into the city, with relatively high temperatures and long queues.
2 Getting a Roma pass
The pass allows you unlimited access to all modes of public transport for the duration of your travel. Since most of the archaeological sites are located closely together, public transportation is best for moving about the historical center, which makes the Roma pass a perfect purchase.
Moreover, with the Roma Pass, you get free and unrestricted entry to museums. So, when traveling to Rome, the Roma pass should be worth every buck considering its advantages.
3 Consider an audio guide
In most museums, there’s an option to buy an audio guide. This is a typical smart-phone like device, with an earphone. It can be a handy device if you’re interested in listening to stories concerning all that you see in the museum.
It can be a life-saver in case you haven’t learned the Latin language, with options for several languages, in particular, English, French and Chinese.
4 Monday is a Holiday
Since museums and restaurants are busy on weekends, Mondays are rest days. Thus, it would be best if you plan museum visits. You don’t want to experience disappointments in the last minute.
If possible, let Monday be a day for shopping and resting only.
5 Book a guided tour
Self-exploration of a city like Rome can be fun. Nonetheless, it’s even better with a local tour guide by your side.
As a tourist, eager to fulfill your curiosity, you achieve a level of satisfaction by getting the stories, the facts, and explanations of all you see from your local tour guide. And what a better way to end a trip than having the best experience while learning at the same time.
6 Be wary of pickpockets
You should be cautious of pickpockets within the city center, especially around monuments and archaeological sites. You are advised to ensure you discreetly keep your belongings safe.
Important stuff like cash, credit cards, or passport should be hidden from any marauding pickpockets.
7 Order the housewine
While dining out, it’s better to order the house wine (vino della casa) as opposed to a bottle of wine. This is because it’s much cheaper, tastes good, and is served by the liter.
8 Tourist Scams
Just like any other city, Rome happens to have people who deceive tourists with fake products. They often masquerade as tourist guides but are determined to extract money from travelers.
It’s always good to avoid persons who unceasingly try to gain your attention, lest you fall in the trap of a scammer.
9 Places to Eat
It’s quite tricky getting food within the historical center. Although you can still get food in these areas, they’re highly-priced, inauthentic, and very subpar food. Within the historical center, you pay for the view because of their location, for instance, to the Pantheon.
The best way to get the best food is by taking a food tour. From this tour, you can easily note down some excellent restaurants.
10 Avoid Taxis
Knowing the trip charges before you get into a taxi is essential. Taxi drivers have found travelers to be easily gullible and tend to rip them off extra amounts on fare charges.
For instance, the charges for a taxi from Ciampino Airport to the city center is about thirty pounds, whereas a similar trip using the airport shuttle bus, which takes about 45 minutes, is only 6 pounds.
Conclusion
Rome is a mix of art and history, a place that you’ll probably want to visit. So, on your next trip, ensure you take care of some of the essential itineraries while planning.
Also, consider the above tips, and you’re assured of precious time in the city.
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