My husband and I were recently able to visit Rome with some of his family members! I was completely delighted by this city. The gelato, the charming narrow streets, the outdoor dining, and the mix of modern + ancient history at every turn– Rome was incredible.
The weather in September was mild and very comfortable. I was in awe seeing so many iconic sites that I’d seen and read about my whole life- the Colosseum, Vatican City, Trevi Fountain, and more! Planning a detailed itinerary is always its own challenge (Check out our 2-Day Itinerary for Rome HERE), but that’s not what we are covering in this post!
Today we will be going over Rome travel tips more generally. SO without further ado…
Here are 10 take-aways from our trip that I think may be helpful for first-time visitors to Rome (like we were)!
p.s. there are no affiliate links or sponsorships, just our honest thoughts & experiences!
1. Download the Trenitalia App!
If you are trying to get from the Rome International Airport to the city center you have 2 main options: take a cab, or take a train. A cab is obviously quite a bit pricier, but it will take you exactly where you need to go.
The train will bring you to the Rome Termini Station, but with a lower overall cost (and comparable total time). If you do choose to take the train, I’d recommend downloading the app ahead of time.
Trenitalia is the name of the app, and here is where you can download it!
Everyone gets off the flight together and then flocks in a herd over to the train station where there are…not that many kiosks. Needless to say, the lines to buy tickets at the red machines were long.
And even though the trains are large, they do regularly sell out… potentially leaving you waiting there 25 extra minutes for the next train.
2. Transportation within Rome is VERY unpredictable.
Transportation in any large city is a bit of a headache. However, there were a few factors that made Rome especially tricky:
- Uber (at least uber baseline) inexplicably didn’t work for multiple members of our group during our stay in Rome.
- Now that uber and other carshare services are mostly app-based, there are SIGNIFICANTLY fewer taxis that will just stop & pick riders up off of the street.
- There are regular strikes in Rome, which leads to regular delays. This caused the A subway line –a major one that runs through downtown and the only public subway route to Vatican City– to be closed down while we were there.
Buses and walking ended up being our most predictable forms of transportation while in Rome. UberX was consistent as well, just way too pricy to use for longer distances or too frequently.
3. Bring very comfortable walking shoes
We have already established that transportation can be kind of iffy and you may be needing to walk a lot. Even if you do manage to find an Uber to every tourist attraction, many of the sites themselves are geographically massive! The Vatican Museums alone require about 2 hours just to walk through, start to finish.
It’s not just the sheer distance you’ll be walking here in Rome that makes it notable, but the uniquely uneven walkways and cobblestone paths!
The benefit of having a city that is 28 centuries old is that there is SO MUCH history packed in there. The negative of having a city that is 28 centuries old is that some of the roads are also extremely old and in need of some serious TLC.
Whatever shoes you have that are well-broken-in are highly recommended.
4. Know about the modesty regulations
Many of the religious sites in Rome have modesty regulations in order to enter. As far as headliner attractions in Rome, this would include:
- the Pantheon
- St. Peter’s Basilica
- The Vatican Museums (because of the Sistine Chapel).
It’s all to promote respect and show that these are places set apart from the world as different and holy.
You can check each official websites for the most specific guidelines, but generally it means that shoulders need to be covered and no shorts or skirts above the knees. Any vulgar or disrespectful logos or pictures on clothing are also not allowed. My husband was also asked to remove his baseball cap before entering the Sistine Chapel.
If you forget and show up in an outfit that doesn’t meet the regulations, most places will offer you a shawl you can wrap around to cover yourself. However, I have read a few horror stories of people just being turned away — which would be a huge bummer after waiting in a line for a very long time!
5. Food was less expensive than we expected!
As far as Europe goes, I was expecting the food to be quite expensive. Especially considering Rome is a big city, and we found their food to be DELICIOUS!
However, my husband and I were delighted to find that prices felt very reasonable- at grocery stores, gelato shops, and casual counter-service eateries especially.
Sit-down restaurants will always be pricy, but even those felt on par with other big cities- not way more.
(This was not the case when looking at food prices in Venice, but more on that later).
6. Get headliner attraction tickets ahead of time!
Although you can tour a lot of Rome more spontaneously on foot, there are a few major attractions you’ll want to get tickets for long before you leave home:
- The Colosseum (Here is the official website where we booked our tix)
- The Vatican Museums (w/ the Sistine Chapel- Official website here)
You can either buy directly from the official websites or third party online vendors. The official websites sell out faster since the costs are generally lower.
We (my SIL!) bought our Colosseum tickets as a group from the official website (there are several types of tickets to choose from and some sell out faster than others).
We ended up getting our Vatican Museums tickets from Get Your Guide third party vendor, and it worked out fine.
Why buy in advance?
Your time is precious! And these lines get VERY LONG. You don’t want to risk missing out on the attractions, or miss an opportunity to spend precious time somewhere else.
7. Time it Right at St. Peter’s Basilica
For better and for worse, it’s free to enter St. Peter’s Basilica, but that also means… the lines are long. You can book a reservation ahead of time for a fee (that includes a digital audio guide). However, everyone needs to stand in the security line in order to enter, regardless of a reservation or not. That being the case, we didn’t buy a reservation/audio guide.
Their Official Website FAQ is a very helpful place to start, if you are planning to visit.
The hours are 7 am until 7:10 pm. Your best bet is to get there very first thing in the morning, or try for late afternoon. (Wednesdays and Sundays are the busiest days, apparently).
Some members of our family had success with the early morning strategy and recommended that. They did still stand in line for quite awhile.
Our itinerary was such that we needed to try for late afternoon (and just hope it worked out!). Luckily, it did! We got in line around 4 pm and were inside the Basilica about 40 minutes later. The line looked extremely long, but it did move fairly quickly.
We listened to Rick Steve’s (free) audio guide while we waited — it has a fair amount to share about the square itself (oval? circle? haha) so that worked well!
8. Toilets Aren’t Always Free
Just like in France (and I’m sure many other places in Europe), many toilets are NOT free to use. A lot of public toilets had a 1 euro charge to use them. So, try to go while you are at more established museums or restaurants, and be sure to carry some change in case you need to go …. while on the go.
Top Tip: Use the free toilets at the fancy McDonald’s by the Spanish Steps!
9. Luggage Storage is a Fabulous Tool
We had a gap of time between check in/check out and our train arrivals/departures. In both cases we utilized a luggage storage so we didn’t have to cart everything around while we toured the previously-mentioned wobbly cobblestones.
We used Stow Your Bags, per our Airbnb host’s recommendation, and were very happy with it. The workers were friendly and efficient and prices were reasonable.
10. Everything Takes Longer Than Expected
And I mean everything! Lines are long, crowds are bustling, museums are massive, and it just takes awhile to get from Point A to Point B. Rome isn’t vastly different in these ways than other large cities. However, one thing that was a stark contrast to other large cities we’ve spent more time in…
…restaurant service! Let’s talk about it.
The good news is that restaurant staff will never rush you to leave a table. The bad news is that… the restaurant staff won’t rush to bring you a check. You need to be direct and ask for a check if you want to leave. And ask with plenty of time for them to bring it if you are on a time crunch, because restaurant service can be slower than what we are used to in America. That’s also really nice, though! It means a high priority is placed on savoring food and connecting with others while you eat.
That’s it! 10 Things I wish I’d known as a first-time visitor to Rome!
Rome experts, please chime in with comments! What am I missing?? What would you add?
