Rome is absolutely incredible! The food is delicious, the history is breathtaking, and the Gelato is out of this world.
Everyone should make an effort to see Rome at some point in their lives. There is so much to experience and the historical pieces are truly remarkable. Very few places hold so much history and it’s life-changing to walk through such an ancient city.
And of course, the food is amazing!
How we got there!
As part of our first European adventure, we didn’t have a lot of experience in the game, but we were able to snag round-trip tickets to Barcelona out of LA for $267. From Barcelona, we took Ryanair over Rome for 2 days. Ryanair is the way to go if you’re needing cheap flights in Europe. The tickets were about $100 a person and well worth the purchase. (We used miles)
It’s worth noting that the airport is not close to Rome. It’s actually located in Fiumicino.
To get to Rome from the airport we used Uber to get to a metro stop and then took the train into the city. The metro doesn’t go downtown so we used Uber again to get us to our Airbnb.
If you learn anything from this page, it should be that this was stupid. The train goes from the airport to Rome for less than $20. It takes like 30 minutes. Taxis/Ubers are also an option. They cost more but they go straight to where you need for a set price. If you have people to split the price with it’s not a bad option.
We just blame our naive spending on this trip being our first to Europe.
What we did!
Like many European cities, Rome is filled with more things to see than anyone has time for. We ran and bused non-stop to see all that we could in the short amount of time that we had.
Following the pattern of some of our other destinations, I’m just going to bullet point some of the points of interest that we saw.
One of the great ways to see the city is by taking a “hop on, hop off” bus. They’re great because you get a ride and can kind of do your thing. We’d definitely recommend it for your first time in the city.
- Colosseum
- The Vatican
- Trevi Fountain
- Roman Forum
- Spanish Steps
- Pantheon
- Piazza Venezia
Where we stayed!
Our first night was in Fiumicino not too far from the airport. We decided to stay here to avoid navigating Rome at night. It was pretty nice and they had a shuttle making it easy for us. Check it out.
In Rome itself we stayed in a lower end hotel but the location was amazing! We were about 100 feet away from Trevi fountain and it was perfect. Like I said, it was lower on the spectrum but it was great. Check it out.
Transportation
As stated above we did a little bit of everything to get to Rome, but the majority of the time we walked. We did take a hop on hop off bus but otherwise walked. We did a lot of it but everything is fairly close and the city is full of sites worth seeing.
Where we ate!
Leave it to use to not take notes on our first European trip. For the most part we just ate tons of tourist trap food. We’ve since learned, if possible, to look outside the traps and to get some real food. Regardless, we still had good pizza and ice cream.
Right across from our hotel in Rome was the best gelato we’ve ever had. It’s right next to Trevi fountain so even if you don’t stay there, it’s worth the visit. Gelato g Italiano
Funny enough, the best pizza we had was actually at the hotel in Fiumicino. If for some reason you’re near by, stop in a get some great pizza.
Gluten-Free in Rome
Laynie wasn’t actually gluten-free when we went to Rome. Because of this, we have no experience with Roman food. Having been to many European cities, they’re great with gluten-free. They’re always very helpful and often have better options than you’d find in the U.S.
What we learned!
Uber is not quite the same as it is in the U.S. Many European cities favor taxis and Rome is the same. Because of this Uber is only available as Uber Black. This just means they’re a little more expensive in some instances but you’ll get a nice black private car and the drivers are typically pretty nice. We were able to get the contact info from our driver and we used him to arrange a ride back to the airport on our way out.
There is a set fare of 48 Euros to get from the airport to the city and vice versa. This is the case for Ubers and Taxis. If you have people to split the fare with, it’s actually a great way to go. It’s direct and more private than the train.
Rome is a very popular city and will likely be filled with tourists. We went over Christmas and it was insane. There were so many people on the streets. If possible avoid the busy season because it can be a zoo.
Because of the craziness of tourists, you may have to go to sites early or late for some peace and quiet. We set an alarm for 3am to go see trevi fountain and it paid off. It was great and we’d recommend the middle of the night to anyone.
Speaking of Trevi Fountain, an estimated $3600 is thrown into the fountain every day by tourists! The good news, the city takes this money and uses it for charity work.
The bathrooms are horrible and far between. This is really only the case in the city but be aware. Unlike the U.S. you can’t just stroll into a shop and ask to use the bathroom. If by some chance they let you use a bathroom, it’ll probably not have a seat or anything else.
Like many cities in Europe, they don’t offer free water at restaurants. If you do want water, make sure you know what you’re getting first as they will likely charge you for it.
Watch our for scams. Rome is busy, so there are lots of them. Pick pocketers and swindlers. You’ll recognize them as they’ll be trying to give you bracelets or toys. DO NOT TAKE THEM! No, they don’t love Americans (well maybe because they’re dumb and fall for the tricks), and no they aren’t giving you stuff for free. They will give you a “free” bracelet, tie it around your wrist, and then try to get money out of you. Don’t fall for it.
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