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Beyond Tourism
In the books you’ll read, the pictures you’ll see, and the pithy sayings you’ll hear, Rome is the idealized city, an eternal metropolis that seamlessly transitions from history to the present in a matter of city blocks. It has been canonized for its invaluable cultural treasures, from ancient temples to Michelangelo’s Pietà. Rome is the capital of kingdoms and republics, its genesis the empire that defined the Western world in antiquity. Its system of government is still imitated today, its architecture has laid the course for modern building techniques, and its most recent contribution to world culture, its cinema, is revered. These claims are not exaggerations; the city will live up to its reputation. Expect no excuse for how overwhelming it can be.
This city of 2.7 million people isn’t a dreamy idyll, though—or at least, it’s more than one. Not as pretty as Paris, not as efficient as Berlin, Rome is a thrumming modern metropolis, a commercial and cultural hub. It is also a city of contradictions. The quiet and respectable neighborhoods around the Vatican rub up against buzzy Trastevere. A 10min. walk takes you from the designer stores around the Spanish Steps to the bargain basements near Termini station. Everywhere you turn, the Holy See has renovated a crumbling pagan building and repurposed it as a Catholic church. Nightclubs and chic hotels pop up in the ruins of the Ancient City. If all this pull between the past and the future gets overwhelming, just take a break and settle right back into the present.
Visitors to Rome often try to do too much—they rush through every cathedral and by every painting. Sometimes, it’s worth kicking back with a caffè and watching the city march past. In these moments of reflection, you’ll see the city’s separate identities—romantic shrine, modern metropolis, living archaeological site, and place to build a home—all twirled together like pasta around a fork. Enjoy your newfound understanding of this singular city. You’ll realize how much you’re going to miss it, and you’ll know you can always come back. This stuff has been around a while; it’s not going anywhere.
Entrance Requirements Passport (see next page). Required for all non-EU citizens. Visa (see next page). Italy does not require visas for EU citizens and residents of Australia, Canada, Ireland ...more
The Roman spring is nothing short of heaven. The weather is pleasantly balmy (hovering around 50-70°F), although often rainy, and the tourists haven’t caught on. By June, both the temperature ...more
Geographically, Italy lies in a temperate zone and has a predominantly Mediterranean climate. Yet, due to the peninsula’s length, temperatures and weather often vary drastically in different parts ...more
Enjoy Rome, V. Marghera 8/A (☎ 39 06 44 56 890; www.enjoyrome.com). From the middle concourse of the Termini between the trains and the ticket booths, exit right. Cross V. Marsala. The office is 3 ...more
Rome’s size and myriad of narrow, winding streets can make it difficult to navigate, so it’s helpful to orient yourself by using major landmarks and main streets. The Tiber River, which snakes north-south ...more
The Tiber River runs north-south and cuts Rome in two, with most of the city center on the eastern side, except for the Vatican City and Trastevere on the west. Rome’s ancient streets are notoriously ...more
Any attempt to squeeze the best of the Eternal City into a day will require a gladiator’s fortitude and Ben-Hur’s chariot. In the morning, take our half-day walking tour through the medieval Centro ...more
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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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