Finally, Rome

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

My single room was decent-sized, pretty small, but I have stayed in double rooms in Paris, for example, in rooms that were no larger than this one. There was a closet, a room safe, a small luggage rack, plenty of light, TV with cable. No drawer space so I basically lived out of my suitcase. Reliable same-day laundry and dry cleaning is available.

I had asked for a quiet room and mine faced a quiet courtyard. I would guess that front-facing rooms could be disturbed by motorcycle traffic. Air conditioned. Very good buffet breakfast with good coffee, hot milk, various forms of bread and delicious pastry, plus American dry cereals, fruit, cold meats, cheeses, yogurt.

If I had one hesitation it would only be that the Santa Chiara isn't very close to a metro stop. Relatively speaking, metro stops in Rome are few and far between. Walking, buses, and taxis are the way to get around. Walking and buses eat up a lot of time; taxis start to add up because the distances are longer than you might think from looking at the map.

Myosotis, www.myostotis.it, was excellent. Simple decor, inviting pink color scheme. Complete dinner for one with a glass of wine, L 62,000. If I'd had more time I would have gone there again. Pleasant and efficient service, very good food. A very good value.

Credit cards, closed on Sunday. Open from 12:30pm to 3pm, 7:30pm to 11pm. Popular location near the Pantheon.

I had one dinner at Piperno, a well-known place in the Ghetto area. Their famous carciofa alla giudecca (a deep-fried artichoke) was delicious, and the service was fine, but I thought the food otherwise unmemorable and almost twice the price of the much-better Myosotis, for example. Their menu is in both Italian and English.

When you call they'll give you a confirmation number (bring it with you) which you present when picking up your tickets. You pay for the tickets when you pick them up. The tickets are good only for 2 hours so arrive ahead of time since you'll need time to get the tickets and check your bags-only very small purses allowed, no coats, umbrellas, backpacks, etc. (about 20 minutes needed for these activities at peak times). No photography. There is a gift shop. After you get your ticket you proceed up to the top floor for the paintings and trompel'oeil rooms. The sculptures are on the floor below so allow enough time to see them. You have to go back into the museum to pickup your belongings. Your hotel may be willing to make the reservation for you.

Information, booking: tel. 06-32810 Guided tours in English available on request at certain times through 06 8555952 for an additional charge. Borghese does not accept credit cards.

Monday: closed. From Tuesday to Sunday: from 9.00am to 7.00pm in two-hour blocks.

I had reserved in advance for the Domus Aurea and the Borghese Gallery via Email service: Service@romeguide.it

They charge a commission of course. My reservations were there as promised, you pay for the actual ticket when you arrive at the venue.

The Borghese Gallery was, after the Colosseum and Forum, the next best thing I did in Rome, including the Vatican.

The museum's website www.galleriaborghese.it/borghese/en/edefault.htm

www.pariswoman.com/travel/romewalks1.htm
an article on the history of the Jewish ghetto in Rome

www.us-israel.org/jsource/vjw/Rome.html
article on Jewish history in Rome

http://www.emmeti.it/Arte/Lazio/ProvRoma/Roma/comunita_israelitica.uk.html
the Rome Jewish Community Museum

Museo di Arte Ebraica, Lungotevere Cenci, Ghetto, phone 06 6875051, open 9:30-2, 3-5 Monday-Thurs, Fridays 9:30-2, Sundays, 9:30-12:30. Admisssion includes visit to the Sinagoga Ashkenazita. Entrance is at via Plebiscito 112, phone 06 6795307. At the end of via del Portico is Ponte Quattro Quattro Capi, San Gregorio church. Bears an inscription in Latin and Hebrew asking Jews to convert to Catholicism. The Synagogue offers a brief guided tour in English but no photography is permitted, and security is very tight.

www.italyguide.com
Not all of it is great, but the section on trains, airports, etc is helpful

www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/2680/museums.htm
List of museums in Rome, some little-known (e.g., Military)

www.travel-italy.com/library/
Hotels, travel tips

www.dolcevita.com
Events, fashion, wine, food - not much information really

www.wherenext.com

www.initaly.com
Commercial site, but some info on taking kids, tours, hotels, car rentals

www.itwg.com
Maps, city and town info for Italy, weather, tour operators

www.roma2000.it
Monuments, museums, dining, hotels, some photos

www.lainet.com/~initaly
Same as "initaly" website above

www.annells.demon.co.uk/main/busita/htm
Links to websites on Italian bus services

www.commune.roma.it

An awesome website, photos of ancient ruins in many locations, including Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Ostia Antica:

www.vatican.va

www.christusrex.org
Quite religious, but good photos and diagrams of Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel, etc.

www.wantedinrome.com
Concerts and other events

www.capitolium.org
The official Web site of the Imperial forums, with pictorial reconstructions of how the ruins would have looked in their day, as well as how they look now; material on life in ancient Rome; and even a live Web view of the Forum.

www.catacombe.roma.it
Official site of Rome's Christian catacombs, with visuals, historical descriptions, and explanations of ancient symbols

www.gamberorosso.it
Nice site in English, detailing walks around Rome that take in Gambero Rosso's speciality - wine, travel, food

www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/rome

www.timeout.com/rome/

www.twenj.com
Excellent for sightseeing info, restaurants, hotels, photos

www.inroma.it
Site is in Italian

www.travel.it
Lots on tours, a little bit of art and architecture information

www.santasusanna.org/default.ssi
Santa Susanna is the American Catholic church in Rome, the website has links and clicks for sightseeing, the Vatican, etc

www.expedia.com/daily/wg/rome.asp
Mostly on booking a trip, but some info on Rome with photos

home.earthlink.net/~richardab/Fly/Europe/Rome/Ro_Arrivals/FCO_Arrive.html
Good personal web page on Rome, includes clicks to Rome airport, restaurants, restaurant customs, sightseeing, a few hotels

www.nerone.co
Tours, itineraries, and guides for Rome, also names and addresses of some tourist sites

www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/2680/General.htm
A personal webpage on Rome, some very good practical information, including taking young kids to Rome

www.housingitlay.com
Hotels, restaurants, etc

Water
Rome is renowned for the purity of its water which comes from underground springs. Outdoor drinking fountains are plentiful, they are often labeled "acqua marcia" and they have a little drinking spout. Do not drink the water from ornamental fountains as it is chemically treated--often it is labeled "non potabile."

Maps and books
Insight Map: Rome is very good for a macro-orientation and for metro stops, but it, as well as "Streetwise Rome", is lousy for finding your way when you are walking because too many small streets and alleys are not labeled on the map. On the other hand, Michelin's Roma Tascabile was my new best friend. It is a 5X8 spiral-bound book, and it has an alpha list of seemingly all streets. It doesn't however offer a city-wide view, so that's what the Insight Map or the Streetwise map can do for you.

on-line maps of Rome:
One is a zoomable one located at www.atac.roma.it/trasroma/indexuk.htm . The other is a clickable map located at http://mappe.virgilio.it/mappe/wwwemap.cgi?place=roma.

Guidebooks
For Rome, one recommended book is Fodor's Rome-The complete guide with walking tours. Very good for restaurant and hotel listings, and basic sightseeing information. Also, Time Out: Rome is full of facts but small enough to carry easily, and has some specialized topics like "Hidden Cloisters and Secret Gardens.". I've browsed and borrowed several guidebooks, and the ones I relied on for taking with me and walking around with (as opposed to pre-trip research)were Fodor's, and Michelin's Green Guide for Rome. It has no restaurant or hotel information, but excellent historical and cultural notes--more than some people want, perhaps. My criticism of it is that the index is awful: some listiings are under the Latin or Italian names, some are under the English translation names, and some important topics or sites are not actually listed in the index at all, but they do appear in the book. Topics are organized into walking itineraries. I bought A Companion Guide to Rome by Masson based on 5-star recommendations from Amazon, and for me it was not a worthwhile purchase. The authors (it has been revised several times) offer infinite detail and historical tid bits, but it actually offers little that wasn't already in the Green Guide, and it is too heavy and too much reading in my opinion to do on site, while walking around. It was a nice reference, but I should have looked for it in the library and just borrowed it.

I am a big fan of Earl Steinbicker's books, and his Daytrips Italy book not only has information on how to do 40 daytrips within Italy (transportation, what to see when you get there, even small maps) but it includes walking itineraries for Rome itself. You could photocopy just the pages you want to take with you.

There is a souvenir book with plastic overlays that you can get from street vendors or souvenir stands in Rome that is called Rome Past and Present: With Reconstructions of Ancient Monuments that has photos of various ruins inside the Forum, Trajan's Markets, the Palatine, the Coliseum, and the Catacombs with plastic overlays showing what these areas probably looked like during the Imperial Roman era that is well worth purchasing before visiting the the ruins. It will help you immensely visualize what you are looking at, before and after your visit. It is not expensive and is about a 4"x8" publication.

Some practical information:
American Express is at Piazza di Spagna 38. Travel service and tour desk is open M-F 9-5:30 and Saturday 9am to 12:30; from May through Oct tour desk also open Sat afternoon from 2-2:30.
Banks are open M-F 8:30 am to 1:30 and 3-4pm.
Most stores are open Mon-Sat 9-a and then from 3:30 or 4pm to 7:30 or 8.
Most shops are closed on Sunday.
G Eastman Dental Hospital, open 24 h ours viale Regina elena 287, tel 06 44831 24-hour
Drugstore: Farmacia Internazionale, Piazza Barberini 49, tel 06 6794680. Other pharmacies are usually open 8:30am to 1pm and then from 4-7:30.
Emergency medical services are available at hospitals (Rome American Hospital is sure to have English speaking MDs on duty 24 hours per day.) However, if you want to avoid waiting in an emergency room, you can call for a a personalized house call to your hotel. Contact Medi-Call, 06 8840113. Staffing is 24-7. Fees begin at around $100 per visit, more for specialists or additional treatments. website is www.olgiata.com/medi-call Eyeglasses: Vasari, Piazza della Repubblica 61, tel 06 4882240, next to the Grand Hotel, near Termini.
Luggage Storage is available at Termini Station---look for the "Left Luggage" sign. Open daily, closed during some of the wee hours. Charge is per piece of luggage for each 12-hour period.

Tickets can be bought at the RomaVision stands in: Piazza del Colosseo, Piazza Cinquecento (Termini Station) sidewalk "C", Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore, Piazza San Giovanni , or on board the bus for an additional charge.
Telephone: 06.46954695
Email: info@romavision.it

Bus #64 links the railway station with most of the city's famous sites, including the Pantheon and St Peter's, although dense traffic can make things hard to see from the windows of a bus.

Website is www.atac.roma.it/trasroma/parade/linee.htm