Article by Cristiano Rubbi

Name a concern people often have when travelling abroad.FOOD will probably be number 1 on the list. Here are some suggestions that may help you solve this problem, quality and cost wise, when visiting Rome. RISTORANTEs are fine, but fairly expensive. Try instead HOSTERIAs or, even better, TRATTORIAs (meals there would be about 18/25 Euros /per person; keep in mind that a cover charge always applies. Prices are shown also on stands outside the place). PIZZERIA is another sign that may come in handy: sit-down pizza meals are about 15/20 Euros / per person (pizzas are usually quite good in Rome), take-away pizzas won’t go over 6 Euros each excluding drinks. INSALATA RICCA is a food franchise group specializing in big salads and various kind of traditional pasta dishes (meals about 10/25 Euros / per person). Finally, the usual old Mc. Donald’s, Burger King or similar chains are spread throughout the city, but not Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Rome is a city of a 1000 churches, a 1000 fountains – and millions of cars. How can you get over the problem when travelling there? The answer is simple: either you walk or you catch public transport (rental cars and taxis are expensive by U.S. standards). The well-oiled public transport system is definitely cheap, if compared to the rest of Europe. It includes an extensive surface network of buses, trolley buses and street cars, as well as a growing subway system. The following tickets are available for sale at ticket offices or shops: BIT- 1.00 Euro and it lasts 75 minutes from the time of validation (to be done as soon as aboard the first vehicle; you can only use it once on the subway). BIG – 4.00 Euros and it lasts until midnight of the day of its validation and for an unrestricted number of journeys. BTI – Integrated Tourist Ticket – 11.00 Euros and it lasts for 3 days from the date indicated by the ticket holder and for an unrestricted number of journeys. CIS 16.00 Euros and it lasts for 7 days from the date indicated by the ticket holder and for an unrestricted number of journeys.

Churches and museums - Rome has been called ‘the city of a thousand churches’. Clearly a gross understatement. How many are they exactly? The bad news is: the Vatican only knows! Obviously tourists are mostly interested in some churches – St. Peter’s, all the Basilicas and a number of other churches which are particularly important from a religious or and /or architectural and artistic point of view. The good news is: you can enter any of these churches without paying a dime. The same does not apply, unfortunately, to museums. But the other good news is that most admission fees are fairly low and often allow for reduced-price tickets. In some cases admission is even free; obviously this does not apply to the main ones, with the exception of the Vatican Museums where admission is free on the last Sunday of each month.

International Phone cards are a great invention, particularly since they cut costs considerably (with a 5 or 10 Euros card you can speak with the States about half an hour to an hour). Incidentally, you can use them on any phone you wish – public, private or mobile.

Rome is also known as the city of a thousand fountains. This figure does not include only artistic fountains to be found everywhere in the centre of Rome. It also refers to the small drinking fountains which are fairly well distributed throughout Rome and provide excellent drinking water (the artistic fountains normally don’t). So don’t go out and spend stacks of money on drinking water: in the central city area you’re likely to pay up to 5 Euros for a bottle! Just buy one and refill it as many times as you wish (keeping an eye on the figure appearing under each plastic bottle showing the maximum recommended number of times you can refill it without the plastic yielding any chemical components).

About the Author

Cristiano Rubbi: an old hand in the field of tourism, having been in the business for the past 20 years. He is great at arranging tours for groups and individuals, young and old visiting Italy. See what he has to say on his website or join his forum or his guestbook.