For the All Saints' vacation, I had the chance to travel to the beautiful city of Rome for a week. I learned a lot about the culture, the history of the city and the monuments that adorn the city center.
Day One
As everything is open on Sundays in Rome, my family and I opted for a tour of the area around our hotel (a very well located hotel, near the Trevi Fountain), in order to get to know the surroundings a bit. In the end, we visited the area, passing by all the touristy stuff, i.e. Piazza di Spagna, Piazza Del Popolo, Piazza Cavour, Piazza Venezia with the monument to Victor Emmanuel II, the Capitol and the Colosseum, and the Vatican and Castel Sant'Angelo.
All the monuments seen were splendid and above all free, even the one to Victor Emmanuel II. In fact, all you need is the health pass and I recommend you to go there because the building is incredibly beautiful and offers a breathtaking view of the city.
Day Two
We did another day of free visits. First we went to see the Trevi Fountain (where there are always a lot of people) which is my favorite monument, then we visited the Pantheon which is free. We waited about 30 minutes (we went in the morning). However, you need the sanitary pass (like in almost all the monuments). The interior is very small but interesting to see.
In the afternoon, we visited the shopping streets called Via del Corso and Via Condotti. Via del Corso is a street where there are a lot of different stores, and Via Condotti, which is more for luxury stores. And we ended up in the park of Villa Borghese, but I didn't like it too much. Apparently, the most beautiful part of the park is the gallery, but we didn't do it because it's not free.
Day Three
We spent the day at the Vatican to visit the museum, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. The museum is super large and fascinating to see. I also loved the gardens upstairs. The Sistine Chapel is located inside the museum and is quite small. We are not allowed to take pictures or videos in it. On the other hand the Basilica is extremely big and sublime. We waited about 45 minutes before being able to enter there because the entrance is free. Frankly, it was well worth the wait. Especially since St. Peter's Square is just as beautiful. Then, at the end of the day, we went for an ice cream in Piazza Navona.
And little information, we arrived 30 minutes before the time indicated on our tickets for the museum, but we didn't wait for our time and we went right back.
Day Four
This was the day I was looking forward to the most. We first went to the Mamertine prison, but it's very small and not captivating. Then, we went early to the Colosseum. I thought we could visit everything, but there are parts reserved for those who do the full tour and that's not what we took. I was a little disappointed that we couldn't go down to where the gladiators fought. So it took us an hour to visit. But I still loved it because the place is sumptuous. Then we went to the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum which are located in an archaeological park right next door. It's very big and beautiful, but be careful, afterwards your feet will surely hurt.
Day Five
We left the city center to go to the districts of Trastevere and Gianicolo. These are very typical places, with less tourists and lots of charming little streets. You can eat there for less money and you can find very beautiful churches to visit.
Day Six
We didn't do a lot of things. We went in the districts outside of the city center, but they were dilapidated and not very pretty places.
Day Seven
We went to the station area, Castro Pretorio, which is very beautiful, with Piazza San Bernardo and Piazza Della Repubblica (where part of the movie Jumper takes place). Then we passed by the train station, Roma Termini, which looks huge.
This is my week in Rome. Honestly, since the monuments are almost all in the city center, you can do everything by foot, which I advise you to do because the streets are sublime and you can find churches and monuments to see everywhere. We easily did everything in four days. On the other hand, we did not do the catacombs because it was too far from the center. For the paying monuments, it doesn't matter the time on your ticket, you can come in advance, they will let you enter without any problem and without waiting if it's not too crowded. And I also advise you to either take the train or to book a driver to go from Fiumicino airport to Rome (which takes 30 minutes by car).
There are many things that are not like in France. There are parks that are private and therefore not accessible to everyone. For the crosswalks, it is quite particular. There are not everywhere like in France, you also have to force yourself to pass because cars do not stop at the red lights sometimes. What surprised me the most, however, were the waiters who call you to come and eat in their restaurants. And also that their 4 cheese pizzas, most of the time, are with fresh cream rather than tomato sauce.
Here are some good restaurants we tried:
- Vacanze (Via Agostino Depretis, 83, 00184 Roma RM, Italy): there is a lot of choice and no service charge, and it is very very good
- Olympio (Via degli Avignonesi, 37, 00187 Roma RM, Italy): it's a pizzeria even if they do other dishes. I had a pizza that was incredible, same for their tiramisu and there is no service charge.
- Al Picchio (Via del Lavatore, 40, 00187 Roma RM, Italy): it is located near the Trevi Fountain and serves very good food
- Mangia e Trevi (Via delle Muratte, 93, 00187 Roma RM, Italy): we had a very good reception, and we ate incredibly well for not very expensive. It is also located near the Fountain
Photo and video credits: Candice Marmonier and Amélie Marmonier
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