Dove fare la pipi'? (Toilets of Rome!) by Lacristina
Ah, the most important question for every traveler!Things are so much easier in Amsterdam (for men, anyway) where there are public outdoor urinals everywhere.
But in Rome, the first rule of touring is: never leave a museum without using the bathrooms just before you leave!
Some solutions:
1. Just like the US, you can always use the bathroom at any of the McDonalds. There are a couple dozen spread around the city...train station Spanish Steps, Pantheon, etc.
2. There are public bathrooms at the department store La Rinascente (the floor with women's clothing), on the Via del Corso (not far from the Trevi. I have a tip about it on my Rome page under shopping) and also across the street in the Galleria Alberto Sordi (used to be the Galleria Colonna) an indoor shopping mall.
3. Every bar and restaurant is required to allow anyone to use their bathroom, not just patrons. Still, if I use their facilities, I almost always get an espresso or something. That said, I have seen some restrooms that I would rather not have seen! A few nearly required gymnastics to enter (because the buildings are so old, and toilets came only in the last century, they were often put in small, cramped spots.)
4. Most of the 4 star or 5 star hotels will have a lobby bathroom that they will let you use (most of the three stars I know, don't have a lobby bathroom.)
Most of these bathrooms don't have hot water and many won't have soap. TP might not always be available either, so it wouldn?t hurt to bring along some tissues and hand sanitizer.
Feel better now?
