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Many tourists in Rome are approached by someone offering them a free tour. The vast majority think it must be a scam and quickly run the other way. I know because I was a guide in Rome for 4 years and got rejected by many people. Here's the truth -these tours really are totally free. The reason they do it is that at the end they will give you a short spiel about the other (not free) tours that their company also offers. If you go then they will receive a commission. Many people also tip at the end of the free tour, but this is not compulsory.
There are two kind of tour guides in Rome, official and unofficial. In 95% of cases the unofficial guides give better tours. Why? 1. They speak English well; most of the official guides do not. 2. They have to make it interesting and entertaining if they want to sell the other tours, whereas the offical guides have no such incentive. 3. They are young and energetic, as opposed to many of the official guides who have been doing it for years and are totally burned out, repeating the same thing every day in a horrible monotone voice. I have come across a few official guides who were excellent, and I also know of a couple unofficial guides who have no business giving tours (never go on a tour with a South African named Grant), but by and large I believe my above statement holds true.
I can't vouch for all the unofficial guides in Rome, but I can tell you that some of the best guides in Rome are unofficial, only because the system forces them to stay that way. The licence exam is supposed to be held once a year, but in the 4 years I was there it was never given. The official guides control the committee, and they don't want any more competition, so the exam just isn't offered. The guides I worked with have a company called Eternal City Tours, and I can guarantee they all give great tours. Paul, Mike, Gabriel - they are all students living in Rome who know what they're talking about and are passionate about the city.*
Now, who's who: The ones holding up antennas with hankerchiefs tied to them, leading groups of people around like cattle, are the official guides. The ones who offer you free tours are unofficial, while the ones who approach you while you're in line for the Colosseum are not guides at all. They are attractive English speakers, usually female, who work for boring Italian guides, telling you that if you pay 10 euro or whatever it is for their tour then you can skip the line and go straight in. But the pretty Swedish girl who sold you on the tour is not the guide; the guide is an Italian with a microphone who is bored to tears because he gives the same spiel six times a day then goes home. The only reason people go on these tours is to skip the queue, but what the Swedish girl won't tell you is that you can skip it on your own without the tour. The ticket to the Colosseum costs 10 euro and is a joint ticket that also gets you into the Palatine Hill - the ruins right next to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. There's never a line at the Palatine, so just go there, buy your ticket, then go back down to the Colosseum, skip the queue and go directly to the turnstiles.
And if you get offered a free tour anywhere in Rome I recommend you go. It won't cost you anything and you're bound to learn something.
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Don't spend long hours waiting in line at the Coloseum to see it. Go to the ticket booth over at Palatine Hill and purchase your ticket. The ticket includes both Coloseum and Palatine Hill, so it doesn't matter where you buy it.
In the summer, we saw the line to get tickets to the Coloseum was 1 hour long, we walked over to the Palatine Hill (10 mintues away), walked up to the ticket booth and purchased our tickets with no waiting.
The we walked back over to the Coloseum and went right in (after going thru the metal detectors). It was great Leave a Comment
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 Capuchin crypt by tinyvulture
Be careful to bring small change with you, and watch what you put in the money bowl. Making a donation is certainly fair, but they will try to keep whatever you give them.
I would not skip it all together, it really is a sight to behold. But if you do, the Mamertine Prison at the top of the Roman Forum also has a nice creepy atmosphere, and the staff is not so grumpy. Leave a Comment
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Many have written in this forum about their perceived rip-offs and "unattentive" waiters. I just wanted to say that typically waiters will not come to you after the initial order has been delivered because they think it is rude to interrupt their diners. Call or nod, slightly raise your hand and I assure you in any decent risto, trattoria or cafe bar your needs will be met professionally and efficiently. It is also customary for your bill to show (at nicer places) a service charge for flowers, napkins, etc. for about 2-3 Euros a person. Sometimes a bill will show a service charge 10-15% and in this case a tip is NOT required unless you think warranted over and above that amount. And consider that once you come in for a dinner you have that table for the rest of the evening 2 - 3 hours typically by Italian standards. There is no rush. You will also pay more to eat outside on the sidewalk and less inside and even less still if you stand up at a cafe bar. These are Italian customs not arbitrary actions to rip-off or ignore tourist patrons. And, anyone visiting any foriegn country should NOT expect a menu in English. Think of dining out as an adventure. Learn a few words of Italian and take a dictionary to dinner with you. I will bet you that you will get loads of help. Waiters will be that much more attentive as you make a show of trying to communicate in their language and you will have a richer and more rewarding sense of accomplishment by engaging yourself than being an obnoxious crank demanding and English menu. Do US restaurants offer Italian language menus to Italian tourists in the US? I DON'T THINK SO! I have no connection to a "tour" book I just read that describes Italian customs and how to negotiate trains, buses along with many other useful tidbits. It is written by an Italian who now lives in Seattle. "Italy From the Inside" by Francesca Tosolini and her 185ish pages can be downloaded onto your computer. Between her's and Rick Steve's books these are the best down to earth travel guides I know of.
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Eating in Rome is not expensive except if the restaurant is near Vatican.
We went to one of those self-service restaurant two blocks from Vatican and I got charged E31 for a diet coke, chicken and dessert. I made a mistake of not asking for the price before ordering. So please avoid the same mistake that I did. Stay away from tourist restaurants near Vatican. I have been warned before by a friend who went to Rome before but I did not listen.
Before ordering ask if the service charge is included 'servizio incluso?'. I have eaten near Pantheon and the service charge is not so expensive plus you are not expected to give tip anymore.
Also when going to a self-service restaurant always ask for the price of the entree. Specially if you are near Vatican. Leave a Comment
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We stopped at a restaurant on via sistina and were definitly scammed. We stopped to read the menu and the owner came to talk and invited us in. He was a big man, very jolly seeming, swore to us his wife made the pasta (doubtful). The food was somewhere below mediocre. Our bill was supposed to be 22 euros based on the menu including the cover charge but the total was 33 because of a 4 euro gratuity automatically added and an increase in the price of the salad. my husband had ordered a salad and the man came back and asked if he wanted the salad plain or with mozzarella (after taking the menu). It turned out the salad with mozzerella was listed in a different part of the menu, on a different page from all the other salads and is an additional 6 euros. The salad was not even worth 4 euros much less 10. The couple across from us accepted the wine they were offered and were charged 50 euros for a crappy bottle they didn't even finish. Their faces said it all. If you are accosted by a large italian who swears his wife makes the pasta and says "if you don't like, you don't pay" move on.
We had a similar experience the night before where the owner greeted us on the street and gave us a spiel about why we should eat there. That time the food wasn't phenominal but it was decent solid food and we were honestly charged. Plus is was near our hotel so our aching feet approved. Still there is better food out there.
Prepare to pay high dollar for mediocre at best food. I saw 2.50 euro for a candy bar at some wagons.
Never eat at the little wagons outside the tourist areas if you can help it. Find a grocery store and go to the deli counter. Much better and cheaper food will be there. Especially for families in terms of water, snacks, etc. There is a good one right by the Colosseum that a grad student steered us toward when he saw us walking toward the vendor cart.
For real restaurants I would highly reccommend Mario's on villa del vite near the spanish steps and dar poeta pizzeria in the trastevere. We had fabulous food at great prices at both places. Avoid the bad food, you're in Italy and should eat right.
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 Pasta Museum Entrance on
Piazza Scanderbeg by Lacristina
I was wondering how they could afford to keep the place open when I finally realized that it was the pasta industry that was obviously fronting the place. The exhibits included "documentation," suggesting that pasta could solve world food problems.
If you're still interested anyway, the Museum is located near the Trevi Fountain. As you're facing the fountain, turn right and walk down Via Lavatore, take the first right toward Piazza Scanderbeg, the museum is on the left. One bonus is, kids, accompanied by both parents are only 1 euro. Gee, that makes it (only) 19 euros for 3 people!
Why not walk down Via del Governo Vecchio and nearby streets and poke your head into the various shops. Much more fun and doesn't cost anything! Or take the kids to the Villa Borghese and let 'em run around for an hour or two. Leave a Comment
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Buying water from any of the number of drink/snack stands on the streets of Rome will cost you about EUR 1,50. Or if you want something like Coca Cola or Sprite, then that will cost you even more - the prices are a bit much.
Instead, find yourself a supermarket, like 'Despar' where you can buy a bottle of water for as little as EUR 0,21. Shopping at a supermarket and getting your food for the day there is a much better alternative than paying the prices at the food stands. Leave a Comment
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DO NOT EAT anything within a kilometer of the Vatican City. You will either find the food highly disagreable or extremely expensive OR BOTH. However hungry you are, just get yourself away from the area. Even though people know better, you still see them lined up at the John the 23rd Brunch Buffet just outside of the St. Peters gift shop.
Don't eat. If you do, don't tell anyone about it!
Plan your day. Take some snacks with you that you can have with a coffee in the coffeeshop in the Vatican Museum. Leave a Comment
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I would say that this is not a special Rome problem, as it seems all the world's taxi drivers who stands outside an airport does it only for the chance of ripping a lot of money from newly arrived tourists.
Unfortunately the Fiumicino airport is no exception.
There were a lot of taxis outside the terminal, so getting one is not a problem. There are also leaders, who will ask you if you need a taxi, where you want to go, and then they fix the taxi for you.
Unfortunately there's where the problem starts... Cause unlike in the city center these guys don't use a taxameter, they have a fixed price for every trip. And be sure that it's at least 75 per cent higher than you should pay...
For our ride to Sheraton Golf Parco dei Medici, which was our hotel, they wanted 50 euro. For a shared taxi... The trip took 15 minutes maximum, and then the bastards wanted another 50 euro for the other group in the taxi.
You think it sounds okay? Well, eat this then... on the return we paid 35 euro for the same route, not sharing the taxi with someone else.
The problem is that these guys are in charge, and they know it. You have to go to your destination, and since this mafia mob all works together, you have no chance of getting another price.
At least try to haggle. We were first offered a ride by a "illegal" driver, who was prepared to take us for 40 euro (got it down from 50), but since I didn't think it would be possible that a legal driver would charge that much we turned down the offer.
Silly me...
Make sure to decide the price before stepping inside the taxi, and don't be afraid to get pissed. These guys have all seen it before, and they now they are worse bastards than bank robbers... At least bank robbers will go to jail, these guys won't...
We should have paid maximum 35 euro for that trip, and since we shared the taxi with another group it should probably have gone down to 20-25 euro even. Considering that we paid about 18-20 euro for a taxi from the city center to the hotel, a fair price Fiumicino-Rome city center should be about 50-55 euro. I doubt you'll ever get it that low, but it's worth a try.
There is a train service, Leonardo Express, going from the airport into the Termini train station. TAKE THAT!!! It takes 31 minutes, and is by far much cheaper than the price the taxi bastards will charge you...
Only problem is if you, like us, are living a bit outside the city center.
Also note, that this is about the drivers at the airport. During the week in Rome we travelled with taxi in the city about 7-8 times, and every time was great! Taxameter running, good price, and always very nice and polite drivers.
I wonder from which world the bastards at the airport comes from...? Jupiter?
Link to the time schedule for Leonardo Express, the train that goes airport-Termini: http://www.adr.it/content.asp?Subc=1361&L=1&idMen=731 Leave a Comment
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