I'm going next wednesday, I'm pretty sorted for music thanks to this fucking beauty: http://www.dissonanze.it/site/eng/programma.html
What else should I do though? Especially interested in good cheap places to eat out (preferably Italian but anything's good), second hand clothes shops, record shops etc..
Trastevere
for eating
Anywhere specific or is the area rife with good options?
I can't remember specifics
but it's a lively area with quite a few places
Eating out's pretty easy
there's a lot of cheap cafe type things and restaurants..
I'd say just go and explore, it's a beautiful city.
^
havent been for years and have no specifics. just wander. it's lovely
I went two weekends ago
It was great. Northwest area of the Centro Storico has some nice italian restaurants off the main drag - on and around Via Collonari/Coronari(?).
Don't eat in, or too near Piazza Navona (overpriced and americans eating chicken and chips everywhere).
Eat the ice cream.
Get up early on morning and get to the Vatican museums for 8:15 and see the Sistene Chapel and the Raphael Rooms - overwhelmingly incredibly inspirationally wunderbar.
Order in Italian if you can.
Go see the Pope in St. Peters Square on Sunday at 12 if he's back from the States. He's quite good but he only does one song and then biggups everyone form each country who has come to see him. If you email the Vatican he might give you a holler.
Finally, go to a tourist outlet the morning you get there and buy a roma pass (free entry to your your first two museums, free buses and trams for 3 days) and also get them to book you in for the Museo e Galeria Borghese in the park at the north of the city (which you should also check out it's spiffing).
Don't know about shops sorry.
Hope that helps.
Another vote for 'just wander around' right here
my biggest tip would be not to bother with the Vatican. It's expensive, the queues are huge, it's full of crass tourists, and the opulence of the place will make you want to sick all over yourself.
Yeah, I really don't dig on religious architecture
so I'll be avoiding all that stuff, random exploration sounds like the way forward!
go to the coliseum
^yep
and get a tour guide to make it interesting - they're full of entertaining lies, and they normally only cost about 5 euro.
religious architecture is amazing
and rome is littered with churches - do drop by one or two, they really are splendid
st. peter's itself although way ott is amazing
i stayed very close to the vatican and popped in every day. loved it.
and actually, i really enjoyed the vatican museum - which is how much anyway? not that expensive...
i really do think it' silly to visit rome as a tourist and not see the vatican
Everyday?!
Maybe I wasn't in the right mood for it. I just found it really depressing, seeing all these huge statues of popes that only served for a few years - the extravagance of the place seemed a little inelegant to me. Plus it's far too noisy to be reverent, it's just like some terrible catholic theme park.
okay not every day
but probably six times in the 14 days i was there. i quite enjoyed the pomp of the place, especially early morning before it got too busy.
Rome's got a new mayor
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/30/italy
grim ^
oh well, I'm sure London won't suddenly start being shit if Boris wins this week.
the vatican is good to go to
if you want to get really, really angry at organised religion and for laughing at the swiss guard. they dress so funny!
the transport is awful
but it was good to hear ambulances to find out what that stupid noise at the start of that Morrissey song is.
i went to a good record shop, but i have no idea where it was and what it was called, helpful.
Rome is good if you like graffiti.
bump
my mum and dad are in rome right now
my dad is a courier and is taking some garage doors to the rome sheraton hotel. nice work for some!
i've been to rome once. the pavements were melting. the forum is nice. there were snakes.
im gone to rome in the summer!
(for an hour because im switching flights to valencia)
Lots of amazing things to see
every church, every place is just a work of art...
Look at old roman architecture.
I'm doing a module on Roman Art and Architecture and it's made me want to go to Rome even more than I wanted to go anyway.