Walking along the Via del Corso and seeing the compact sea of heads that covers the surface of the almost one kilometer long pedestrian zone of Rome's most important street, one thinks that what the barbarians did in the 4th century was little in comparison to this invasion that the capital is now suffering from. Italian. It's nothing new or exclusive: all major tourist capitals suffer from it. But the vehemence with which we have regained the passion for moving after the pandemic has once again turned Rome's historic center into an amusement park where you have to queue for everything. Those who thought in 2020, when the city was empty due to Covid, that this was the end and that the sector would never recover were doom hunters.
According to the report “Tourism to Rome and in Lazio: economic relevance and social coexistence” prepared by the Consigli Regionali Unipol of Lazio, excluding the month of December, 2023 was a record year for the Italian capital, with an estimated number of 35 million tourists ( 9% more than in 2022). And the worst part is that 86.4% of those millions of visitors move (we move) through a tiny grid that runs from Piazza del Popolo to Piazza Venezia from north to south and from the Colosseum to Piazza Navona from east to west. Total traffic jam.
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In Rome there is no longer any low season, no matter when you go: everything is perfect. I spent the end of the year there (yes, I was also one of those who contributed to this saturation) and the feeling you come back with is bittersweet. Rome is a fantastic city; I think that, next to Istanbul, this is the most monumental and historic city in the world, where you can spend days seeing things without repeating them. But for a long time the trees prevented us from enjoying the forest. The Trevi Fountain looks like a football stadium with the stands full of tifossi watching the Champions League final. And the line that snakes around and around St. Peter's Square offers little incentive to see the Vatican Basilica.
Via del Corso, one of the busiest streets in the Italian capital.Alexander Spatari (Getty Images)
If you decide to visit Rome, you should definitely do so. You will love it. But here I'll give you some tips so you don't lose your nerve.
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Arm yourself with patience
There will always be more people than you expected, accept it. That's the first piece of advice I would give to anyone going to Rome: be calm. After all, you are one of those inundated and that is the price you have to pay for enjoying a unique destination. There will be winter days when the volume will probably decrease, but if you visit on certain days (long weekends, Easter, Christmas, spring, summer) you will walk around and avoid tourists like you.
Book tickets online
This online reservation is mandatory and applies to all monuments you wish to visit. If not, most of you will not be able to attend. But even early entry doesn't stop you from standing in line: I had a prior reservation for the Pantheon (for a specific time) and still had to wait in line for 45 minutes because it was only two QR for the thousand -Code readers were given to visitors we visited that day.
Calculate your needs to go to the toilet very well
Public services are virtually non-existent and the few I saw were closed. And in Rome, as throughout Italy, you are not allowed to enter the restroom of a restaurant or store unless you are a customer. There are also usually long queues in the few public toilets, for which a fee (usually 1 euro) is also charged.
Wear comfortable shoes, you will feel more comfortable when walking
To go for a walk you must first wear appropriate footwear, because one of the joys of Rome is to stroll through its streets, its squares and through these corners of incomparable decadent beauty. On the other hand, it is sometimes inconvenient to take public transport since almost everything within the historic center is half an hour away. But at the end of the day you add “half hours” and you have covered more kilometers than on one stage of the Camino de Santiago.
Better by bus
Although the subway works well, there are only three lines and it does not reach all tourist attractions. In my opinion, the best way to get around Rome is by bus, a municipal service that is quite fast, agile and cheap for Italy. A single ticket costs 1.50 euros and you can use it for 100 minutes with as many changes as you like (also applies to the subway). And best of all, thanks to the Tap&Go system, you can pay directly with your credit card on board without having to buy a pass or voucher beforehand. If an inspector asks you to do so, simply show the credit card you paid with so they can verify that your ticket is valid. At least in my case, I wasn't allowed to pay with the contactless mobile phone, but had to do it with a physical credit card.
Detail of the Four Rivers Fountain in Piazza Navona, Rome.Maremagnum (Getty Images)
The hotel, better in the center
Prices for accommodation in the city center aren't cheap, but unless you're stiffer than Carpanta, you shouldn't go to the outskirts to find cheaper accommodation as you'll end up spending more on public transport than you'd save. And besides, you will waste half your time on ideas and ideas.
Avoid “bike sharing”
As in all major capitals, there is a shared rental of scooters and bicycles in Rome. My experience and my advice is that they are not worth it, if only because they are very expensive: an hour of cycling can cost 20 euros. In addition, driving around the city on two wheels is a riskier sport than bungee jumping. The traffic is diabolical, there are no bike paths and the Romans drive like bumper cars. In addition, due to the uneven surface of the streets – most of which are made of sanpietrini (a small typical Roman cobblestone) – it is the easiest thing in the world to meet yourself with a scooter.
Be careful, pickpockets
If they repeat it emphatically over the subway public address system, it must be true. The thieves and pickpockets of Rome are famous all over the world and operate with the professionalism of Arsenio Lupine wherever there is even the slightest human concentration.
The importance of churches
In Rome, even a modest neighborhood church looks like a cathedral. It's art to be boring in each of them. But more than that, the temples are the only place where you can sit and rest for free, cool and in silence in a city with very expensive restaurants and no public banks. For both reasons, plan a good number of them into your tour.
Better with a guide
A visit to the Colosseum, the Forums and the Palatine Hill should be a must on every stay. But my advice is that you do it with a guide: only then will you be able to understand the meaning of all these stones, which to a layman are nothing more than disjointed ruins, but with a professional who will see them Explained to you, you become an open book on the gigantic level of civilization that classical Rome achieved.
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