Travel Italy Travel to Rome
From LoveToKnow Travel
Travel to Rome is easy; all roads lead to Rome. In the ancient past this was a literal truth. Now it's much the same, but roads include railways and flight paths. Rome is the cultural, financial and political center of Italy. It's a massive, sprawling city packed with ancient buildings and classical architecture. If you're visiting Rome for the first time, here's a summary of how to get in and out of the ancient city.
About Rome
If you've never been to Rome, you're in for a treat. The city will steal your heart and keep it in one of its beautiful, flowing fountains or hide it away in a building older than your home country. You'll have to make many visits to the grand city to get it back, but it's every travelers pleasure to do so.
Rome deserves several days out of your schedule. For more information on travel to Rome, see our article Travel Italy - Planning A Trip to Rome.
Getting into Rome
Rome is well-connected to Italy, Europe and the world by direct flights, railways, highways and even a boat or two. Getting into the city is no problem no matter where you're coming from.
If you're already in Italy, Rome is likely just a few hours away by train. The grand central station, Roma Termini is near the heart of the city and a great place to start your Roman holiday. The city has two airports that serve both international and European flights many times a day. Within the city are numerous bus lines and a minimalist metro system that can take you to the far corners of the old city.
But of course, if you really want to experience Rome, tackle the city by foot. Bring a good pair of shoes and allow extra time for your journey. But also bring a good camera, as Rome's best sights are found this way.
Travel To Rome by Plane
Rome has two major airports: Fiumicino (Leonardo da Vinci) and Roma Ciampino. Most budget flights coming from within Europe will land in Ciampino. Most direct international flights land in Fiumicino. For more details, check the official Airports of Rome website Aeroporti di Roma.
Fiumicino is large and well-connected to the city's center by bus, train and roads. It's located outside of the old city to the southwest. If you land in Fiumicino, simply take one of the multiple bus lines, trains or metros to Roma Termini.
Ciampino, in the southeast of Rome, is much smaller and you have to be a little more creative in order to use it well. Most flights will offer bus tickets before you land in Ciampino for service to Roma Termini. If they don't, there's a booth just before the exit. There are two main bus lines that run to and from this airport: TerraVision and ATC/Cotral. Take TerraVision if you can, their service is remarkably well-organized and usually on-time. Avoid the taxis outside of the airport, they will do nothing but take your money.
To Rome by Train
Arriving from any European city is simple: just get off at Roma Termini. Watch for blue signs out the window as the train slows; the conductor rarely makes an audible announcement. Termini is a dead-end track, so everyone will be piling off the train. You'd have to be sound asleep for half an hour to miss this stop. For train tickets, schedules and prices within Italy, check the TrenItalia website.
Travel To Rome by Car
It's recommended to avoid traveling by car in Rome. Even seasoned Italian drivers stay off the roads. The streets are narrow, the drivers ruthless, road signs sparse, and the parking practically non-existent.
If you have no other choice, get a good map of the area and know exactly where you're going. Expect to walk a long way from your parking space to where you want to go. There are two large perimeter highways encompassing Rome; Grande Raccordo Anulari is the largest. Once you're here, finding Rome is simple. Afterwards, good luck!
Travel Within Rome
Metropolitana di Roma is the underground rail system in Rome. Use the metro to shuttle yourself across Rome's great underbelly to the corners of the city. A good metro map is a necessity, and use the printed maps in the station well.
Bus travel within Rome can be unreliable due to the many events going on in Rome's streets closing squares and causing traffic problems. ATAC, Rome's main bus service, is easy to use and can get you where you need to go with a minimal amount of fuss. Just buy a ticket from one of the machines near the bus stops and you're ready to go.
Related Italy and Rome Travel Links
Learn More
Comments
If you thinking about taking a “NIGHT TRAIN in ITALYâ€â€¦.. Do yourself a favor….. DONâ€T!!!
Let me tell you about our “vacation†in Italy! My husband and I have been married for 12 years and since he is from Europe, throughout our marriage, his dream has been to get me to Europe to see how “the other side livesâ€. Being Italian myself, I was very excited to visit Italy! We started planning our European vacation back in April and decided to take a Mediterranean cruise on Celebrity Millennium from Venice to Barcelona because the itinerary was excellent and also wanted to see Paris. We got busy booking our cruise and all the travel arrangements from place to place.
My husband was thrilled with the fact that we would start in Paris and take a sleeper train at night to continue our journey to catch our ship in Venice. He said it would be wonderful experience for me and a great way to travel in addition to all our flying. Our three days in Paris were phenomenal.
We boarded our train #221 Paris-Venezia on Tues. Aug. 28, 2007 for our journey to Italy. We got in our coach 95 couchette 45-46 and got cozy for the night's ride. We asked our conductor who collected our passports for two blankets which he delivered later , locked the door and went to sleep at around 23:00.
We awoke around midnight and checked our watch for the time. Falling back to sleep, we awoke around 5:00 am and discovered my husbands’ watch was missing. We checked around the floor and my husband said somebody took it and immediately went for our money and documents in his “fanny pack†only to discover every bit of cash we had for travel, 1500 Dollars + 500 Euro’s was GONE!! We were robbed while we slept with our door locked and money in the “fanny packâ€!
My husband immediately went to the conductor to report it and found him standing with two “undercover officers†who never show any ID’s. They came back to the couchette and did a “reportâ€.
After the train stopped in Venice we went to the police station and filed a report. We then went to get a cash advance off our credit card that was not stolen and the lady informed us it happen every day. I said there is no way somebody would come in my room and I would not wake up and she informed me that thieves use conductor’s key’s to open your couchette and spray your room and it knocks you out so you won’t hear anything and that how they rob you.
What a horrible nightmare it is to make plans for months, make all the arrangements, take time off from work and packing for a wonderful vacation only to be robbed of all your cash while you sleep before you even arrived to your cruise ship!
For these people to invade our privacy and break into our couchette and drug you while you sleep to steal all our money is something we will never get over. We arrived at our ship and began our journey at sea. Along the way, we met a couple that travel by train from Paris to Venice two days earlier with four people in their room and she was robbed off ALL her currency as well. She had it tucked away in four different envelopes and the thief had time to go into every envelope and empty them one by one while four people slept. We got a copy of their police report if you are interested. This is my first trip to Europe and my first and last ride on your train was a horrible and frightening experience.
After have returned home, I decided to go on the internet to read about all the other victims of this horrible ordeal. We feel TRANITALIA is a 100% responsible for the safety of its travelers and we paid approx. $500 to travel on your train only to be invaded and robbed!!! We do feel company is 100% responsible for allowing this theft to occur every day, on a regular basis and feel it OK to accept this behavior from your own employees. There is no doubt in our minds you are fully aware of this incredibly horrible crime and allow it to happen on a daily basis. We also feel your conductors are definitely part of the whole operation and you as a company are fully responsible for allowing people to pay for ticket to ride your train only to be robbed on a daily basis. Why there are no cameras on the sleeper trains to prevent this? We are planning to go to the television with our story so we can let the world know about our wonderful TRANITALIA experience. This has been a devastating event for our trip which completely ruined our desire to EVER visit Italy again! If this was your goal, congratulations…You have succeeded! With sincere regret of traveling TRANITALIA.
This page has been accessed 1,226 times. This page was last modified 17:51, 7 April 2006.
© 2006-2008 LoveToKnow Corp.
