The Three Best Attractions In Metropolitan Rome

We begin our re-opening of the MB Blog with some Roman nostalgia. Ahead of our trip to Croatia in just over a month's time, I wanted to do some looking back at other European city travels, and start to fill in some of that three-year gap!

Josh and I took our first trip to Rome in April of this year, which wasn't a bad time to go, but was still busy with some of the bad weather you might expect from what could be called their 'winter-time'. We didn't use a holiday provider for our city break, but instead travelled via Jet2 and booked our lodgings (right by the Colosseum) with Booking.com. All-inclusive obviously wasn't on offer with so many other places to eat in the vicinity, so we headed out quite often, not just to explore, but also to eat and drink. Here I have compiled a short post to help you on your way if you too would like to discover Rome.

The Colosseo is going to be first on everybody's lips when thinking of Rome. However, of course you cannot enter alone, and so if you suffer from claustrophobia or anxiety it isn't going to be a walk in the park with all the other hundreds of tourists around. This was something I had dreamt about for years, but found that I had to grin and bear it. Almost everyone is reaching for their camera or selfie stick looking for their golden photo opportunity -  but I found that you can take some real gems down the side streets, where you are less likely to be interrupted by fellow travellers and holiday-makers.

Overall we found what many have probably discovered before us; the Colosseum is a must-see, but can be daunting with an unclear booking process/pick-up, and we wouldn't recommend the audio tour either. The best way to do it is at your own (leisurely) pace and soak it all up at your own speed. Also, come prepared to say 'No' many times to the sellers outside.

We spent four full nights in the capital, and took to exploring Castel Sant'Angelo after the Vatican on the third day. It was planned fully by Josh, who found it on a list of local attractions. It was not somewhere we had our eyes on before we flew out to Italy, but ended up being one of the most valuable experiences we had there. A fortress, castle, and intended mausoleum of the Emperor Hadrian, you pay a small amount for admission as you would any other attraction or museum within the city. We had our Roma Passes, but as EU Citizens (😢) it worked out better value to pay a couple of Euros and save our Roma Pass for a more expensive ticket. We found that you will walk a lot around the building if you want to make it to the top, but once you've made it, the rooftop offers exclusive and beautiful views of the entire Vatican area - and a quaint restaurant.

You may not have heard of Villa Doria Pamphili, but it is Rome's answer to Wollaton Hall or Chatsworth House. To get there, I would recommend a walk to those of you who aren't easily tired, although the way is up-hill and quite long. The largest public park in Rome offers breathing space from the tourists below in Metropolitan Rome, and feels more like somewhere the locals would spend their time. We certainly saw a fair few going for their daily jogs. If you are travelling in Summer, this would be the perfect place to go and get your photo ops. Definitely return via taxi if you can, as we ended up getting quite lost and asking a hotel receptionist for help. 

While we are on the subject of taxis, we have a couple more tips to make your trip as stress-free as possible. If you are arriving at Leonardo Da Vinci airport, beware of scammers who wait by the official taxi rank, take your bags and lead you out into the main car park, where an unlicensed driver will take you home but charge you double the fee. 

We found taxis in general quite hard to ring in Rome, as the only number we were provided in our accommodation had an opening message in Italian but then hung up. I know a decent amount of Italian, but not enough to establish what they were saying. So, we had a number, but no taxi service. However, if you are there for an extended period of time, the good news is that we did slowly begin to learn where the ranks were (and they were often not as far away as portrayed on Google Maps).

What are your favourite spots in Rome? If you'd like to hear about my experience with the night-life, click here for more!