Top Tip Number 1.

Foodism

It is advisable to drink at bars and eat at restaurants.

Bars for drinking, restaurants are for eating!

In Rome there is temptation at every corner. So it's good news that in Italy you are allowed to eat pizza for breakfast! 

Sitting out the front of whichever bar you've decided to sip, don't be tempted to order from the snacks menu. You will get much better food and service for the same price at a proper restaurant. It's Italy, they are known for their fabulous cusine, treat yourself, get in there and have a proper meal. Save supping at snacks for somewhere else. Gelato gluttony is acceptable. You are definealty allowed to have one for lunch and if you want to have two, that is fine! It is a common sight around this city of sights, to see big drips of sticky ice-cream-colour inbetween the cobbles. Dropped off from cones melting in the sun. Stick to speciality shops selling just gelato, for the same reason that you will get a better ice cream, a much greater range of lickyness and usually the option of soy, if you aren't into digesting cows milk. Every 2nd person is eating gelato in Rome, you may as well join in.

Top Tip Number 2.

Aqua

Water, water everywhere. In Rome you only need to buy your first bottle, and that is so you will have a bottle. It is THEE most liquified city in the Med. Dinky drinking fountains are all around town for you to fill up your one vessel over and over and over again, with clean, fresh, cold, lovely h2O to go. Costs nothing, so convenient, no need to carry litres of shop water around in you rucksac, getting hot in the bag and leaking on your digi camera. Take you're light weight empty and fill up what you need when you need it! It is a wonderful Roman luxury, fresh running water from the hills. Plus you are not adding to unnecessary piles and piles of plastic empty bottles that float down the Tiber and tip up the environment. Guzzle up you free gallons here!

Top Tip Number 3.

Map it

Rome can be confusing initially, with all the nooks and crannies to explore. When you arrive at the airport or train terminal make sure you pick up a free city map, most hotels will give you one on arrival and if they don't get one from the tourist information booths that are easy to spot in prominent places around town. These maps make finding your way a lot easier. ( tip 3a... If you are lucky enough to be spending more than 3 or 4 days in Rome, be sure to head to the park around Villa Bourghese. Strolling here before sundown beats the streets). 

Top Tip Number 4

Beware of Gypsy Pickpockets!

They are mean little critters and like stealing from people just like you! They usually work in grubby criminal clusters of 2 or 3 or 4. Shoving bits of paper in your face saying they are collecting for the disabled or some crock of Gypsy nonsence. Or one will grab your hand while the another reaches into your pocket to lift your wallet, right from under your Roman nose in full view of the Colleseum. They are really cheeky. So, be AWARE. They hang around at all the major sights and invade internet cafes lifting phones left and right. Never carry your backpacks on your back with the zips visible to be unzipped by them, padlock your zips shut or wear your back pack on your front. And handbags and bum bags always in the front and if wallets or cameras are in you boys pockets, do them up and never in the back.

Oooh and never leave your phone or keys sitting on the bar or restaurant table while you are drinking/eating/typing, for them to see, snatch and grab. They run fast and know the back streets better than you. If you travel on the buses, watch out for them there also.

Top Tip Number 5.

Health & Safety

Apart from the Gypsy pickpockets, Rome is a really safe city to walk around, especially at night. Take a good comfortable pair of running, walking or hiking shoes. Forget about what you look like, leave looking good to the Italians, they do it so effortlessly! You are in Rome, so roam!  Flip flops, jandels and high shoes are horrible for your heels on these uneven cobbled streets. You will be much more comfortable and get much more mileage in sneakers or sports sandles. Also, some churches have strict dress codes so covered shoulders, knees and tootsies are essential, if you want to sight see inside these.

Top Tip Number 6.

Internet Cafes..

.. don't really exist in Rome. Instead they have these  phone/photocopy factories and they are nasty! Not very nice places to catch up on emails or make phone calls. When you do need to, it is the Italian/Roman law (something like Vatican v Terrorism)  that you must show some form of ID to use the internet! Passport, papers or license. Make sure you take these, or you might find yourself refused and walking (I hope in sensible shoes) back to your accomodation for proof of identidy. And, very importantly, make sure when you are finished and you pay, to get your I.D. back, as sometimes the staff forget! Especially if it is your passport. Imagine if you are flying out that afternoon, in fact that was why you needed to use their internet, to check on your flights, well, what sort of disaster would that be at the airport with no passport... and no idea how to find that internet point again, flight due to leave in 120 minutes, terrible times mate!

Top Tip Number 7.

Carry Cash.

Small hotels, bed & breakfasts, hostels and restaurants prefer you pay them in cash, some will not accept cards. Money machines are not always easy to find so it is advisable to always carry enough with you for what you might need during that day. Even places like MacDonalds do not accept credit cards.

Top Tip Number 9.

Get Elevated.

It is always a good idea to view a new city from above. In Rome it is a priority. A very recent addition to accomodate tourists with this in mind are the big glass elevators outside the back of the Vittorio Emmanualle monument in Venezia Square. For 7E you get panoramic views of the city. There are free standing binoculars at each end of the platform (which is actually the roof of the monument), along with detailed signs of the skyline in English pointing out each and every historic piece of architecture. It is an incredible view of Rome and not in any of the guide books yet, so a top tip indeed. 

Top Tip Number 10.

Hire a bike!

Cycle the ancient road to Appia Antica. It isn't far from the centre and it is incredible if you like cycling on 2000 year old roads surrounded by old ruins, fresh air, and beautiful trees. It is an easy ride. Head past the Arch at the Colesseum, direction Circus Maximus, then past the baths of Caracalla to Porta San Sebastiano then enjoy the tranquil surrounds all the way up Via Appia Antica. 

Mountain bikes are 15E per day from the park in Villa Bourghese (the only place I have found where they hire mountain bikes with suspension). The tourist map distributed by Comune de Roma, has a detailed map of Appia Antica over leaf from the Rome City Map. Alternatively you could jump on a tourist bus or walk this road, but it is best enjoyed by bicycle as it is a very long walk!

Top Tip Number 11..

Oh well, read ten get eleven free.

On Sundays the area around the Colleseum, Paletine and Venezia Square are closed off to traffic, making this the best day to visit this area.

Buon Viagio!