I was lucky enough the spend the whole September in a citty I fell in love with - Rome. I've already spent June there 2 years ago, but there's a special relationship between that city and September.
First stop: Fontana di Trevi. Need I even say more? The most magnificent fountain I've ever seen. It gets really crowded during the day, thousands of tourists come and drop their coins hoping they will get the chance to come back. Therefore, I specially recommend you visiting the fountain really early in the morning ( and I do mean EARLY), which means around dawn. Trust me, it's worth it :)
From there, you can walk around 10 minutes until you arrive at Piazza di Spagna. But on the way there, you MUST stop two times. There are two reasons: the best pizza and the best gelato I've ever had. There's a small gelatteria called Il Gelato di San Crispino just 2 minutes away from the fontana. If you have read the book Eat, Pray, Love, you'll know what I'm talking about. The best thing is, you don't feel guilty for taking all those calories, not at all. :) The package of the ice-cream is just so different, best I've ever seen. My taste: hazelnut.
Next up is some tipical italian food: pizza. But I can't call this just a pizza, it's something more. It fills your senses with such magic and flavour. It's a true little legend. The place is called Da Michele (like the famous pizzeria in Napoli), and they serve pizza al taglio. It's always funny to hear the owners screaming at each other, it's a must-see and hear. :)
Now by the time you finish your pizza, you'll already arrive at the famous Piazza di Spagna, home to Rome's most famous staircase. It's a big tourist attraction, filled with thousands of young people at night. You can always go there if you start feeling lonely, just let the italian charm take you away. You should head all the way to the top for a magnificent wiev. Just a few stairs to go, and youll be breathtaken.
Now you can go down to the bottom and walk through Via dei Condotti. Just go window-shopping if you're not on a big budget, but you can get pretty crazy if you have an unlimited credit card in this street. So many people walking around with bags from Hermes, LV, Prada, Gucci, Bally, Tiffany, Bvlgari... I really don't know where to end. If you get bored, just go in front of the Louis Vuitton shop and watch the amazing staircase changing different panoramas of Rome. You'll be amazed.
Once your eyes have dropped out from all the luxury, take a walk in Via del Corso, home of Zara, H&M etc. Go down to Piazza Venezia to enjoy the magnificent Il Vittoriano, monument dedicated to unified Italy's first king. Glourious, huh? :) Then take a quick walk down to Il Colosseo, enormous in all it's beauty. Those are typical sights always crowded with tons of people, so now go back to Via del Corso and let the tiny streets take you away to the amazing Pantheon. Take a little stop, look around, let yourself be impressed with the histoy. Now once your little historic tour is done, wander through the tiny streets all the way to Piazza Navona. Take a deep breath. Be prepared for the huge piazza that's surrounding the beautiful Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, one of Bernini's materpieces. Now enter Tre Scalini and take a big tartufo, just sit next to the fountain, and simply enjoy. Enjoy the beauty of the place, the sound of water splashing out from the fountain, the sounds of various street performers, the charm of italian people, the taste of your tartufo....do I really have to keep talking? :)
Once you've meditated and gained your energy, take a walk around the streets of Navona, they're full of cute little shops, great second hands and antique stores. There are also some great cafes and bars nearby. Campo dei Fiori, big city market, is short distance walking, and it becomes a center for young people from all over the world. I met some great people there, you should definetly visit. Everyone is really welcoming and talkative, I highly recommend you this night hot spot.
Now take some rest and a little sleep, you'll need some energy for the next day. Early in the morning, go across the river to the Vatican City to avoid kilometer-long lines of waiting. I waited for 2 hours to get into the St.Peter's. Before going to Vatican, right next to the metro stop, there's a great sweet's shop where you can buy Lindt chocolate in huge bits, one of my favourite shops. Now after you've had your bite of sugar, it's to climb up on the top of the Peter's cupola from a spectacular view of Rome. Get ready to be amazed, it's really a must-see place before you die.
Now by the time you finish your pizza, you'll already arrive at the famous Piazza di Spagna, home to Rome's most famous staircase. It's a big tourist attraction, filled with thousands of young people at night. You can always go there if you start feeling lonely, just let the italian charm take you away. You should head all the way to the top for a magnificent wiev. Just a few stairs to go, and youll be breathtaken.
Now you can go down to the bottom and walk through Via dei Condotti. Just go window-shopping if you're not on a big budget, but you can get pretty crazy if you have an unlimited credit card in this street. So many people walking around with bags from Hermes, LV, Prada, Gucci, Bally, Tiffany, Bvlgari... I really don't know where to end. If you get bored, just go in front of the Louis Vuitton shop and watch the amazing staircase changing different panoramas of Rome. You'll be amazed.
Once your eyes have dropped out from all the luxury, take a walk in Via del Corso, home of Zara, H&M etc. Go down to Piazza Venezia to enjoy the magnificent Il Vittoriano, monument dedicated to unified Italy's first king. Glourious, huh? :) Then take a quick walk down to Il Colosseo, enormous in all it's beauty. Those are typical sights always crowded with tons of people, so now go back to Via del Corso and let the tiny streets take you away to the amazing Pantheon. Take a little stop, look around, let yourself be impressed with the histoy. Now once your little historic tour is done, wander through the tiny streets all the way to Piazza Navona. Take a deep breath. Be prepared for the huge piazza that's surrounding the beautiful Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, one of Bernini's materpieces. Now enter Tre Scalini and take a big tartufo, just sit next to the fountain, and simply enjoy. Enjoy the beauty of the place, the sound of water splashing out from the fountain, the sounds of various street performers, the charm of italian people, the taste of your tartufo....do I really have to keep talking? :)
Once you've meditated and gained your energy, take a walk around the streets of Navona, they're full of cute little shops, great second hands and antique stores. There are also some great cafes and bars nearby. Campo dei Fiori, big city market, is short distance walking, and it becomes a center for young people from all over the world. I met some great people there, you should definetly visit. Everyone is really welcoming and talkative, I highly recommend you this night hot spot.
Now take some rest and a little sleep, you'll need some energy for the next day. Early in the morning, go across the river to the Vatican City to avoid kilometer-long lines of waiting. I waited for 2 hours to get into the St.Peter's. Before going to Vatican, right next to the metro stop, there's a great sweet's shop where you can buy Lindt chocolate in huge bits, one of my favourite shops. Now after you've had your bite of sugar, it's to climb up on the top of the Peter's cupola from a spectacular view of Rome. Get ready to be amazed, it's really a must-see place before you die.
Piece of advice for you, don't ever eat in the area of Vatican! The restaurants are pretty expensive with a really lousy food. You'd rather wait a bit after you stroll down the Musei Vaticani and visit the gorgeous Cappella Sistina, and then go to Trastevere. But first be sure to enjoy the beauty of Michelangelo's masterpiece. And please remain silent while you do that. It is truly magical.
Now get ready for the magic of Trastevere. I suppose you're hungry after walking through the huge area of museum, so you're just in the right place. If I lived in Rome, I'd definetly rent a flat there. It's really close to center but not full of tourists like the Centro Storico. Go there if you want to meet amazing local people. Trastevere is a charming pictersque neibourghood full of tiny narrow streets and a home to great number of small restaurants, and as much as I've tried, all of them were amazing. So I can't really recommend you a single one. The best advice would be - just follow the crowd! And try to go there in late afternoon, just before the dark. It can get pretty crowded at night.
If you're searching for some peace and quiet time in nature, visit the amazing Villa Borghese, also home of the famous musem Galleria Borghese. If you want to visit the musem, be aware that you have to book in advance. This enormous park is one of my favourite spots in the hot afternoons. You can also go there and rent a bike to go to all the hiden corners and just enjoy the beautiful nature in the middle of the
center.
center.
There are just some of my favourite spots in this amazing city, there are too many to fit in only one post. But I do hope I have given you at least one tiny bit of magic that goes around in Rome. You would be surprised how special a man feels just walking around the streets and looking. So, if you are looking for a getaway, you know the good old one: ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME!
Stay tuned for another travel tip tomorrow. It's not in Rome, but really close to it. :)
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