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220V-110V Converter for Rome from
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12 Language Euro
Interpreter at Magellans

Recommended Tour: Vatican and Sistine Chapel Tour   

Absolutely the LOWEST rates on Rome Hotels! Book today and SAVE $$$

Welcome to the land of incredible artistic and architectural treasures and the birthplace of pizza and gelato (ice cream in Italian...)! It is easy to get lost in this sprawling city, but hopefully we can help you orient yourself and reduce the probability of this event happening to you (you still will get lost, but not as often...).

We wish you a very pleasant and safe stay in Roma, Italia!

Click here to watch a 2min video clip of Rome

Quick Travel Tips:

Population Rome 2.5M  Italy 58M Currency Euro

Electricity 220V AC 50Hz.Voltage converters are not easy to find, we suggest you get one before you start your trip. Italian sockets are designed to accept European round prongs.

Tipping: 10% in Restaurants and Taxis. Others discretionary.

Safety Issues Traveling in Rome is in general very safe. Watch out for pickpockets, though!

Internet Cafes There are plenty of internet cafes around Rome. If you are staying in a hotel, you might get an internet connection in your room (internet connection may or may not be free. Check with your hotel desk). Because of anti-terrorism laws, you are required to present your passport for using a  public internet cafe.

Airports Leonardo da Vinci, also known as Fiumicino is the main airport of Rome. It is situated 26 km southwest of the city. You can get into town by the Leonardo Express, the 30-minute Fiumicino- Stazione Termini direct train, which runs half-hourly from the airport. This train also goes to Trastevere, Ostiense and Tiburtina. A night bus runs to Stazione Tiburtina.

Ciampino is another airport which is mainly for domestic flights, although some international flights also arrive. It is located about 20km southeast of the city.  From Ciampino you can catch a LiLa/Cotral bus that connects with a subway to Stazione Termini. You can also drive down the Via Appia Nuova. Departure tax is prepaid with your air ticket into or out of Italy.

To book a transfer shuttle Online from the Fiumicino Airport to your Hotel, click here
To book a private transfer (Fiumicino or Ciampino), click here

Train Termini is the main railway station of Rome. Trastevere is a secondary station. Rome is very well connected by train from all  Italian and European cities, and if you will be traveling in Italy or Europe, we suggest you buy in advance a Trenitalia Pass and Eurail Pass . The passes are shipped to your home anywhere in the world.

Absolutely the LOWEST rates on Rome Hotels! Book today and SAVE $$$

Religions Predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities. A short primer on Culture and History of Rome

Languages Italian, but you can get by pretty well with English in Rome. If you really like speaking the local language at least a little bit, you can buy Rick Steves' Italian Phrasebook at Amazon.com.

Foreign Exchange Offices
Thomas Cook Piazza Barberini, 21. Metro Line A: Barberini. Mon-Sat 9am-8pm ; Sun 9:30am-5pm
Via della Conciliazione, 23 (down the street from St. Peter's). Bus 40 Express, 62, 64. Mon-Sat 8:30am-7:30pm ; Sun 9:30am-5pm
Via del Corso, 23 (close to Piazza del Popolo). Metro Line A: Spagna or Flaminio. Mon-Sat 9am-8pm ; Sun 9:30am-5pm.
American Express Piazza di Spagna, 38. Tel. 06 67641. Close to the Spanish Steps--Metro Line A: Spagna. 9am-5:30pm Mon-Fri; 9am-12:30pm Sat.

Car Rentals We recommend Easycar for your car rentals in Rome and Italy- they offer some of the lowest rates here. They also have a couple of locations in downtown Rome (in addition to the Airport and Termini Station)  for easy pick-up and drop-off.

Telephones Country Code Italy- 39, Rome- 06
Calling from Rome- International calling cards are available at many stores in Rome.

Travel Agents
-Scor, Via Orlando Vittorio Emanuele, 75, 00185 Phone: 06 4745889, 06 485738
-Romitalia Turismo, Via Crescenzio, 107 00193 Phone: 06 6874518, 06 6876025

Smoking Smoking has been banned in all enclosed public places since Jan. 2005. The law covers bars, restaurants, offices, public buildings, public transport and cinemas. Smokers face fines of up to US$300.

And now, the hard to find fun facts, practical tips, and tourist traps...from personal experiences, both good and bad...

• Almost all the statues and buildings in Rome have dates written on them - in Roman numerals (the I's, X's and the C's...remember?). This is fun to translate into real numbers, especially if you have kids with you...
• You are not allowed to enter churches (including St Peters) in shorts, short skirts, or sleeveless tops.
• For Coliseum (also spelled Colosseum) Tours, when you are waiting in line to get in, ignore the private tour guides who are telling you every so often that you will be waiting for 40 minutes in the line. The private tour guides end up taking too many people in the group...your best bet are the official tours, and you will only pay 5 dollars more than the admission.
• Italians and Romans are obsessed with dressing well, especially for dinners. So unless you really want to stand out as a tourist, take some nice clothes with you...you just might blend in. Bring yourself a step closer to 'When in Rome do as the Romans do...'
• The bizarre "signs" in the sky above Republic Plaza and Termini are bird formations, don't be alarmed! It is known to scare the hell out of some people. Click here to watch a 3min video clip of this!
• When you are visiting the Vatican museums (Sistine Chapel), take your binoculars with you, and also a hand-held mirror. You will want to see the detail on the ceiling, and you will need a break from the neck-craning...these tools will come in handy....
• A lot of Rome can be covered on foot. Pack some nice walking shoes with you...
• Ask how much it costs before you get your picture taken with one of the "Gladiators" outside the Coliseum or any other "Ancient Roman" you see elsewhere. They might charge you an insane amount of money if you get the picture taken before you fix the price...
• Piazza is Italian for square and has nothing to do with Pizza. European towns have these squares every few blocks in the city, Rome has some really nice ones...and they are most often nice parks to relax and chill-out.
• Rome's streets and squares are full of plaques and markers detailing the famous personages who lived in the neighborhood: a poet who rented an apartment close by, a sculptor or a painter who helped decorate the square. Pay attention to them---sometimes they are more interesting than all the big famous tourist spots. History and culture run everywhere in this city, and these elements will help you feel it....
• In Rome, street names are generally posted at the corners of buildings on the second level above ground.
• To orient yourself in Rome (if you don't carry a compass...), remember that the central causeway, Via del Corso (or just the 'Corso') runs almost straight north and south from the Piazza del Popolo to the Piazza Venezia. Most sightseeing in Rome is within a few blocks of this easy to find thoroughfare. You can also use the Aurelian Wall surrounding the city as another marker.
• A common myth is that if you throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain, you will return to Rome.
• You are not allowed to eat on the Spanish Steps.
• The letters S.P.Q.R.: Everywhere in Rome you will encounter these four letters. S.P.Q.R. comes from the Senatus Popolusque Romanus, with which resolutions were begun in ancient Rome. Today it is still one of the identifying symbols of Rome, together with the She-wolf (which fed Romulus and Remus when they were babies, the legend goes).
• The Spanish Square (adjoining the Steps) got its name when the Spanish Embassy was built in Rome in 1646. The Steps were added in 1725.
• Rome has hundreds of churches which don't look that spectacular from the outside, but have amazing interiors! So if you find yourself tired of visiting the major hot spots, take a stroll and enter any church...you might be pleasantly surprised...
• Palatine, Aventine, Capitoline, Quarinal, Viminal, Esquiline and Caelian---are the seven hills of Rome.
• When visiting the Roman forums, take some water with you, hard to buy water there. And you can leave your fashion clothes at home, you will come out all dirty and covered in dust after a visit to this place...

 
Click here to watch a 2min video clip of Rome

Need help with Organized Tours, Hotels, Apartment Rentals, etc.? Email us : rome@fonisol.com