What else to do in Rome
When in Rome…
In the Lazio region of the capital of Italy, lays Rome. With a population of 2.7 million residents, and the heart of the city also being a dedicated heritage site, the city is a bustling metropolis full of colour, culture and many places to explore and be enthralled by.
The area is rich with culture and many incredible feats of architecture that simply cannot be missed when visiting Rome.
With public squares, churches with amazing history, and of course the amount of designer shopping that can be done in the area, it’s hard to fit all of the sight seeing and culture sampling into one week alone.
The first place that should definitely be visited is Vatican City. The Vatican City is the religious center of not only Rome, but the better part of the Christian world. With St Peters Basilica, a must-see structure of incredible proportion (read: A small area, but outstanding architecture), designed by Michelangelo, the area is typically swarming with tourists. There are tours available within the building; however a metal detector needs to be passed before hand, so leave home any valuables that may set off the detector that you don’t want to lose permanently.
The Pope will be able to be seen on Sundays, usually in the morning from his apartment above the Square, in which he will bless the crowd. He also appears on Wednesdays at 10:30, to bless and speak briefly with the crowd that arrives, but a free ticket will need to be booked on the Tuesday beforehand, due to overcrowding.
In the Piazza Venezia, the bustling town square, that many consider being more of a traffic jam than a real tourist destination, lays the incredible Vittoriano Monument (also known as The Wedding Cake) that needs to be seen to believe.
One of the most popular destinations to visit in the middle of the city, and too will be swarming with tourists.
There are many thousands of tourist destinations that need to be researched and read about prior to visiting Rome. There is far too much of this magnificent city to be viewed in a short amount of time, so planning is essential!
The food and wine is a treat that definitely needs to be experienced on a regular basis, if you’re visiting Rome for a holiday. The food of course is going to be both traditional and fusion Italian, with a variety of home made pastas and sauces there to make your taste buds tingle with flavour. Most places won’t serve pizza until well into the evening, as the pizza is predominantly wood fired, and the fire takes some time to heat up the oven in order to get that delicious flavour working through the pizza.
The wine is destined to be fantastic also, due to the large variety of wineries that lay around the area, and especially the grapes that are produced in Tuscany, which is only a short distance away from the heart of Rome. The house wine is typically your best bet of choosing a great wine if you don’t understand the Italian phrases on the wine list. Most places wont be caught dead selling you a wine that is less than great, so the house wine will probably suit you, and your meal just fine.
The shopping in Rome is nothing but fantastic, and if you’re going to spend a day shopping, make sure you wear your finest clothes and look nothing but stunning! The Italians are quite proud of the fashionable heritage, and are insanely trendy, so make sure you’re keeping up with the trends when you embark on your shopping adventure.
When planning your trip to Rome, make sure you allow yourself enough time to cover the millions of things to do. With hundreds of tourist attractions, as well as buildings with incredible histories and feats of architecture, combined with the luscious food and wine and fantastic shopping, you might find yourself exhausted from all that Rome has to offer even after a day!
Remember to take time to savour the culture that Rome gives you, and to give yourself enough time to experience and remember your trip to Rome, the center of architecture, religion, fashion and food.