EPTany special place to go (other than the obvious tourist atractions), any special food to ask for?
any special shops, anyything to be wary of?
any other general holiday tips for a nub holidayer?
tnx
going to rome, any tips?
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biomedical
235 Posts
any special place to go (other than the obvious tourist atractions), any special food to ask for? any special shops, anyything to be wary of? any other general holiday tips for a nub holidayer? tnx | ||
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chobopeon
United States7342 Posts
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QuanticHawk
United States32165 Posts
Don't go on any of the guided tours. Huge waste of money. Five days is more than enough time to research and do it on your own. Just be sure to note what times that museums and the Vatican and that stuff are open. You can walk a lot of stuff easily, or use the subway. Make sure your money is tight on you, because there's a lot of pick pocketers. For food, the street pizza is awesome and you can get it all over. The fancy restaurants also serve pizza, but it's much different. Smaller pie, very thin, but AWESOME. Also, be sure to try the menu (I think it's what it's called) at lunch time. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day. Menu is a choice of salad, pasta and meat usually. For the upscale, sit down places, you want to try to go to ones as far away from the touristy areas as possible, because the closer you are, the higher the price. | ||
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GreenManalishi
Canada834 Posts
On November 25 2009 05:20 biomedical wrote: im going to rome (italy) with a friend for 5 nights, never been before obv, anyone live there or been there can advise something , what to do and what not to do? any special place to go (other than the obvious tourist atractions), any special food to ask for? any special shops, anyything to be wary of? any other general holiday tips for a nub holidayer? tnx I spent two weeks in Rome a year ago, and here are a couple of the things I enjoyed: - Walk around the city trying to hit as many old churches as you can. While you might not be too interested in the Churches themselves, the streets around many of them are interesting and this is a good way to see the city. I always like having a mission when I am exploring someplace new. Look at the floors in many of these churches, often the mosaics are made up of marble taken from old Roman temples. - Day trips are really nice. North of Rome there are some beautiful small hill towns, some are really touristy but there are some relatively quiet towns left. I went to Naples for a day and visited Pompeii, which I found pretty interesting but if you only have five days you will probably do not want to waste most of a day on a bus. - Some of the tours provided at the sights are really worthwhile. If you don't know a lot about Roman life/architecture/history the tours can make the sights a lot more interesting and memorable. There are usually very obvious signage showing where the tours begin at the ticketing booths to all of the major sights, so finding a group should be no problem. - Rome is expensive. Be prepared to pay a premium for everything and just take it in stride, Italians have mastered how to squeeze every penny out of tourists. | ||
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Cu(oCo)
Italy358 Posts
On November 25 2009 05:33 choboPEon wrote: do as the romans do NO. | ||
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GreenManalishi
Canada834 Posts
On November 25 2009 06:01 Hawk wrote: Don't go on any of the guided tours. Huge waste of money. Five days is more than enough time to research and do it on your own. I think some of the tours provided are free and you are just expected to tip your guide. Just be careful I guess. | ||
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Chameleon
United States604 Posts
*as far as food goes, especially if your near the vatican, walk about 4 blocks away (north) and you'll have more options for food that are at least as good and ridiculously cheaper. *tours, like he said, are a total waste not only because they are pricey and dont give you much, but there are so freaking many every where you go that you are gonna hear everything those guides say anyway. *If you stay by Campo de Fiori you will be able to easily walk to pretty much everything, probably pricey but well worth it imo **edit** also, I highly reccomend the Rick Steve's guide book on Rome. It's a cheap and easy alternative to any of the guided tours and also has a lot of nice little tips and can help you figure out what you want to see and do. | ||
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QuanticHawk
United States32165 Posts
On November 25 2009 06:12 GreenManalishi wrote: I think some of the tours provided are free and you are just expected to tip your guide. Just be careful I guess. Yeah, those are actually ok. It's up to you how much to tip. It's all college kids and they make their money exclusively on tips and are usually into it. If you're gonna take a guided tour, use them. I wish I remembered the name of the group, but they offer tours in all the major Euro cities When I get home, I will try to find the book that I had. It was a guide to all of Europe, but had individual cities as well and was decently helpful. If you have some time, it wouldn't hurt to learn a few words/phrases in Italian. It's beneficial to learn a few words in any country, but Italians seem to be extra helpful if you make an effort. Learn a basic greeting, directions, 0-10, and how to introduce yourself and where your from is easy to learn and will go a long way towards helping you Green and Camel's advice is also very helpful. | ||
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RandomAccount#49059
United States2140 Posts
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YPang
United States4024 Posts
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Ingenol
United States1328 Posts
Other things I really enjoyed were Giolitti gelato (look it up, pretty fun place) and taking a daytrip to Hadrian's Villa, which was a bit tricky to get to but really cool and a bit out of the way. | ||
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Boblion
France8043 Posts
On November 25 2009 06:33 stormtemplar wrote: Unlike France, Italy has it's reputation as a place with good food for a reason. lol bs. | ||
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jello_biafra
United Kingdom6642 Posts
 If you want to visit St Peter's Basilica then I suggest you get up really early because the line is fucking massive, you should pay a visit to the vatican in general though it's pretty impressive and you'll get a good laugh at the guard's uniforms. Other places worth a visit are Trevi Fountain, the pantheon, the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II and of course the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. Also watch out for the god damn mopeds, they're everywhere! | ||
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B-612
Canada33 Posts
I'll pass on the pro tips from my fiends she knows the good stuff; 1) Every restaurant should have prices posted somewhere visible, it lets you know whats there and what you are going to be paying. Always get prices before ordering to avoid scamming, especially near tourist areas. 2) If you are going to visit the Vatican museum the part with the sistine chapel etc, make sure you line up early. If I recall it opens at 9am, get there at 8 and line up and you will save a ton of time. The line is usually a 2-3 hour wait when its busy so by lining up early at 8am you can cut the wait time down. 3) Most small cafes etc will have different prices for sitting then they would if you take away, if you need to save money this works great, I recommend a pizza place that has alot of italian speakers in it around 11am or 5pm, the food will be <insert terrible act here> worthy. 4) Find a cafe near where you are staying where to can score a coffee and a pastry at the counter, it will be a tiny espresso cup but will keep you going until lunch. Look for locals standing at a coffee bar and grabbing pastries this is the roman version of the breakfast drive-thru. 5) If you are lost or need directions, be polite and ask a monk/nun many of them are very well versed in many different languages and they may be able to help you. Open with something like 'My sincerest apologies for disrupting your day but can you help me with... 6) If you are going to tour the Colosseum rather than line up there, go over to the Palatine hill it is were the Roman imperial palace was and for 1 euro more you can get a pass to go there and the Colosseum, but your pass will let you jump the queue. The lineup is always shorter at the Palatine hill and the view of the city is amazing from the top. Edit: I almost forgot if you like creepy kinda stuff check this place out, I can't remember how to get there but I'm sure you should be able to figure it out. Its called the Capuchin Crypt and its super cool. Capuchin Crypt wiki link Best wishes on your trip and enjoy the hell out of Rome | ||
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chobopeon
United States7342 Posts
I formally apologize. Have fun in Rome! | ||
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biomedical
235 Posts
will read the rest now ty | ||
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Cu(oCo)
Italy358 Posts
On November 25 2009 08:10 choboPEon wrote: I formally apologize. Have fun in Rome! just hate rome and romans. they arent nice as you can guess | ||
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JFKWT
Singapore1442 Posts
On November 25 2009 06:33 stormtemplar wrote: Few tips from some things I've heard from people who have been there and stuff Iknow. If you are out at night and think someone is following you to mug you, try and walk faster, and get a native between you and him. Often the people will only attack tourists. Other tip is, Italian food in general is good. Unlike France, Italy has it's reputation as a place with good food for a reason. Eat out often and when you do, if you don't know what to order, pick something safe with ingredients that you know you like and it will come back delicious. I find that the food in the local, non-touristy areas is 10x better and about 1/2 to 1/3 of the price of the touristy areas. That was when i went to Florence and Milan though >.> And if you see suspicious people or if u see locals avoiding certain groups do so (do as the Romans do?) i got conned of some euros by one of them. | ||
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Cu(oCo)
Italy358 Posts
[B]On November 25 2009 23:25 JFKWT wrote: I find that the food in the local, non-touristy areas is 10x better and about 1/2 to 1/3 of the price of the touristy areas. That was when i went to Florence and Milan though >.> And if you see suspicious people or if u see locals avoiding certain groups do so (do as the Romans do?) i got conned of some euros by one of them. +1 non-turisty areas are much better than turisty ones. even if the ppl wont speak a good english and you may meet some badasses ppl. yes florence is just awesome but dont come to milan. i live here since 20 years i can tell you wont even see the sun  | ||
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Salv
Canada3083 Posts
A friend of mine went to Italy and had his wallet attached to a chain, which attached to his belt, and he still had his wallet stolen. I think it simply unhooked, but you need a lot of balls to go up behind someone and try that. | ||
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