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On my family’s recent European vacation, we had two partial days to explore Rome. I had visited Rome about 20 years ago for several days and toured every attraction at that time. The rest of my family had never been, but on this trip, we only had time for a few things.
The bathroom situation in Italy
The biggest thing to be aware of when traveling in Rome (and everywhere in Italy actually) is that in most cases, you must PAY to use the bathroom. That’s how it was on my trip 20 years ago, and it’s still like that today.
My family took a train from Venice to Rome. As soon as we got off the train, one of my kids said he had to use the bathroom. So, we schlepped downstairs with our luggage until we found a restroom, and we waited outside. Well, about 30 second later, he said he needed a 1 Euro coin to get into the bathroom. We had some bills that we got before our trip started, but no coins. I followed him to the bathroom and I was able to use my credit card to pay the 1 Euro fee.
Even if you eat at a restaurant, some places will still charge you to use the restroom. This was the case for us at a restaurant outside of Pompeii.
Taxis vs. Uber vs. Trains in Rome
Usually, wherever we go, public transportation is cheaper than a taxi or uber. But, that’s not always the case. On our final day in Rome, we took a van from the port to our airport hotel. After dropping off our luggage, we wanted to explore the city centre again. The Leonardo Express airport train was 14 Euros a person, but a taxi was a flat rate of 50 Euros. The Uber rate for a vehicle that would fit all of us was over 150 Euros.
So, the taxi was actually the cheapest and quickest for our family. Our hotel summoned a taxi that could fit all 5 of us. And, the weird thing about taxis in Rome is that some of the smaller-looking taxis actually have a 3rd row of foldable seats in the back. We’ve never seen cars that small with 3rd row seats that could fit all of us.
Another bonus of taking the taxi was that our driver actually took us on a mini-tour of the city, driving us by some sites we didn’t see on our first day and places we didn’t have time to explore during this trip.
My kids couldn’t believe how much honking the drivers do in Rome. We also chuckled when we were at stoplights and the taxi drivers rolled down their windows to talk to each other.
The Places we Visited in Rome
Since we had a short amount of time in Rome, we had to really prioritize and cut down our list of attractions. We did not see the Vatican, so that saved us a lot of time.
Our first priority was seeing the Colosseum. Some of you may recall that we actually booked a night underground tour, which was canceled shortly before our trip and we had to scramble just to get daytime tickets. But even though we just had regular tickets with no tour, my entire family thoroughly enjoyed walking through the Colosseum. My kids took a ton of selfies, and they surprised me with how much they paid attention to the artifacts and explanations inside. It’s wild to think about the gladiator battles!
Since we were staying very close to the Colosseum, my son and I returned at night. The area has a whole different vibe at night, and I highly recommend returning to see it in the dark.
During our second day in Rome at the end of our trip, we visited Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. It’s easy to walk between the two attractions. Trevi Fountain was super crowded, as I suspected. We all threw in our coins for good luck.
When we first tried to visit the Pantheon, it was closed for a Sunday mass. We decided to eat lunch and come back. When we came back, the line to get in was around the square and down the street. My kids were groaning and really pushing to skip seeing the inside. My husband was adamant that we see it. After all, when are we ever coming back to Rome?
Thankfully, the line moved very quickly. The Pantheon is really a magnificent building with so much history. It was free to get in when we visited, but starting next week a paid ticket is required.
Final Thoughts
Rome is one of my favorite European cities! I’m not sure if I’ll be back any time soon since I’ve been there twice and I have a long list of new places I want to see.
I believe what is captioned as the WWII Memorial is actually the Victor Emmanuel II Memorial, completed in 1911.
@jsm You’re right! This is one of those “lost in translation” moments with our taxi driver. He must have been talking about the Palazzo Venezia across the street.
India is far worse with honking. VW models are equipped with a heavy duty horn in India because some drivers honk more than 50 times per mile and might honk over a million times over the life of the car.
@Derek That’s interesting! Where I live it’s almost considered rude to honk. When we were in Athens, there was zero honking. It was so quiet!