Last Updated on October 9, 2024 by admin

Rome for first-timers: a primer on the Eternal City

If you’re coming to Rome for the first time, I’m so excited for you. This city has been a part of my heart for more than 20 years, and I’ve been lucky enough to live here for ten of those.

That being said, Rome isn’t the easiest city to navigate, so you might feel a bit daunted by your trip. 

I’m writing this first-timer’s guide to Rome just for you to help you get your bearings and feel a bit more prepared for your trip. I’ve linked to more in-depth guides on certain subjects, so feel free to dive into anything you might want more information about. 

If you have any questions, please reach out in the comments section, and I’ll get back to you ASAP.

Rome 101

Geography

Rome is the capital of Italy, and it’s also the capital of the Lazio region. It is located in central Italy, just about halfway between north and south.

The city is about 30km inland from the Tyrrhenian Sea. The closest beach is in Ostia, which is a district of Rome, and you can reach it on public transportation. 

The Tiber River

The center of the city is sliced in two by the Tiber River, or il Tevere in Italian.

Owing to the steep embankments on both sides of the river, the city doesn’t have as much of a river culture as some other European cities, although there are some rowing clubs, a few boat restaurants, and some people who even fish in it.

During the summer months, there’s a festival called “Lungo il Tevere” (along the Tiber) that takes place – as you may have guessed – along the river, with lots of bars and places to eat, as well as shopping and events.

There’s also a bike path that runs along both sides of the river, which can come in handy if you’re trying to get from the south of the city (near Porta Portese) to the north (Ponte Milvio) and vice versa, or anywhere in between, and don’t want to deal with street traffic.

The Aurelian Walls

The historic center of Rome is surrounded by the Aurelian Walls (le mura aureliane in Italian). The walls are important for visitors to Rome, because they’re used as the determining marker for how much your cab ride from the airport to the city center will be!

To get from Fiumicino Airport to any address within the Aurelian Walls, it costs 55 euro. To get from Ciampino Airport to any address within the Aurelian Walls, the fee is 40.

More on airports and transportation here and below.

Rome’s neighborhoods

The center of Rome is divided into 22 rioni, or historical neighborhoods. These neighborhoods are all found within the city’s walls (the aforementioned Aurelian, as well as the Janiculum walls, and the Leonine walls), with the exception of Prati, which is adjacent to the Vatican.

To orient yourselves to Rome’s rioni, check out this article.

Vatican City

You probably know that Rome surrounds Vatican City, which is an independent city-state ruled by the Pope.

Vatican City houses St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums (which is where the Sistine Chapel is), the Vatican Gardens, and the pope’s residence.

There is no “border”, and you do not need to show your passport to enter Vatican City, although you do need to bring an ID to enter the Vatican Museums. 

Here’s more on visiting the Vatican Museums.

Currency

The Euro (€) is used in Italy, Vatican City, and San Marino, Italy’s other independent city-state.

In Rome, credit and debit cards are generally widely accepted. It is advisable to carry a small amount of cash in case you want to leave a few euros as a tip, or for a small purchase like a coffee or a bottle of water.

Getting around

Airports

Rome has two airports, Fiumicino and Ciampino. Fiumicino is the larger and busier of the two, and it serves major carriers. Ciampino is smaller and mainly serves low-cost companies like RyanAir. 

Here I’ve written a post outlining all of the options for getting to the city center of from both Fiumicino and Ciampino.

Main train stations

The largest train station in Rome is called Termini. If you take the fast train from Fiumicino airport, you’ll arrive there. If you take a bus or the bus/train combo from Ciampino, you’ll also arrive at Termini (although SIT Bus Shuttle also makes stops near the Vatican). 

If you’re arriving in Rome from another city, you’ll also most likely arrive at Termini, although there is another large station where high-speed trains stop, and it’s called Tiburtina. If you happen to be staying closer to Tiburtina, getting on/off there instead of at Termini is a great option. 

Public transportation

I have dedicated a very long post to public transportation in Rome, so please check it out if you’re interested.

In short, I recommend staying on a metro line and relying primarily on the metro for getting around. Street traffic in Rome is thick, so buses can take forever to get from point A to point B, and the tram lines seem to be in a constant state of repair these days, so they’re often substituted by buses.

Lots of people come to Rome and plan on taking taxis everywhere, but both taxis and Ubers are expensive and in short supply. Unfortunately, some taxi drivers are also scammers, so you may end up being asked to pay a lot more than you were expecting. 

There are three metro lines in Rome: the A, B and C. The A and B lines intersect at Termini, and the A and C lines intersect at San Giovanni. In 2025, the B and C lines should intersect at the Colosseum station (work is currently ongoing to set up this link). 

On the A line, you can get to many points of interest, including the Trevi Fountain (the stop is called Barberini), the Spanish Steps (Spagna), Piazza del Popolo (the stop is called Flaminio, and it’s where you can get to Villa Borghese and Galleria Borghese as well as Via del Corso, the main shopping street in the historic center), Castel Sant’Angelo (Lepanto), St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums (Ottaviano – you can also get to the Vatican Museums from the Cipro stop).

On the B line, you can get to the Monti neighborhood and the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (Cavour), the Colosseum (Colosseo), Circus Maximus and Baths of Caracalla (Circa Massimo), and Ostiense (Piramide, where you can take the train to Ostia Antica or Ostia beach, or walk to one of Rome’s best neighborhoods for foodies, Testaccio). Saint Paul Outside the Walls, one of Rome’s Papal Basilicas, is also on the B line (San Paolo).

There aren’t any major sights along the C line yet, because it has yet to be fully linked up to the city center, but over the next decade, if things go according to plan, I think it’ll actually be the best line for tourists to stay on. In the meantime, if you’re looking for accommodation that’s slightly cheaper and a vibe that is distinctly more local than the city center, look at staying along the C line stops of Pigneto or Malatesta. You’ll find great restaurants, tons of bars, street art, and way, way, way fewer tourists, and you can still be in the city center in a matter of minutes by taking the metro to San Giovanni and switching to the A line. 

When to visit Rome

Like many other places in the world, Rome suffers from overtourism, particularly in the summer months. I personally recommend avoiding visiting Rome in June, July and August because it feels like the whole world comes then, and also because it seems like every recent summer has shattered the previous year’s heat record.

I have another big fat post on when to visit Rome, which details average temperatures, rainfall and crowds, as well as what to expect during certain holidays throughout the year.

To summarize it, I recommend coming in October, November, December, January, February, or March, with October being probably my top vote. Octobers in Rome are so special that there’s even a term for the gorgeous days – le ottobrate romane.

Things pick up in April and May, and then in June, July and August, it’s out of control. September is slightly nicer in terms of weather and crowds, but it’s still very busy.

What to do

Major sights

If you’re coming to Rome for the first time, odds are you want to see the Colosseum and Roman Forum, St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums (you may only be interested in the Sistine Chapel, which, as I said above, is housed in the Vatican Museums, and yes, you have to go through the whole complex – the Sistine Chapel is the last thing you’ll see). 

As you can imagine, these are the busiest sights in the city, so unless you book a before-or-after-hours VIP-style tour, you can expect the visit to be crowded (you might luck out if you listen to me please for the love of God and come in the off season when crowds aren’t so overwhelming). 

I cover a lot of the city’s other popular, central sights in my free, self-guided walking tour of Rome, including Campo de’ Fiori, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and Piazza del Popolo.

I also recommend visiting Galleria Borghese for art lovers. 

Stay tuned for a list of places to go on your second or third visit to Rome!

Booking in advance

Regardless of the time of year you come to Rome, you should book accommodation, popular sights, and any popular restaurants in advance (more on dining below). 

Here’s the link to the official website for Colosseum tickets, which are released a month in advance (meaning if you want to book for a certain day, you should book a month ahead of time).

Here’s the link to official Vatican Museums tickets, which are released, as far as I can tell, about 60 days in advance.

It’s best to book through the official websites if possible; it’s cheaper, and there have been issues recently with people booking through third-party vendors like Get your Guide and having their tours cancelled at the last minute. This is because the companies who “sell” tickets through these third-party vendors sell them without actually having secured them. They’re then forced to cancel.

Where to stay

There’s accommodation for every style and budget in Rome, but, in my opinion, you should prioritize staying near a metro stop, especially if you plan on doing a lot of sightseeing. Like I said above, tons of major sights are accessible via the A and B metro lines. 

Monti vs. Trastevere

Lots and lots of tourists narrow their stays down to two neighborhoods: Monti or Trastevere. While both of them have a lot to offer, pretty little alleyways to wander down, and lots of good food, Monti, to me, has a couple of clear advantages. The first is its metro stop (Cavour), and the second is its proximity to the ancient sights (i.e. the Colosseum and Imperial Fora). 

Trastevere is also very big. If you don’t know it well, you might end up staying either in the thick of the masses, which, unless you’re in Rome to party, won’t be super pleasant, or in the quieter area that’s preferred by many locals (but might be a bit too quiet if you were hoping for the lively, touristy part of things). Trastevere is served by buses and a tram line (that’s currently not running), so getting into and out of it isn’t the easiest, unless you’re staying close to the river and a bridge that will get you to the other side of the city quickly.

What to eat

Oh dear, it is difficult for me to not go on and on about Roman food, so I will allow my other posts to do the talking.

I will say this before dropping the links: knowing what to expect in terms of food in Italy will help you to avoid disappointment if you’re one of those people who has a lot of expectations. Italian food is highly regional, so you won’t find the same things in all of the places you go.

In Rome, you’ll see pecorino Romano cheese, bitter greens like chicory and, if you’re here at the right time, puntarelle, as well as guanciale (cured pork cheek) and offal on many menus, along with the city’s core four pasta dishes (cacio e pepe, gricia, carbonara and amatriciana).

If you want a more in-depth look at dining like a modern Roman, click here.

For more on Roman food, check out this guide.

The ultimate guide to Roman pasta is here.

Here’s my guide to Roman street food.

And this post will help you make reservations once you’ve decided where you want to eat every meal.

Oh right – I should also share my favorite restaurants in Rome.

I hope you found this guide to Rome for first timers helpful. I love helping people have a good time in Rome, so please feel free to reach out with questions below!

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