One night (and a day) in Rome…
The first thing to say is that 24 hours is not enough time to spend in Rome. The sheer amount of history, architecture, art and culture to see, do and experience means you need to spend time exploring it properly.
The journey time from Florence to Rome by high speed train was 90 minutes through beautiful countryside. Our third hotel of the trip was the SINA Bernini Bristol, a short transfer from the station and located on the Piazza Barbernini. The hotel opened in 1870 and has a stunning rooftop restaurant with a terrace; the views are amazing and you can see all the way to St Peters. We ate lunch and dinner at the restaurant, Flair. The meals were the best we had on the trip, the food was superb - pasta definitely tastes better in Italy!
The rooms at the hotel are furnished in two styles – some are modern and contemporary, others are more of a classic Italian style. The hotel has recently refurbished the rooms, I really liked the colours and style of the newer rooms. The Bernini Bristol is in a great location, there is a metro station just across the Piazza as well as a stop for the hop-on hop-off bus tour. The Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps are less than 10 minutes’ walk although in opposite directions!
We walked to and made our way carefully down the Spanish Steps – I imagine they can be very slippery when it is wet! We continued on through the city past numerous historic and beautiful buildings, across the river and past Castel Sant’Angelo to St Peters and the Vatican. We did stop along the way and I guess the walk from the hotel would take around 30 minutes. We didn’t have time to visit St Peters or the Vatican this time so took lots of photos outside.
We did get to experience a taste of what to expect when you visit the Sistine Chapel at a new immersive live show – Giudzio Universale – Michelangelo and the secrets of the Sistine Chapel. The show has actors and the paintings from the chapel are projected then brought to life on the screens and ceiling above your seats. Sting composed the main theme music for the show. We were seated in the centre for the best views of the stage and ceiling, however the legroom was very limited, my knees were right up against the seat infront. We had headsets with English translations but the music and audio were quite loud so it was often difficult to hear and understand what was happening. I would recommend the show to those who are planning to visit the Sistine chapel but see it before you go. One of our group had booked a tour of the Sistine Chapel for the following day. She said that as you had only 15 minutes in the Chapel and the ceiling was very high, watching the show had given her an idea of what to expect and she could recognise the paintings from the images.
Following breakfast overlooking the Piazzo Barbernini we had some free time to explore the city. I had booked a guided tour of the Colosseum and after talking to the hotel’s Concierge took a taxi there although we could have easily taken the Metro. After walking right around the building, we eventually found the correct entrance and the meeting point of the tour. Everyone speaks good English but there were many different tours and it was so busy. We were issued with headsets for our 45 minute English language tour. It was quite hard to hear at times and you had to stand close to the guide to see the images she was holding up and explaining. On reflection I felt the building was more impressive on the outside than on the inside. I think if you are really interested in the history it would be worth paying for a private guided tour of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum which is adjacent to it.
It started raining quite heavily whilst we were in the Colosseum and so we didn’t see it at its’ best. We could have visited the Forum but decided to save it for better weather and took a taxi to the Trevi Fountain. The journey and the traffic were quite interesting!!
From the fountain we headed uphill through some of the quieter streets in the general direction of the hotel. Away from the busy tourist area we found a lovely restaurant and enjoyed delicious pizzas which were only 12 Euros. When we left through the front entrance of the restaurant, we realised it was just across the Piazza from the hotel so a great find and one I would recommend!
My tips for visiting Rome – Do some research before your visit to choose the main things you would like to see and experience. Comfy shoes, a good map and guidebook are essential.
Book at hotel with a roof terrace for fantastic views of the city and somewhere to relax after a busy day of sightseeing.
Be careful when booking tickets for the attractions and tours; if possible book directly on their website rather than through a tour company.
For the Vatican
https://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?weblang=en&do
For the Colosseum
https://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm
