What are /r/rome's favorite Products & Services?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Since this sub is about the city of Rome, you may get better responses at /r/ancestry or even /r/ancientrome

On a personal note, DNA roots are very unlikely to be traceable as they go so far back in time - they're more a curiosity for the individual than anything meaningful. Also ancestry.com doesn't include Rome (or indeed most of Italy) in its geographical scope for that particular strand. And of course ancient Rome was very much a multicultural melting pot, with lots of people of Greek descent and many others from all over the empire.

I wanted to add - we did buy a foldable toilet reducer training seat like this - but then of course you still have to carry it round after it's got all disgusting by touching the public/bar toilet. But better than nothing. And of course carry a biiiiiiig bag of disinfectant wipes (but don't flush them or you'll destroy Rome's ancient plumbing!).

US citizen/resident here.

If you're determined to do this in ...Rome: I would suggest finding some American ex-pats on social media who maybe have posted their Thanksgiving day celebration online and maybe try to invite yourself (politely). Offer to bring wine or a side-dish from a bakery. Maybe places near colleges/universities that house American students or other neighborhoods popular with ex-pats.

Failing that, you can do what a lot of Americans do and just go out to eat. Restaurants frequented or run by non-native born Americans such as Chinese and Indian restaurants are frequently open in the States. One of my favorite Halal pizza joints in my city of Indianapolis even advertises itself as being open on all major Holidays.

But really, you should do something like come to the US to experience it, post to something like Reddit, Twitter, or Meetup.com, and try to find one. Thanksgiving isn't just about the food but it is about the activity of eating as a group, watching the [American] football game even if you don't like sports, and spending time as a group/family discussing your plans for Christmas.

Do keep in mind that in the US, Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel days in the country, with the next day being a big shopping day. Roads will be packed , delays will occur, grocery stores will be crazy, airline prices high. General madness. The only saving grace is a lot of people tend to do day trips for Thanksgiving or stay with family rather than hotels so you may luck out on scoring a cheap hotel.

Try AirBnB. There's this place just blocks from the Colosseum for $133USD per night.

Check out this place for $110 USD per night. It's 3km to the "main stuff" but it's also close to the Trastevere tram line. And Trastevere is the place to be after hours, anyway.

For three people, these places are a great deal. Of course, there are constrictions: you usually have to pay in advance. You have to behave: no parties, no noise. You have to keep the place clean and orderly.

In my mind, renting a 3bd AirBnB apartment would be perfect for three young people. I rented a luxury apartment in Trastevere for a week last summer and it was fantastic! I didn't mind the walk at all. Gave me a chance to see stuff.

(Clicked over from /r/books) Have you looked at Airbnb yet? There are some private rooms as cheap as $28/night. Check this out. Super fancy looking to me! And this one, gosh.

This place is pretty cool, a friend of mine stayed there for a few nights, was really clean and quite and the location is awesome with the metro nearby. Not sure if they have 3 bed rooms tho, you can try and ask! From there it's a 10 minutes subway ride to the Colosseum.

Depends which train. If you are buying a long-distance ticket then definitely buy in advance to get a bargain (tip: use TheTrainLine so you can compare the two major operators).

If you're taking the Leonardo Express to the center of Rome then the price is fixed at €14 and it makes no difference when you get the ticket.

The app I use is Citymapper. It is quite well-done, very useful to find itineraries, and as precise about arrival times as the on-board system of the Roman buses is, and it is not always up to par.

There's a android app

Anyway you can use the public shops bathrooms, but them all want you to be a customer first. Some don't need to have it by law because they are inside old buildings, and couldn't build them.

Museums have them and they are often well mantained. Those in stations are the worst, but there are few exceptions.

Obviously public schools and offices have them too.

Google Maps does display ATAC bus info and other stuff too so I'm not sure why you aren't able to get it working, you need to press the bus icon instead of the walk icon. Anyways, the app I use is this and it displays live bus stop info about how much you have to wait and also does route planning.

OP, do read up on the site first:
https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.ticketone.it

Seems like it's got a huge number of negative reviews, though I'm not sure you have any other options. Just gotta manage your expectations.

Like this figure

There is super dupper magnificent app for fountains in Italy with 43000 fountains in the index Can't be in Italy with that free app, I don't understand people buy plastic with water inside

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mdc.nasoni

It really depends of what kind of trip are you planning. If you like to explore the places you visit by walk then RandomWalking may be the right choice.This app suggest where you should head to reach the main attractions nearby that you have not already reached. When you reach one of them, it modify its suggestion to guide you elsewhere.--> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.randomwalkingapp.app--> https://apps.apple.com/us/app/randomwalking/id1622589357--> www.randomwalkingapp.com

For the last multi-socket you sent, I would still need soMething like this right? Unidapt Europe Travel Plug Adapter - USA Canada to European Power Plug Adapters Travel from America US to EU/Europe/Italy Outlet Wall Adapter Power Plugs Type C (2 Piece) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077WCS211/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_G5SXNKD1CSRPHZTM1V5E

> Amalfi is certainly worth it, but you would need a minimum of a couple of days to go there and come back,

hmm, I was looking for trainss and seems to be plenty of them going there every day

https://www.thetrainline.com/book/results?journeySearchType=return&origin=a0bd239577129486967972f329be0071&destination=2bd3548c8ef25a0dd88f0c3bc8df95e6&outwardDate=2022-01-13T06%3A00%3A00&outwardDateType=departAfter&inwardDate=...

Maybe I'm not understanding something?

I promise you without a shadow of a doubt this is the best way, and what most foreign residents now do in Italy:

Before you leave, set up a Wise Borderless account. This creates a virtual dollar account for you in the US.

Then add a euro balance, which will give you a virtual bank account in euros Europe.

You can move currency between your dollar and euro balances for a minimal fee.

Then use Wise debit card to pay for stuff and withdraw cash from ATMs in Italy.

The exchange fees are tiny and the exchange rate is fair.

Here's some more info and advice about bringing money to Rome.

I recommend the 87 bus in Rome:

https://citymapper.com/roma/l/bus-87

The section between San Giovanni and Cicerone is a thirty minute bus ride that connects a number of key tourist attractions and interesting neighbourhoods. Enjoy!

hopefully useful info: there's always going to be a delay in activation for the SIM card you pick, whatever the carrier you choose. sometimes they get activated in just a couple of hours, sometimes up to three days later. happened to me while living in Rome, so it's definitely not due to the area, just the amount of requests the carrier is getting at any given time.

from what I remember, there's a Vodafone store and a Tim store both in the T1 terminal of the Fiumicino airport (you'll probably be landing at T5, so you basically would have to walk from one end of the airport to another... not ideal. especially if you need to get on a train to reach Rome and you're pressed for time)

ETA: look at this super useful post on the Trip Advisor boards, here. it will clear some doubts, I'm sure.

My wife and I stayed at this apartment last October. I can vouch for the cleanliness and quality of the apartment. The owner was also really great, super helpful. It's a great location since it's a short walk to the Colosseum and it's adjacent subway station. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1517215

You can get a bus to Castel Gandolfo in the Alban Hills (50 minute bus ride). This here website shows a bunch of area hikes. It ain't the Alps, but it has trails and trees with some nice views.

I'm not sure of your price range, but I've stayed in this airBNB three times now, and it's in a great location for exploring the city. Trastevere is fun and (in pockets) still feels authentic and residential, and it's centrally located in terms of major sites.

Personally speaking, I always avoid public transport and explore Rome on foot, because it's a very walkable city and I love the opportunity to dip into markets, shops, bars, etc. From that particular location in Trastevere, you can walk to St. Peters, the Colosseum, or Spanish Steps in 30 minutes or less. Probably faster if you don't stop for gelato or espresso every few hundred meters.

Same here. We are leaving Friday (direct flight arriving Saturday morning). Getting a PCR on Wednesday. Buffered time to get an antigen on the airport ($250 per person!) in case the PCR is not back on time.

I don’t mind the testing, I’ve been religiously getting tested during / before / after all my trips this past year, but this new regulation doesn’t leave a lot of room for error (mostly outside of my control like lab times) and that, coupled with the current testing situation and prices I see in the US is frustrating.

It depends what you want to use. Europe has 220V, so anything that relies on a US-based 110V system (e.g. a hair dryer) will blow up if you plug it in here. That said, many things like laptop chargers etc. are dual-voltage. Check the small print on your appliance.

For those things that are suitable to bring, I have one of these and I have to say it is the best I have ever owned, and has served me proud all over the world. The integration of two USB sockets is great as it lightens the load of having to carry a phone charger.

(67 in rest-of-world units is 19.4C)

Depends where you're from. 20C is generally thought of as room temperature. Personally I'm from a colder country so it doesn't bother me and I'd be happy with a t-shirt. However locals tend to really go to town with wrapping up - scarves in particular whenever the wind is up, as there's an unshakable folk belief that breezes cause illnesses, especially if air hits the neck; they might also wear a light cardigan over a t-shirt.

Rome isn't excessively humid but it's near the sea so there's always a bit of stickiness - between about 75% and 85% humidity at this time of year. That tends to exaggerate whatever the ambient temperature is. Check the "RealFeel" score on Accuweather: it's a pretty good indicator.

Stayed here. It was wonderful. In Trastevere https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1981371

Public transport was fine in Rome. I had no issues. Besides, great city for walking...Rome feels like art threw up all over the place. It's seriously gorgeous.

In the future you should consider using something like the wise.com account - you won't have to withdraw cash and can use the card with the google exchange rate and basically no fees.

Sadly sleep masks are impossible to use, eyes keep running :((

Sometimes there are hotels that just open, and don't even show up on hotels.com or booking.com, or if they do they're way down because they don't have any ratings, which is what I was hoping to find when I started asking here. Then again, who's going to open a new hotel in the middle of a world pandemic...

I 2nd the Rick Steves suggestion. For something more in-depth the Parco Colosseo app has purchasable audio guides for the colosseum and the Roman Forum.

I have lived in NYC for years and was warned by everyone, even some NYer to be aware of the pickpockets, "The Romans are especially good pickpockets."

Honestly no issues. I felt more comfortable most of the time than I do here in some parts. If you're worried buy one of these:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Z2AKO3G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Keep the really important stuff in that, and use your regular wallet to carry a little bit of spending money.

Now the guys trying scam me bracelets along Via dei Fori Imperiali...

"Hey Mike Tyson, are you African?

That really threw me off as I'm white.

If you

Adrian Goldsworthy has a good history of the decline of the Western Empire. Just finished it and was a great read. Get it here: https://www.amazon.com/How-Rome-Fell-Death-Superpower/dp/0300164262#:~:text=In%20his%20account%20of%20the,centuries%20of%20the%20superpower's%20decline.&text=the%20known%20world.-,By%20the%20end%20of%20the%20fifth%20century%2C%20Roman%20rule%2....

Thank you so much for your reply!

Our family was thinking of carrying this in a bag:

OXO Tot 2-in-1 Go Potty - Gray https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071GV1VYY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_8BFH6W0HNA0P2B15DKCP?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Also, are the bathrooms bad in restaurants? Or were you only referring to cafes?