Rome

Rome doesn't ease you in gently. You step out of Termini station and there's a Baroque fountain on one corner and a ruin on the other, and nobody around you seems to find this remarkable. Three millennia of continuous habitation will do that to a city.

Romans have a particular relationship with their own grandeur. They live inside it, complain about the traffic, and park their scooters next to 2,000-year-old walls without blinking. The city operates on its own rhythms: lunch around 1:30 PM, dinner rarely before 8:30 PM, and the Sunday pranzo is essentially sacred.

Aperitivo kicks off around 7 PM and is less a happy hour, more a social institution. You buy a drink, you get access to a buffet spread. That's just how evenings begin here.

The Catholic Church's fingerprints are over everything, from the calendar of holidays to the dress code at every significant door. But Rome isn't solemn. It's loud, opinionated, occasionally chaotic, and almost always worth the trouble.

Never order a cappuccino after noon. Romans consider milk-based coffee drinks a morning-only thing — too heavy for the afternoon or after a meal. After lunch or dinner, you order an espresso, a caffè macchiato, or nothing.

You can technically order whatever you want as a tourist, but expect a raised eyebrow.. Stand at the bar to drink your coffee. Sitting at a table is fine but triggers a service charge that can push a €1.

20 espresso to €3 or more. Romans neck their shot standing up and leave. It's not rushed — it's just the ritual..

Dinner starts late. In Rome, most locals don't sit down until 8–9 PM. Restaurants that serve at 6 PM are catering to tourists.

Aperitivo starts around 7 PM — buy a cocktail (€6–12), get access to a buffet spread of olives, cheese, cured meats, sometimes pasta. It bridges the gap between afternoon and dinner without any fuss.. Tipping is not expected.

You can round up the bill or leave €1–2 at a casual spot if the service was genuinely good. A 15–20% tip signals you've never left North America. If a waiter demands a tip or it appears automatically added as a percentage, you're in a tourist trap..

Coperto (cover charge) is normal and legal. It's the flat fee (usually €1.50–3 at local spots, €3–5 in tourist zones) added to your bill just for sitting down.

It often covers bread. Don't fight it — but do check the menu for the listed amount before ordering.. Cover your knees and shoulders at any church.

This isn't a guidebook cliché — they will turn you away at the Vatican, Santa Maria Maggiore, and most other major basilicas. Carry a light scarf. The free lightweight coverings they hand out at the Vatican entrance are scratchy and depressing..

Don't touch produce at markets before the vendor selects it for you. Point at what you want and let them pick. It's the done thing, and ignoring it earns you a look that will make you feel terrible..

State-owned museums offer free entry on the first Sunday of each month. This includes the Colosseum. The catch: everyone knows this, so lines form at 8 AM.

Worth it if you arrive early, pointless if you show up at 11.. Do not sit on the Spanish Steps. There's a fine.

Rome has been gradually cracking down on tourist behaviour at monuments — the Trevi Fountain also has new crowd management measures being tested in 2026 for the lower steps, including a nominal reservation fee of around €2.

Rome is physically safe for tourists. Muggings are rare and violent crime against visitors is genuinely uncommon. What the city does excel at, historically and currently, is pickpocketing. Rome recorded over 33,000 pickpocketing incidents in 2024, up significantly from pre-pandemic levels. The highest-risk zones are: the metro (especially Line A between Termini and Spagna), Termini station, the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, the Spanish Steps, and the Vatican queue. Bus 64 running from Termini to the Vatican is widely nicknamed the "Pickpocket Express."

The tactics are professional and generational. Common approaches include the artificial crush at bus or metro doors, staged arguments designed to distract you while someone else works your bag, someone "spilling" something on you and helping to clean it up, and the bracelet scam near the Colosseum and Spanish Steps where someone ties a bracelet on your wrist and then demands €10–20 while physically blocking you from leaving. Firm "No grazie" and keep walking — don't engage and don't try to be polite about it.

Practical protection: carry bags across your body at the front in crowded areas, keep wallets in front pockets, never put a phone in a back pocket, and avoid backpacks that sit freely on your back in busy places. Italy's interior ministry has a dedicated metro police unit (Polmetro) patrolling Rome's platforms, which has helped.

After dark, stick to the lit, populated tourist areas. The Termini south side (Via Giolitti) can be rough late at night. Avoid isolated parks after midnight.

Restaurant scams are also worth knowing: some establishments near major monuments maintain different prices on Italian vs. English menus, spontaneously increase cover charges, or pour expensive house wine without asking. Check the posted menu before sitting down, and review your bill line by line before paying.

Emergency number for police, ambulance, or fire: 112 (English-speaking operators available). For non-emergency theft reports (needed for insurance claims), go to the Polizia di Stato tourist assistance offices near major sites.

Rome's metro is useful but limited. Three lines (A, B, and C) exist, but Line C is mostly still under construction. The historic centre has no metro at all — archaeological ruins underground made it impossible to build. So for the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Campo de' Fiori, and most of the city centre, you're walking or taking a bus. Line A covers the Vatican (Ottaviano stop) and the Spanish Steps (Spagna). Line B covers the Colosseum (Colosseo stop). The metro closes at 11:30 PM on weeknights and 1:30 AM on Fridays and Saturdays.

Buses fill the gaps everywhere the metro doesn't reach. Bus routes 64 and 40 are the main Vatican-bound lines, and both are heavily used by tourists. Bus 64 has a particular reputation for pickpockets — it runs from Termini directly to the Vatican and gets very crowded. The Tram 8 line connects Trastevere with Largo Argentina and is one of the easier ways to cross the centre.

Tickets: A single BIT ticket costs €1.50 and is valid for 100 minutes, including one metro entry and unlimited bus and tram transfers within that window. A 24-hour pass is €7, a 72-hour is €18, and a weekly CIS pass is €24. You can't buy tickets on the bus. Pick them up at any tabacchi (the shops with the green T sign), at metro station vending machines, or use contactless Tap & Go directly at metro turnstiles and bus validators. The Tap & Go system (any Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, or Google Pay) caps daily spending at €8.50, so after enough rides in one day, travel is effectively free until midnight. If you forget to validate a paper ticket, inspectors issue fines of €54.90 on the spot.

From Fiumicino (FCO): the Leonardo Express train runs to Termini and costs around €14. It's the fastest option and runs every 30 minutes. Taxis have a fixed fare of €55 into the city centre. From Ciampino (CIA): bus transfers link to the metro — multiple operators run this route for around €5–7.

Striking note: transport strikes are common, usually on Fridays, and are announced in advance. Check the ATAC website before booking anything on a Friday morning.