[McMurdo]

Hey everyone,

Just posting here to see if anyone has been to Rome during the summer for 2 weeks or longer. If so, how was it? Did you enjoy it? Also, as young people and possibly students, what did you enjoy doing most? I'm asking so I can get an idea of fun things to do while I'm there with my friends.

Any advice is appreciated

Cheers.

[Tackla]

Be a good Roman

[Teemo]

You can just walk around aimlessly in Rome and you'll find so many things to see and do! One bit of advice, if ANYONE offers you ANYTHING for free, dont accept it. They give it to you 'for free' and then ask for a tip and can get quite aggressive if you refuse to give them one.

[Kallisto]

Although I was not in Rome so far I would visit the colosseum first.

[Robbob16]

Do as the Romans do


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[Zubby77]

Eat as much pizza as you can, I have fond memories

[DannyW94]

Watch out for the motorbikes/mopeds - there are millions of them and they come whizzing round corners. Probably why you will hear ambulances quite often!

[geetar]

Have a bunga bunga party.

Also, Rome has some of the greatest artistic and cultural treasures on the planet. And go to the Vatican City.

[Starrstruck]

I didn't go in the summer for 2 weeks but I went in spring a few years back. You must visit the historical monuments - the colloseum, Sistine chapel, Trevi fountain (make sure you make a wish), there's one castle as well but I forgot the name. There's also some famous Spanish steps where you've got fashion boutiques close buy as well. Enjoy the food as well, steer away from McDonald, you need to have the local cuisine. If you have time, you should take a 1 day trip up to Pompeii. I went and it was fantastic, we got a tour of the place that was abolished when mount Vesuvius erupted many years ago. It's incredible, enjoy your stay there.

[DannyW94]

(Original post by Starrstruck)
I didn't go in the summer for 2 weeks but I went in spring a few years back. You must visit the historical monuments - the colloseum, Sistine chapel, Trevi fountain (make sure you make a wish), there's one castle as well but I forgot the name. There's also some famous Spanish steps where you've got fashion boutiques close buy as well. Enjoy the food as well, steer away from McDonald, you need to have the local cuisine. If you have time, you should take a 1 day trip up to Pompeii. I went and it was fantastic, we got a tour of the place that was abolished when mount Vesuvius erupted many years ago. It's incredible, enjoy your stay there.

Ahh the Spanish Steps! If I remember rightly (went there as a young kid) there's a little fountain at the bottom where you can drink fresh water from?!

[Starrstruck]

(Original post by DannyW94)
Ahh the Spanish Steps! If I remember rightly (went there as a young kid) there's a little fountain at the bottom where you can drink fresh water from?!

Yes I think so ( I also went when I was young), I can't remember what it's called. It's not the Trevi fountain, is it??

[McMurdo]

Hello to you all, and thank you for all the suggestions I am looking forward to the monuments and (mostly) the cuisine. Also, does anyone know what the night life is like? Are there nice, lively places to see at night and places to drink? Thanks again.

[Super Cicero]

If you go outside of the city, it should be easy to find your way back to it, since erm... all roads lead to Rome!

[Nice.Guy]

don't forget castel sant angelo and vatican city may seem like it's not worth the distance but it is definitely a place you need to visit!
i don't really remember much about the nightlife - i can't really remember seeing many clubs and stuff - but there are plenty of bars and restaurants open late - it's italy after all

[McMurdo]

(Original post by Nice.Guy)
don't forget castel sant angelo and vatican city may seem like it's not worth the distance but it is definitely a place you need to visit!
i don't really remember much about the nightlife - i can't really remember seeing many clubs and stuff - but there are plenty of bars and restaurants open late - it's italy after all

Hey, thanks for the response! Not to sound chavvy or anything :P , but is there a sort of...social drinking culture there? Essentially, I want to enjoy the history, cuisine, weather etc. by day, but I'd also like to be able to drink on some nights as I would in the UK, without feeling as though I was being judged as an alcoholic :P I only ask because I know other European countries have very different attitudes towards drink. Is it commonplace for people there to go out drinking/clubbing etc? Or is it looked down upon in your experience?

[Nice.Guy]

(Original post by McMurdo)
Hey, thanks for the response! Not to sound chavvy or anything :P , but is there a sort of...social drinking culture there? Essentially, I want to enjoy the history, cuisine, weather etc. by day, but I'd also like to be able to drink on some nights as I would in the UK, without feeling as though I was being judged as an alcoholic :P I only ask because I know other European countries have very different attitudes towards drink. Is it commonplace for people there to go out drinking/clubbing etc? Or is it looked down upon in your experience?

haha, don't fret
in my experience italy doesn't really have much of a 'booze' culture - yes they drink - in fact alcohol is really commonplace, and it's rare to go to a restaurant without seeing alcohol being served...
i don't think clubbing is that common, but there are plenty of bars and clubs around, you just need to find them just do a quick google search beforehand and take your pick

[Wizz09]

It's an absolute must to try Gelato while you're there. The intensity of the flavours is unreal - completely different to the ice cream we have here.

There will be places everywhere you look, but I highly recommend these guys. They only have 2 branches in Rome, but they're both quite central.

[McMurdo]

(Original post by Nice.Guy)
haha, don't fret
in my experience italy doesn't really have much of a 'booze' culture - yes they drink - in fact alcohol is really commonplace, and it's rare to go to a restaurant without seeing alcohol being served...
i don't think clubbing is that common, but there are plenty of bars and clubs around, you just need to find them just do a quick google search beforehand and take your pick

Ah, cool. Thanks a lot! Yeah, I think drinking to the point of being drunk will have to be reserved for bars, as I can't see there being lots of drunken Italians staggering around at night like the drunken Brits here

[kikko]

Spaghetti vongole !

[RowingGoose]

(Original post by McMurdo)
Hey, thanks for the response! Not to sound chavvy or anything :P , but is there a sort of...social drinking culture there? Essentially, I want to enjoy the history, cuisine, weather etc. by day, but I'd also like to be able to drink on some nights as I would in the UK, without feeling as though I was being judged as an alcoholic :P I only ask because I know other European countries have very different attitudes towards drink. Is it commonplace for people there to go out drinking/clubbing etc? Or is it looked down upon in your experience?

Here's what I saw:
spanish steps
colluseum
vatican
victor emmanuel
trevi fountain
trastevere and jewish 'ghetto'
villa borghese gardens - you can hire segways!
roman forum - ruins
baths of caracalla

Yes they drink, and they're allowed bottles outside. There's not that much clubbing, but of course they still drink! It's more of a relaxed feel, they don't just drink to see how many they can pints they can down! I went to one courtyard near Campo de' Fioroi and everyone's just sitting down with a bottle having a nice chat, there's also the infamous dancing old lady! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srYYFVZhGDg