Since so many people have been to Rome, Florence and Milan, I won't bore you with a turn-by-turn trip report. But instead I'll state the things that's a little unexpected from this traveller. [I've been to Europe quite a few times, but first time in Italy since 1981.]
Rome:
- Leonardo Express leaves the airport at :05 and :35. Not :07 & :37 like some guides suggested. I ran and arrived at :06 and the train just left. [Also, same price if bought at the official Trenitalia counter or the "365" agent.] The ticket needs to be validated. I didn't validate mine, and could have resold it to someone else, I believe.
- The Leonardo Express arrives at a platform on the side of Termini that's very far away from the main entrance and Metro. But there are peoplemovers in the lower level. Just follow the signs.
- Buses and subways don't run on Christmas Day. Except the #110 tourist bus - many locals were riding it on 12/25. Long lines at taxi stand outside Termini. [Our hotel is close to the train station, so it wasn't an issue.]
- If you're taking the Metro to the Vatican Museum in the morning, don't use the Cipro stop, as suggested. It's because the end of the musuem line winds around the Vatican towards the east, and Ottaviano should be closer to the end of the lineup. [Unless you go really really early.]
- To go to Tivoli, take the Cotral bus at the P. Mammolo subway. Some books/sites say Rebibbia, but the actual bus terminal is on top of P. Mammolo. One-way is 1.60 Euro to Tivoli.
- The major art works in churches and cathedrals are lighted with a timer. Some take 50-Euro cent coins, and last for about 1 minute or slightly more. Have coins ready if you don't want to wait for other people to pay. Other churches have just a switch and you can put whatever donation or none - but I don't know if you'll end up in hell if you don't pay.
- Fodorite "yk" gave me the Rick Steve guide, and in general I hated it. But two tips of his are indeed excellent. I used one and regretted not using the other:
i. Exit the Sistine Chapel via the "tour group" door. Save a lot of walk to St. Peter's. Unless you need to return the audio guide, then you're out of luck.
ii. Get the Colosseum ticket at Palatine Hill. When we got to the Colosseum, the line outside didn't look that long, so we didn't use this tip. Big mistake. Listen to Rick Steve.
- Borghese Gallery is really really worth going. I love the reservation system. Worked very well, and the museum is not crowded at all, especially if you visit the Pinacoteca first. And two hours is indeed enough time. Rick Steve says 1.5 hours on main floor and 0.5 in the Pinacoteca. We found that 1.25 and .75 is fine too. And coming down from the Pinacoteca, one doesn't need to get out of the building and walk around anymore. We took the 970 bus from Termini and its stop is much closer than the Spagna Metro.
- Chinese food is cheap in Rome (and in Italy in general), compared to other European cities. A meat dish is about 5 Euros, veggies 3 Euros.
(TrenItalia, Florence, Milan to come...)
A different kind of Italy trip report
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Thanks rkkwan, your post is so refreshing, sometimes is so tiring to read the same things over and over, also it does have great tips.
Your informations will be very useful for so many people that are not familiar with Rome or Italy in general.
Keep up the good work,
Ciao,
BTW, the lengthy flight reports on this trip are posted here in the Airline forum. I flew Air France IAH-CDG-FCO 12/24-5 and Continetnal MXP-EWR-IAH 1/2.
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=126&tid=34730280
Yes, this is a good supplement for someone to add to their guidebook/notes. Thanks.
This is useful but unfortunately no Italy visits in my near future.
I couldn't agree more about the Borghese Gallery. I didn't go my 1st visit (and never heard the end of it from my aunt who adored it). My 2nd visit, I did go, and am am so glad I did.
I agree that I cannot stand RS's guide book. I bought it because it has lots of practical tips, but I cannot bear reading RS's commentary on the sights.
I did not use tip #1 because we had audioguide and had to retrace our steps to return it. I did use tip #2 though.
Looking forward to more...
Excellent info - I appreciate your point of view and look forward to more. . .
yk - Gosh, you should have told me about the Rick Steve guide beforehand! I would have gotten something better. [Yeah, my fault of not actually reading it until I was on the plane. Hahahhaa...
]
---
Okay, one more tip about Rome (actually Vatican) before moving on.
- The coffee bar on top of St. Peter's roof had the cheapest coffee we had. I think it was like 70 Euro cents or something like that. Great place to stop for a break after spending hours in the Vatican Museum and walking up to the top of the Dome.
TrenItalia:
- The ticketing machines are really excellent. In multiple language, including English, of course. Most machines take credit cards and cash, though some are credit only. Just super easy to use.
- From Rome to Florence, there's are about 3 Eurostar Italia trains per 2 hours. Every :30 to Milan for most of the day, and every other :55 to Venice. These are on the newest ETR 500 rolling stock. But there's also a 9:00 departure to Bolzano - this train is as fast as the others, but it's on older ETR 460 Pendolino tilting trains.
- The seat numbering system remains a mystery to me, even after starting this thread: http://fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=34730224
Basically, the seats are arranged in groups of 8, with 4 on each side facing each other. First group starts from 11-18, next group 21-28 and so on. There are no "9" or "0" seat. But look carefully at the pattern. 22 and 28 are seated together; and 23 & 28 faces each other. Go figure:
w 21 23 a 27 25 w
w 22 28 a 24 26 w
w = window
a = aisle
The Italian built, but Swiss owned Cisalpino trains in Northern Italy seem to have the same pattern.
- Most importantly, I found that Italian trains tend to leave its origin on-time, but they gradually run late. Here is my experience:
12/29 ES9464 departed Roma Termini on-time at 8:55 even though the train came in to the terminal much later than the 9:00 ES9310 (for Bolzano).
We were stopped just before the Florence station for many minutes, and didn't pull in until 10:39, 8 minutes late.
12/31 ES9428 pulled into Florence at 9:09, 3 minutes late. We departed 9:20, 6 minutes late. Bologna was reached at 10:26, and departed 10:30, both 14 minutes late. Finally, we arrived Milan 12:14, again about 14 minutes late.
At Milano Centrale, I looked at the arrival board, and many trians showed a 10-minute late arrival.
This is similar to trains in the UK, and it is not Germany/Switzerland. One should not schedule a 3-minute connection on Italian trains!
- Large rollerboards can fit between the seatbacks. No need to haul it up the overhead racks. There's also luggage rack near the doors, but they tend to be filled early.
- There's supposed to be an audio system with 4 channels on the ETR 500s. But I never got any program from it.
- Standard electric plugs on the center table for each seat, though I didn't check. Power shades. Pretty fancy.
Before getting to Florence, one last thing about trains. Now, everybody knows the main station in Rome is Stazione Termini. Many people - well, at least I - think that "Termini" simply means terminus. Actually, it refers to the "Terme", the Roman Baths around the Piazza di Termini.
Florence:
- Pre-booking Uffizi and Academia are a must. Excellent advice! For Uffizi, pick up your tickets at door #3 on the other side of the plaza. For Academia, just walk up to the door and enter from the left (the "ordinaries" line up on the right).
- We also visited the Medici Chapel (6 Euros is not the best deal, but Michaelangelo seems to be expensive!), and San Lorenzo is the only church we visited that charge admissions (2.5 Euros).
- Walking to the top of the dome of the Duomo is 430+ steps. The first part up is pretty tough, with a lot of spiral steps, and there's only one area to stop before getting to the balconies where you can see the interior. The remaining part up the dome itself is easy. Coming down, don't look down at the steps when doing the spiral stairs or you'll feel sick.
- To look for cheap food, go to the area around the Mercato Centrale. It's just northwest of San Lorenzo. 10 minutes walk from Duomo.
- And let me tell you, looking down from the top of Duomo after a snowstorm is very pretty. Not the usual red-roof tiles scene, but all white.
Hi rkk,
Thanks for the tips.
Milan:
- Milan has a good subway system, but the ticketing machines are not as easy to use as Rome's and there aren't as many at each station. Try buying a ticket at a tabacchi instead. If you have to use the machine, press the green button for local Milan, and the "+" for more than one ticket. Best to have 1 Euro coins ready.
- There are three seperate entrances to go to the roof of the Duomo. Stairs cost 4 Euro, and elevators 6. Surprisingly, there was a line for stairs and no line for the elevators at either entrance (one on each side, towards the rear).
- There are very few restaurants open for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in the center city. Some only serve drinks and sandwiches and no hot food. Plan ahead if you're there for those days.
- While I didn't see a single McDonald's in Rome, there are McDs everywhere in Milan. One in the middle of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, opposite Prada and LV. Very interesting.
- Really book The Last Supper ahead. I tried over a month in advance and still couldn't get it.
- The Malpensa Shuttle is excellent in going to MXP from Milano Centrale station. 5 Euros, every 20 minutes, buy ticket at door. Super easy. However, while it says 50 minutes, it may take longer. Our 7am bus didn't leave until 7:05. With no traffic, we still didn't arrive the small Terminal 2 until 7:47 or so and almost 8am until we're off the bus at T1.
- My warning about balcony seats at La Scala is posted in a seperate thread:
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=34730244
I will have Lake Como and short reviews of our hotels in next post.
Como:
- Two ways to get there by train. From Centrale, there are fast IC/EC/CIS about once an hour. IC/EC takes 40 minutes, we took a Cisalpino that makes it in 31.
From Cadorna, there's a commuter train either every hour or every half hour. Takes 62-63 minutes. This train ends at lake side, steps from the ferries and the funicular. Also slightly cheaper. (3.45 Euro vs 5.85 on the Cisalpino)
- The Como-Brunate funicular shouldn't be missed. It goes up from lake side (200m above sea level) to ~670m. While there are higher funiculars in the world, this one's 111 years old, and the rise is longer than the famous Peak Tram in Hong Kong. But the best part is the view from the top. We rose over the haze near the lake to get excellent views of the Alps, including Mount Rosa (4,634m) about 40 miles to the east.
- The only ferries operating on the lake in the winter (and on New Year's Day when we were there) was the government run ones. We took the slower and shorter trip to Turno. It made three intermediate stops each way, and roundtrip takes exactly an hour. 5 Euros. There's also a fast ferry to Bellagio, but we didn't have time. It was cold, but fun sitting outside.
Hotels:
- We stayed 4 nights at the 3* Hotel Sonya in Rome. It's a small independent hotel directly opposite the Teatro della Opera, short walk from Termini. The Repubblica Metro stop is even closer, as are bus stops on Via Nazionale. It has 25 rooms, occupying 3 full or partial floors in a building.
The staff is courteous, all emails replied quickly, free internet access, quiet rooms. I booked it directly with the hotel online, for a triple room. 115 Euros. I found the included breakfast okay, but my parents said it's the only one without any meat or hot food in their recent travel. For that price, it's hard to get better unless using Priceline. But there were three of us traveling.
However, the actual rooms and public areas definitely do not look as nice as in the photos on their website. Except the bathroom is very nice.
- In Florence, we stayed at the 2* Hotel Giada. I booked it through activehotels.com for 120 Euros, triple rooms again. This one is even smaller, a family run B&B type with 10 rooms on one floor of a building. It's at San Lorenzo, directly opposite the Medici Chapel. Extremely convenient as it's just a 7-8 minute walk from the train station; and lots of restaurants and market nearby.
I've read about noise from the market in the piazza in front, but from our room facing a side alley, it's not that bad. However, in the evening and morning, we could hear the merchants pulling their carts between the storage area under and near our building onto the piazza. Do expect to hear some noise.
Breakfast is better with some cheese and bologna, in addition to the bread & stuff. Our room is quite spacious, and could also be used for 4 beds. The bathroom is so so.
- In Milan, I booked the 4* UNA Hotel Century via Travelocity for a prepaid price of about $133 for three people. Breakfast included. This is a true 4* business hotel right behind the Pirelli building across from Centrale. Most rooms are junior suite, so I got a queen-sized sofa bed.
Room is very spacious, modern and comfortable. We had two dinners at the hotel, and because it was holiday, they were only serving a limited menu, but still quality is excellent.
Breakfast is full American style with all kinds of eggs, bacon, etc, along with proscuitos, various cheeses, etc. Very nice, EXCEPT the coffee. It's from a machine and is horrible. Worst coffee I had for the whole trip in Italy.
- I wouldn't say any one is a "must stay", though I was quite satisfied. Of course, the UNA in Milan was by far the best deal, but it's probably only because of season. The hotels in Rome and Florence are quite acceptable for 3-4 budget travelers sharing a room, but if for just two, I may want to try my luck on Priceline.
Thanks for the tips.
Great tips.
When I was at Vatican in late November the side door (tour guide exit) from the Sistine Chapel was closed to individuals. They had a person standing at the door, so no sneaking through. I hear that happens from time to time, but if it's open to use, use it if you can.
My husband's Italian relatives mistrust the Chinese restaurants in Rome, saying the food can make you sick, i.e. the restaurants are not clean. I don't know if this is accurate or a reflection of the Italian prejudice against any kind of foreign food.
Great report.
The McD's in Rome across from Pantheon and in Piazza Spagna are well hidden! I'm glad you missed them.
Validating ticket is indeed quite important - on trains and buses!
It is true you could have sold your un-validated ticket to another passenger while risking a 60 euro fine. I find it is always nice to pay for things I use on vacation. Otherwise, I fear what would happen if we all game the system, not to mention the lack of respect for the place I am visiting should I decide to get a few free bees. I approach travel like a night out to dinner - If I cannot afford to tip the waiter I cannot go to the restaurant. Same is true for travel - If I cannot afford to pay for the services I cannot go.
leonardo express does indeed arrive at Termini on paltform 23 I believe - good to know when taking taxi to Termini outbound - tell driver you are leaving on Leonardo so he takes you to side door of Termini where you will find moving walk way.
With regard to buying tickets in vending machine - did you need to type in city name in Italian? Or if you type Florence will it locate city?
I heard Rick Steves over weekend on NPR discussing Iran - seems he is acquainted with many places but master of none.
Wow, someone bumped my thread from 3 years ago. Glad that Rome doesn't change quickly, and most of the stuff are still valid.
Hey, a classic is a classic.
Good tips
some great tips in there! i hadn't even heard of that funicular, and we will definitely visit it on our trip in may. thanks for the info (even if it was 3 years ago)!
excellent!
rk, I love the way your mind registers all these details. You notice something and you also analyze and record the information. A beautiful mind, in a non-schizophrenic reference. That's why you are such a good photographer, I'll bet.