Are there lots of places to sit down when walking through Rome?
 

My wife and I will be traveling to Rome soon. I have a medical condition that requires me to sit and rest more often than most people need to. We need to know if there are many places to sit in the central, historic part of Rome. <BR> <BR>To give you an idea of the kind of response we are looking for, here's an example. We are from New York, and if someone asked me the same question about New York, I would tell them: <BR> <BR>"There are not that many benches along the streets of Manhattan, and there are not that many truly safe small parks. In the warm weather, most of the time those benches are occupied by homeless people, and you definitely would not want to sit on the same bench with them. The chances are 50-50 that you wouldn't even want to sit near some of them on another bench. Depending on the day of week and time of day, most if not all of the benches will already be taken, even in one of the small parks that have not been completely taken over by homeless people and crack addicts, etc." <BR> <BR>In some parts of the city, buildings have places to sit down that are not really "seats" per se, but a part of the building, and lots of people sit on these with no problem. These types of places to sit are mostly in Midtown, in the major corporate areas, but are far and few between in most other places." <BR> <BR>The easiest way to find a seat in most places is to go into a coffee place like Starbucks or some other cafe, but if you had to do it every half hour the cost of that could begin to add up." <BR> <BR>So in general, the answer is that you probably will find yourself not being able to find public seating as often as it sounds like you need to. Maybe you should think about bringing along a lightweight emergency seat of some sort in case you are ready to pass out and the only alternative is to sit down on the sidewalk." <BR> <BR>So I'm asking if someone could fill me in in a similar way about Rome. Thanks in advance.

<BR>Hi - One could probably make the same statements about Rome as you made for NY, except there are more steps to sit on. Steps everywhere - every church, every monument, fountains, all over, with people congregating on them. The steps seem to made for gatherings and lots of socializing. My husband has bad knees and often can't walk for long periods either, so we look for places to sit. And even going into shops, he usually looks for a place to sit. Probably taking one of those little chairs you mentioned is best, I hadn't thought of that myself, but now may have to try to remember to bring one in the future. Have a great trip.

Just returned from Rome. Although Rome seems considerably safer than NYC ( I'm a native NYker myself) it really would be best to take one of those portable chairs with you. Remember, you will pay an extra charge at cafes and restaurants to sit - as opposed to take out. We were asked to leave our seats outside of a gelateria in St. Mark's square in Venice because we didn't specifically pay to sit. We had just purchased dessert for 5 people and carried it outside where there were about 100 empty chairs at least. We couldn't believe it but we had an outstanding time anyway. It truly makes you appreciate how civilized your own society is. Have a great trip.

Three points. The best places to sit in Rome are churches. They are <BR>plentiful, quiet, usually have interesting art in them and <BR>they almost always have pews (S. Pietro in Vaticano a major <BR>exception). For comfort and people-watchability, a seat at a <BR>cafe on the many piazzas is a good idea. They do cost, but you get <BR>a view along with your Campari and soda. The final point, there are <BR>many steps and buildings will often have a ledge about the correct <BR>height, but beware. Because of buses there is considerable soot that <BR>gets deposited on these surfaces. You will notice that Romans wear dark <BR>clothing and tend to stand at bus stops even when they might sit <BR>on such a surface. <BR>

There are few public parks within the urban center of Rome which have benches for seating. We rely on churches and stoops, as has been mentioned. <BR>The Borghese gardens come to mind. The museums within the gardens are some of Rome's finest, so following a museum visit, you can find somewhere to rest. <BR>People seem to resent paying a fee to sit at an Italian restaurant, but the philosophy is interesting. You are essentially renting a chair & table when you sit. In the US, prices are appreciably higher for comparable food, in part because the overhead cost has been figured in. In Italy, the customer has a option. <BR>Carol L