I like everything (old & modern)and Rome is such a great city rich with culture & history, so I want to learn more about the fun & comfortable parts of Rome. Any favorite cafe/market/restaurant/piazza/activity?

Vivi: Good AC break suggestion. Do you have the website of your apt? I will keep the church break in mind as well.

nytrav: While I don't get anything out of a 2000 year old piece, i'm hoping to get fascinated by one museum per day. What would be your pick for the most fascinating? We've been to the Vatican twice.

Don't go in peak season! Seriously, I love Rome but have absolutely do desire to visit in the middle of summer when its hot and crowded. I have visited on three occassions, all during off-peak season (December, February and March). The weather has been decent, crowds are just about non-existent, and I don't have to worry about taking an AC break!

I also just go with the flow. I refuse to go to Rome with a set itinerary because I love wandering the streets and stumbling onto something new and interesting that I didn't know about. I think a lot of people don't like Rome because they spend all of their time treking from one big site to another without enjoying the city. I doubt this is the case with you since you've been three times, but its something I have often seen here on Fodors.

And finally, if you don't love Rome you shouldn't force the issue. I didn't love Florence and doubt I would fall in love with it if/when I return because it just didn't click with me. I'm not forcing the issue because there are so many places I want to visit.

Hopefully you will go back to Rome and have a wonderful time!

Tracy

The ghetto reference is referring to the Jewish Ghetto area (where historically Jews were forced to live due to the unappealing tendency of the Tiber to flood the region). This was until around 1870, when this restriction was lifted. Of course this area is now extremely desirable both for tourists and residents, and the flood issue has been dealt with.

Personally I really enjoyed taking guided walks. I know lots of people find them unnecessary, but having a knowledgeable guide really helps bring things alive to me. For a family, it might be worth hiring your own guide.

The Gianicolo area is beautiful, as is the area around the Borghese. I did enjoy visiting Rome in winter and seeing the palm trees and the citrus and the sunshine. It's not a tropical resort, but felt like it in comparison to home.

Willtravel: Thanks for the GIANCOLO tip, we've never been there. Any special place/cafe to stop in the area? BORGHESE was a nice oasis for us when we were staying in the Spanish Steps & Via Veneto area though we wished there were more to do/watch.

Any tip on TRASTEVERE? We've never been there. Anyone has their must see/do/eat list in Trastevere?

Anyone has rented a MOPED/VESPA to explore Rome? I wonder if parking place & theft pose a problem.

#1 --dont go when its hot
#2--stay in a nice place ..dont scrimp on your retreat
#3--hang out at the Pantheon at night(there is gelato nearby and vibes good)
#4--use taxis and I dont know how to get one in that area at night that was the problem last time....transportation....anyone got that one figured out???

I would never be brave enough to attempt to ride a Vespa in Rome. The lines on the road appear to be for advisory purposes only. The rules about when and where to come to a stop appear to be completely different and, for me, counterintuitive. It looks like one big game of chicken out there.

Maybe you would be happier in a 'small town' in Italy than a beehive like Rome? Definitely don't go during high season.

DAX,
Is it possible you could stay in a quaint B&B out in the countryside and take the train into Rome? There are many on this board who have done that and have loved it.
Like you, I'm not crazy about Rome. In fact, I really don't like ANY of the major cities in Italy. But I adore the Italian countryside, the little hilltowns, the vineyards and olive groves, the slower pace of life. I'd go back to Tuscany or Umbria in a heartbeat, but you can have Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan. I just don't get the appeal, other than the history, but you have to put up with a lot to see it.
So maybe you should just change your base, and have a nice place to come back to at the end of each day?

DAX
I am sorry I wasn't clear in my references to the ghetto neighborhood. WillTravel has given you the basic explanation. If you look on a map of Rome, you will find it along the Tiber between Via Arenula and Via de Teatro di Marcello.
Here is the link to an old (1989)NY Times article about the neighborhood
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...p;pagewanted=3

Obviously some of the shops and restaurants described in the article are not there any more, but many are. I would recommend going to the ghetto for a meal one night. It is an easy walk from Trastevere or the Pantheon/Piazza Navona areas.
we decided to stay in the ghetto because of its great central location and because it sounded interesting and quiet (lots of pedestrian streets)
Also the apartment was inexpensive and the agency (Realrome) is very good to deal with. You might find it too basic and I know there are other more up-scale rentals
http://www.realrome.com/propreginella1.html
I would be glad to answer any other questions about the apartment/area.

There are lots of threads about Trastevere and places to stay or eat there.

In answer to your question about what my son liked other than the Roman history, he mostly seemed to enjoy walking and enjoying the scene at the different piazzas. He doesn't like art museums or lots of church architecture so we compromised on just going to the Vatican museums and St. Peter's and into smaller churches we encountered on our walks. He liked places like San Luigi dei Francesi right near Piazza Navona with its amazing Caravaggio paintings.We didn't try any major outings to the big pilgrimage churches.
Our son really enjoyed watching street performers and portrait artists working at Piazza Navona and the spanish Steps and other areas. We developed a regular walk from our apartment up Via dei Cestari to the Pantheon and over to Piazza Navona then down to Campo de Fiori. The latter is especially popular with teenagers/young adults in the evenings. As we passed by the Area Sacra dell Argentina we always stopped to see how many cats from the cat sanctuary we could count among the temples
Our son also liked the scene at the Trevi Fountain and Bocca della Verita (Mouth of Truth)--watching tourists throw in their coins and stand in line to put their hands in the bocca.
I think it was basically what other people have described--sitting, relaxing, often with gelato, and watching the scene.
We didn't take any guided tours or walks. We carried the DK Eyewitness guide to Rome with us and followed some of their itineraries. I also found it helpful to have a comprehensive guidebook on hand when we came upon something that looked interesting but wasn't a planned destination.

We did not take our son to a soccer game in Rome but I am sure he would have enjoyed that. He was less than enchanted to find that the TV in our apartment did not have cable so he could not see good matches that way

the Janiculum I described in my earlier post and the Gianicolo recommended by WillTravel are one and the same (English versus Italian names for the hill south of the Vatican). The Botanical gardens are along the Tiber side of the hill and should be beautiful in April. The view from the top at Piazzale Garibaldi (reachable by bus #870 or taxi) is really spectacular. There aren't any cafes up there. You might want to take a picnic lunch. There are plenty of places to eat or get gelato in Trastevere if you walk downhill. There are also two good art museums, the Palazzo Corsini and Villa Farnesina

About vespas--I cannot imagine trying to go around Rome that way, but our son was quite intrigued and announced he would rent one next time he visits the city. Parking doesn't seem to be a problem; people park pretty much anywhere and any way. There were a lot of vespas parked on our little pedestrian street in the ghetto until half way through the week the city installed a sort of complicated pedestrian turnstile at the end of the street to deter this. I just read Bill Bryson's Neither Hear nor There, and his comment about parking is that the streets look "as if you've just missed a parking competition for blind people" and "Romans park their cars the way I would park if I had just spilled a beaker of hydrochloric acid on my lap."

Hagan: Thanks for your good thought, but we are actually city people, we like the city energy.

VTtrav: I really appreciate your terrific detailed suggestions, I am copying and pasting them to my MS word file. The apartment you stayed looks perfect for me & my teenager son. Now I have to figure out where to rent the Vespas from. I think we'll enjoy zig zaging through traffic. I'm more worried if there are strict rules about where to park, but it seems like Vespa can be parked just about anywhere.

Any specific great cafes/restaurants?

Anyone has a list of very good restaurants in Rome?

The last time we visited Rome the food was very mediocre and far from being memorable. I know we must have gone to the wrong restaurants during all 3 visits. Perhaps some of you care to share your favorite restaurants?

One thing that always works for me when visiting a city for the first time (or second or third, etc.) is to take a tour. Tours usually last anywhere from 2 to 6 hours depending on what you take. I always take the walking tours. I learn the layout of the city, the history and little bit of the culture. It just makes the city, no matter how big or small more manageable and interesting.

As for restaurants, guides have consistently recommnended going at 1 or 2 blocks beyond a popular spot, i.e. Trevi Fountain, Campo de Fiori, Piazza Navona, etc. to find a good restaurant. It usually works for me. I also try to determine if most of the patrons are locals (i.e. business wear vs. vacation wear, language spoken).

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For restaurants in the ghetto neighborhood, Da Giggetto at Via Portica d'Ottavia 21 and Al Pompiere at via S.M del Calderari 38 are both very popular. Da Piperno Via Monte de'Cenci 9 is more expensive, supposedly very good
We ate a few times at a smaller less expensive restaurant/pizzeria on Via Portica d'Ottavia, Al Portico which was also good

There was a good thread with recommendations for restaurants in Trastevere recently,
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35031888

My wife and I have eaten at Da Giggetto and Al Pompiere, and we liked both of them, particularly Al Pompiere. Re sightseeing, we liked ancient Rome, the art, much of it free in churches, the churches themselves, city scapes, the food, and the people. We've been to Rome three times, most recently last May, and my wife is already talking about going back in a few years.

Hi, DAX --

I love Rome.

Why? Because I love walking down a small street and seeing a fabulous Renaissance church that I'd only read about in my art history books.

Then, turning another corner and seeing a famous sculpture or fountain.

Then, turning another corner, and seeing another incredible building.

And so on and so on.

In Rome, there was no end to these discoveries. I think I spent my first few days there slack-jawed. I'm not kidding.

Anyway, what I'd suggest is this:

If you aren't familiar with art history or architectural history, why not get a basic introductory book so you can get a brief history of things you're seeing?

It really makes the place come to life.

That, plus a tour given by someone who's into art, architecture and history, would be an incredible experience, I would think.

Just my two cents.

And please let us hear about your experience when you return. Have fun.

Thanks for your input. It gives me something to get excited to start planning for Rome.

Elder Hostel has a Rome visit, 11 nights..lots of action. $3,215. Maybe take an Italian course, a cooking class, collect an Italian wardrobe...visit literary sites.