dtraveler2006

Where can you find restrooms in Rome? In Paris you can always go into a cafe, buy a coffee and use the facilities. In London you can enter a pub, buy a beer and use the loo. How about Rome?

chevre

Rome is the same.

Geordie

I usually just look for a large hotel, and use the toilets in the lobby area

Geordie

chevre

That's another one of my tricks. I could write a guide book on how to use bathrooms in Europe! McDonald's are usually good bets though they often require a little change.

zeppole

You don't need any tricks. In Roma, cafes are called bars. Go in and use the loo. If you want to be very nice, buy something. A lollipop will do.

bozama

The nicest , cleanest washroom we found in Rome was very close( just across the street) from St Peters square,, it was in a store that sold sounvenirs etc.. it had a big sign on it that said, " free bathrooms" .. The store is decent size once inside( looked smaller from outside) so we felt comfortable just walking in to use washroom.They were empty!! About 6 stalls, all new, really nice.. best washrooms we actually saw in Italy period.. LOL
No one hassled us at all.

Genie

McDonalds are located at the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, and at other places around Centro Storico. The bathrooms are usually upstairs and available to anyone.

quokka

Using the facilities in a bar without consuming or buying anything is extremely bad manners. Have a coffee or something.

zeppole

If you keep drinking coffee all day you are going to spend a lot of money in bars out of repeated need to use their facilities, plus be up all night. There are always small snacks and mints and such that won't create that problem.

It is not "extremely bad manners" in Italian culture to use the facilities in a bar gratis. And even if you feel that way, I don't see why it's OK to use the facilities in a hotel or McDonald's but not in a bar.

zeppole

I think a lot of people don't realize that many stores and shops in the historic centers of Italian cities do not have any bathroom facilities at all. So their employees and customers have to use somebody else's facility during the day. Do you think Italians buy a cup of coffee every time they use a bathroom at a bar? Italian bar owners and staff are quite used to seeing people step in and out to use the facility.

I agree it is a nice gesture to buy a little something when you are a tourist, and recommended the lollipop. But if you feel more comfortable going into MacDonald's or a hotel, those facilities are no more "free" than the others Italians use.

italiannotebook

Don't forget your tissues, just in case! At Termini Station, you need E1+ to get into the high tech facilities, but other than that, hotels, McDonalds, and regular bars are the answer. You don't have to make a purchase, but a little something at the small bars is nice.

Gardyloo

http://www.thebathroomdiaries.com/italy/rome.html

PalenQ

Well the difference between relieving yourself at McDonalds or a normal cafe is that at McDonalds the owner is not scrutinizing you - i would not feel comfortable using a cafe's WC without buying something yet would at McDonalds, a huge corporation though really it is the same

But an individual proprietor would or course object to a steady stream of tourists just using their WC and i think it is in poor taste to do so

nini

McDonald's and Coin Department Stores.

zeppole

In some Italian towns, there is no other public restroom than what is in the local bar.

I've only seen MacDonald's from the outside in Italy but the ones I've seen have been very small (perhaps others I've not seen are larger) so people can be "scrutinizing" you -- and theyare more likely to be really scrutizining you at a hotel.

But in general, Italian bar owners don't "scrutizine" those who enter their establishments are friendly people who are happy to point you in the direction of the loo.

Just because you feel uncomfortable with how things are done in another country doesn't make those customs in poor taste.

But if you want to buy something, no one will stop you.

daveesl

In many of the metro stations are pay toilets. These can be an eye opener. The first time I used one, I walked in and everything was wet. I thought someone had a real problem. Then I got around to reading the instructions and found out that it was a "self cleaning" toilet. Seems that after use, it sprays itself down, the entire room.

:-0

dave

WillTravel

The problem with a McDonald's bathroom in Rome (at least near the Pantheon) is that the lineups are very, very long.

I think there are pay bathrooms in or around Piazza San Silvestro, which is not too far away.

Be prepared with soap and toilet paper - these are lacking from some bathrooms.

zeppole

>>The problem with a McDonald's bathroom in Rome (at least near the Pantheon) is that the lineups are very, very long.<<

Must be all those people afraid to go into one of the 45 bars within a 100 foot radius.

But no one's looking! (If they do, by a 99 eurocent burger.)