Rome,Help!
 

Could you please help, I know we've left it a bit late...
We have 4 days in Rome-Aug 20-25th 2008.We are 2 adults and 2 boys aged 8 & 10, and a car.

I've gathered from previous questions on this forum that we ought to stay in Rome rather than outside.
1)Accomodation not more than 85ish euros per nite in rome itself.Do you have personal experience you could share?
2)Places we'd like to visit:catacombs,Vatican,Parthenon,Coloseum. Any advice on best way to go about this?
3)Some restaurants to dine,authentic and homey,not expensive (I guess not more than 50 euros?)
4)Is it worth shopping for bags,shoes,clothes here or to do it near Firenze where we're next going?

Thanks in advance.

If you find anything that inexpensive, I would be very surprised.

you might try

Isitituto Santa Giuliana Falconieri
Via San Giuseppe Calasanzio,1 00186 Roma
Tel: 06-6880-3344 Fax 06-6871-471
e-mail: [email protected]

They have a quad room for around 140-150 euros or you could do 2 doubles for 80 euros each. We had family members who stayed here. It is short notice, but if you could get it, the location is wonderful for walking everywhere, my kids loved all of the gelato in the area.

We stayed for a week in an apartment near the pantheon with sleep in italy, you could see if there are any available on short notice.

We stayed for one night in the family room at Hotel Golden (about 200 euros), near via Veneto. The hotel was wonderful
but personally I didn't like the location as well as near the Pantheon where we had an apartment.

Family members also stayed at Hotel Julia in a quad room for about 200 euros. They enjoyed it.

Good luck.

www.venere.com

You can use this website to find hotel availability in your budget and who has parking. I would recommend that you not rent a car in Roma or Firenze, and apply the savings to your hotel budget.

The best way to travel around Rome is on foot, and the sites you want to see are on all tourist maps and in guidebooks.

Given the weakness of the dollar to the euro, it doesn't make sense to buy shoes or bags or clothing in Italy. Italians are flying to the US to shop.

You can check out tripadvisor as there are several with good reviews listed in your price range. B&B Bologna was one. You could email them and ask about parking. But think the advice I have read on this forum is not to drive in Rome.

[email protected]

http://translate.google.com/translat...A_enUS267US268

The first question is, why do you have a car? You definitely don't want one in either Rome or Florence, and the best way to get from one to the other is on the train. Unless you absolutely have to have it for something before and after those two cities, you don't want a car.

You're right that you do want to stay in Rome, not outside. Do you mean 85€ for a quad room? I would think that's going to be very difficult, but do check out venere.com as mentioned.

For 50€ for 4 people, you'll have to stick to pizza and sandwiches. I hope you mean that for just dinner, and not for the whole day's food budget. If you had an apartment, you could make some of your own meals, but I don't know if you can find one with that accommodation budget.

You could try Hotel Trastevere. They have a quad for 155 Euro or doubles for 103 Euro. The area is less expensive than others in Rome and you can use taxis or the tram to get to the sights.

For dinners, are you looking to spend 50 Euro for 4 of you? If so you should look for restaurants away from the main tourists areas and you could find pasta or pizzas for that price. Again, Trastevere has inexpensive restaurants.

http://www.hoteltrastevere.net/en/index.html

You are going to find shopping very expensive in Rome or Florence. It looks like you have a very strict budget for hotels and food and you'll be shocked at the prices for shoes, clothing, etc. I'd use the money to buy better meals and not skimp there.

I'd also not take a car into Rome. If you do, don't drive it there - park it and leave it.

Hi,
www.venere.com
has lots of accomodations but not the cheapest ones, for sure.
You may wan to try
http://www.bed-and-breakfast-in-italy.com/

and

http://www.bbplanet.it/

Hope these help since your price range is quite "aggressive"

Lp

I'd look into convent lodging in Rome:

http://www.santasusanna.org/comingToRome/convents.html

Thanks all for putting ideas and views forward. I'm cracking onto this as quickly as I can now.
First to clarify. We are driving from England in our 7 seater. Our first stop is in Cannes to visit relatives for 5 days. Then, boys particularly want to go to Rome.

Happytotravel - I'm waiting for a quote from Isitituto Santa Giuliana.
SleepinItaly hasn't anything affordable....

Zeppole - I'm hoping to shop for good quality but non branded items. Never been to Italy yet, hoped things might be better quality for the price compared to the UK.

Bratsandbeer - you've given me good advice before. Thanks. In this case, I tried B&B Bologna,no luck on those days. I'll keep looking.

SusanP & adrienne - Yes, I meant 50euros for dinner for all 4 of us. I don't mind pizzas and pastas.In fact,looking forward to it! Apartments are beyond our budget.

Please keep advice coming. I'm checking out everything.

Just back from Italy not long ago, also with a family of 4 (including 2 almost grown daughters). I don't think your budget is quite enough, but give it a try. It won't help that Rome has a new law which makes it technically illegal to sit outside and eat a sandwich. As to shopping, our girls love to shop but refrained (apart from a couple of pairs of parent-financed sunglasses) because the exchange rate was so tilted against us coming from the USA. It was an amazing trip and we covered a lot of ground from Pompeii to Lake Como, but very expensive and even if we had tried very hard...50 Euros a meal would have been impossible in a sit down restaurant. We were eating mostly pasta and pizza, but it cost much more.

mocha dolce, when did this law go into effect that you can't eat a sandwich outside in Rome? Are you sure you're not thinking of Piazza San Marco in Venice? I know there is that rule there. I haven't heard of such a thing in Rome. I was there a couple of weeks ago, and a couple of times I ate a slice of pizza in the Piazza Navona.

The law was passed after the arrival of a new mayor in Roma, who ran on the Fascist party ticket and narrowly won, owing some of his margin of victory to Rome's remaining Jewish population, which is either heartwarming or damning, depending on your world view. The law, which according to news reports is rather selectively enforced against tourists who don't physically look classically European, is only in effect until October.

jbf1,

To stay in your food budget, you will want the address of Lo Zozzone, open almost continuously, at Teatro Pace 32, off the Piazza Navona.

Have you compared the costs of gas and Rome parking vs. leaving your car with your relatives in Cannes and taking the train to Roma?

Might the boys like to see Carcassonne and the caves of Western France instead of Rome?

How about the arena in Verona instead of Roma, with a day trip to Venezia?

When I was in Rome last month, I bought the Roma Pass which I think was a terrific value. Several of the places you will want to visit are covered. They are 20 Euros each. With the card, you can use the busses and subway/underground free for three days and have free admission into two venues. (Colosseum and Forum count as one). The bus system got us everywhere we wanted to go.

Finding the locations to buy the Roma Pass was a little tricky. You can buy them at the venues, but there is a Roma Pass booth in the train station. If you decide to go there, the stand is in the corridor along the west side of the train station. Follow the signs to the car rental and post office. It's right next to them.

Guide book writer's tips:
-You'll have to go to Athens to visit the Parthenon...its the Pantheon in Rome.
-With a car, you shouldstay outside Rome perhaps on Lake Bracciano or in a lovely agriturismo (with swimming pool for the boys) near Vetralla which is also on the train line to St. Peters. Just train in for the day.
-It is wickedly hot here and your budget is too tight for a stay in the city.

I agree stay in the outskirts of Rome in an Agroturismo or in any place with a pool and then take the train into Rome

For that accomodation budget I think you'll have to look at the hostels - many of them have family rooms.

Hi

I think you will struggle to get something at that rate. So I can't help you with accommodation...but if you wants some general info you can check out my Rome trip report with pictures and links on http://gardkarlsen.com/rome_italy.htm . Get in touch if you have any questions or comments.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Sorry, I can't help on the room. 4 people in Rome for 85 euros is really low.

Now, to the stuff you can see, that is a different story. Many sights in Rome are free and/or open public areas. You could stay completely busy and not spend a dime.

The churches in Rome hold much of its artistic treasure. Santa Maria del Popolo, Santa Maria in Vittoria, Santa Maria degli Angeli e Martiri, Sant Giovanni, Mary Maggiore, Santa Maria in Aracoeli, Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Maria sopra Minerva, Sant Andrea della Fratte, and of course Santa Maria e Martiri (Pantheon) to name more than a few.

The Piazzas are all free, Popolo, Navonna, Campidoglio and many more.

As to parks and ruins, the Borghese, Circus Maximus, and lots more.

While not free, taking the train out to Ostia Antica and spending the day there isn't a bad idea. Between the train and entry, you'd spend less than 10 euros per person. Have a picnic in the amphitheater.

By the way, you want to scrimp on food and lodging, but you want to buy shoes and clothes?

:-)

dave

"By the way, you want to scrimp on food and lodging, but you want to buy shoes and clothes?"

What's wrong with that?

While their lodging budget is a tad low, I'm all for scrimping on hotels if it means I can spend the money on shoes and clothes. Personally, I'd rather leave Rome with pair of $300 shoes than a $300 hotel bill.