LorraineChallis

I am taking my boyfriend to rome for his birthday yayyy!! unfortunately only for 4 days

I have never been before and was looking for some advice on a few different things.

1) I have booked an apartment on via dei pettinari ( just by the ponte sisto bridge ) when I booked it I was told we would be able to walk to the spanish steps, trevi fountain piazza navona etc is this right?

2) On my boyfriends birthday I am looking for a lovely and romantic restaurant for dinner max spend probably 160 - 180 euros - can anyone reccommend anywhere - quite dressy as I have bought something fab to wear.

3) We were going to go for sunset drinks at the Hotel Raphael - has anyone been and did they enjoy or is there a better rooftop bar with view?

4) Can anyone suggest a tour of the vatican and st peters which will be about 3 hours long ( i realise this will only cover the highlights but I feel to go to rome and not the vatican would be a crime)

5) Last of all can anyone reccommend a private guide with or without a car ?

Sorry to babble on but we are so excited and I want to make this unforgettable . All of your help is so appreciated.

Thanks a million!
Lorraine

gard

Hi

I went to Rome with my wife a couple of years back and I have posted this trip report with pictures, links and maps: http://gardkarlsen.com/rome_italy.htm . Maybe you can find some useful info there to start with

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

djman102

Lorraine:

Welcome to Fodors! There is an abundance of information here you can search for while awaiting responses (such as Rome romantic restaurants). For instance, here is a recent thread on tour guides in Rome: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35001600

Won't be able to help you w/much else, as our travels included 3 kids-slightly different experience but hope this will give you some ideas.

Buon viaggio!

Vttraveler

The apartment you have rented is in a good central location. It is within very easy walking distance of the Campo de Fiori (large outdoor market Mondays to Saturdays), Piazza Navona and Piazza della Rotunda (Pantheon). It is a little farther to the Trevi Fountain Spanish steps but certainly you can walk there and pretty much everywhere else in the centro storico. You are also right across the Tiber from Trastevere, a very interesting neighborhood, with another popular gathering spot, the Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere.

The rooftop view from Hotel Raphael is supposed to be beautiful--but if you want truly spectacular panoramic views of Rome you should probably try places like the Piazzale Garibaldi on the Janiculum Hill (Gianicolo) or the the Piazzale Napoleone I, the Picino gardens overlook above Piazza del Popolo.

There are lots of threads giving advice on tours of the Vatican. We did a self-guided tour so I can't comment on any of them. You are also way out of our price range for restaurants, so I hope others can help you out with suggestions for the birthday dinner.

I hope you and your boyfriend have a great trip. You are certainly giving him a wonderful present

Grinisa

You will be able to walk to all those places and just about anywhere in Rome from the location of your apartment. For a fabulous, dressy restaurant, try Camponeschi on Piazza Farnese, which is very close to your apartment. Sitting outside on the patio at night with the lighted Palazzzo Farnese in the background is beautiful. I've stayed at the Rapheal and had drinks on at the rooftop bar. It is lovely and romantic. You feel as if you can reach out and touch the bell towers of the many churches nearby. While the view of Rome from the Janiculum is more sweeping, I am unaware of any romantic bar with a view there. Another option is Ciampini on Viale Trinita di Monti which is the street at the top of the Spanish Steps. They have an outdoor terrace where you have a wonderful view of Rome. Context Rome does excellent tours of the Vatican.

sandi_travelnut

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35001600

plafield

Unfortunately, the lovely fountain in the piazza Farnese in front of Camponeschi is boarded up and covered with scaffolding so it is quite an eyesore as opposed to being the lovely, romantic setting it could be.

Vttraveler

<<While the view of Rome from the Janiculum is more sweeping, I am unaware of any romantic bar with a view there.>>

I wasn't intending to suggest that there was a romantic bar either on the Janiculum or at the Piazzale napoleone I. I recommend both locations for the view only--no bar included.

sjj

My wife and I use buses whenever we go to a tourist attraction in Rome that requires a lot of walking,
e. g. the forums, the Palatine Hill, and the Vatican museum. You can get bus instructions at
http://www.atac.roma.it/
When you get to this site, hit the "Calcola il percoso" tab, then select the English language version to get a bus route. From your hotel, Sacra Largo Torre Argentina at the intersection of Via Arenula and Corso Victor Emmanuel is a nearby bus nexus. To use the bus and metro system, buy a one day, a three day, or a one week ticket at a tobacco store. You then stamp the ticket in a machine in the bus or at a metro stop, and keep it with you until it expires. You can buy bus maps at tobacco stores and newspaper kiosks. Good luck, and have a wonderful trip.

Barkinpark

What a lucky guy he is!

I was in Rome last year and stayed very close to the Pantheon. I was able to walk to almost all places except the Vatican and Trastevere.

As mentioned above, be sure to visit Piazzale Garibaldi. There is no bar there but you can bring with you two glasses, a bottle of wine, some cheese, and some awesome Italian sausages for a romantic picnic. When I was there with my hubby, there was nobody else around and we had the entire hilltop plaza all to ourselves. It was the most romantic and private experience in our trip.

Vttraveler

We saw a few more people than no one else at all at Piazzale Garibaldi, but it was much less crowded than most other places. (we had just been to the Vatican museums and it was a very pleasant change)
I was also surprised at how few people there were at Bramante's Tempietto at San Pietro in Montorio, which we visited on our walk down from the piazza to Trastevere. We had trouble convincing our son that we were showing him a building that is considered a masterpiece of high Renaissance architecture.