Visiting Rome may seem straightforward, but there are a few pitfalls. It’s a city that requires a bit of organization, as it sees more and more visitors arriving. So you’ll need to plan when you want to come, what you want to see, book your tickets in advance and also accommodation, as it can get expensive!

Anyway, I’ll explain it all below. Here we go!

1. When to go to Rome to avoid the heat and crowds

Because visiting Rome in the right conditions is essential to really enjoy the city, here are a few tips. Because, having already experienced it, it can quickly turn into hell, and I’m not just talking about the temperature! Choosing the right season is really essential.

In Rome, when it’s hot, it’s no joke. It really is. Especially with the climate changing, now that summer temperatures are infernal, regularly exceeding 40°, and with such heat, you really can’t go out, unless you visit a few museums.

Except that these museums are packed, and you have to book in advance. But visiting the Colosseum or the Palatine, or wandering around the old quarters where there’s absolutely no air, will be really difficult.

So clearly, even if it’s the most touristic time of the year, avoid summer, avoid July and August. For example, as I write this article, it’s been over 35° in Rome for the past 2 weeks, and it’s expected to stay that way for the next 2 weeks.

Rome is an ultra-touristy city. And when it’s crowded in Rome, it’s somewhat problematic. I’m not saying this because I have a hard time when there are too many people, but the problems of crowds in Rome are numerous:

• tourist periods mean a sharp rise in prices, in accommodation and restaurants for example
• you have to book visits well in advance. For the Vatican Museum, you’ll need to book several weeks in advance, a week for the Colosseum, for example. You’ll have to queue for a very long time to get into St. Peter’s in Rome. This leaves you with no flexibility in your program, and if you forget to book, you’re in for a real treat.
• Rome is made up of small streets, lots of small spaces. And when the crowds are there, it’s impossible to make the most of them.

For pleasant weather and fewer crowds, here are my recommendations:

• April/May and September/October: it’s nice! warm but not too hot, cooler in the evening, it’s really very pleasant.
• winter: I’ve visited Rome twice in the middle of winter, and there are several advantages. It’s not hot. Around 15°, so it’s fine, there’s not much rain, even if it does fall a little, it’s not very crowded and the prices are much lower.
• avoid school vacations if you have the choice

2. Where to stay to fully enjoy the city

Finding a good place to stay in Rome is not always easy. Indeed, the city has become quite expensive, and demand outstrips supply. However, there are some very pleasant neighborhoods, some very nice possibilities and getting out of the historic center can be an interesting idea. Let’s take a look:

• Termini Station: sleeping around a train station isn’t the safest option. But accommodation is cheaper. If you get in by public transport or cab and pay a minimum of attention, you’ll be fine.
  For peace and quiet, go near the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
  • Recommended accommodation: la Casa di Amy
• Trastevere: the once-discredited district has become ultra-pleasant, fashionable, festive and always atypical in its architecture and alleyways. The only problem is that there’s no metro, but there are streetcars and buses!
  • Recommended accommodation: the magnificent Giuditta Suite Trastevere
• towards the Vatican, it’s a bit out of the way, but there’s the metro! so it’s a bit cheaper, super nice, quiet…
  • Recommended accommodation: the excellent value Vatication B&B
• Historic center: we all want to wake up to the ancient ruins. Two problems: not much on offer, and it’s expensive. But it’s worth it! I really recommend it if you can, as it’s much simpler out of season, especially around Piazza Navona.
  • Recommended accommodation: the charming Navona Rezidenza with its superb view.
• Piazza di Spagna: a very nice neighborhood, emblematic, close enough to everything, 2 steps from Villa Borghese for a superb park, and the Trevi Fountain.
  • Recommended accommodation: Maison Spagna Suites, ideally located

A few other tips

• in high season, prices are really more expensive than in less-touristy seasons, so this is a point to consider
• book in advance to take advantage of the cheapest accommodation. Otherwise (this happened to me once) you’re left with only the most expensive. It’s beautiful, but very expensive.
• look at the walking distance to the nearest metro station

3. Find the right airplane + accommodation package

You don’t want to go through all the hassle of searching for flights, hotels, dates… in short, it’s annoying because it takes time? Then leave it to those whose job it is. There are several organizations offering hotel + air travel at negotiated prices, and they offer several advantages:

• huge time savings, because all you have to do is select the date and you’ve got the hotel, plane and essentials in a single booking
• discounts, because they negotiate prices on high volumes, which means lower prices for us customers
• greaterpeace of mind, with the guarantee of a real tour operator behind the scenes
• and you have the opinions of previous travelers, which will help you to see if it’s right for you.

If we take lastminute as an example, they offer several price ranges, but one that I really like is :

• Flight + 3 nights in a 4* hotel next to the Villa Borghese for €350 per person.

With all this, there’s no excuse. Discover Rome with peace of mind!

4. Plan in advance your activities and visits

Unless you’re going during a really, really low activity period, you absolutely MUST book your entrance tickets for the main Roman sights several days or even weeks in advance. Really.

Because there are quotas for each day, and given the number of tourists, tickets are taken by storm. For the Sistine Chapel, for example, you’ll need to book several weeks in advance if you’re going in summer. Here are the most beautiful sights in Rome:

• St. Peter’s Basilica: the Basilica is free to visit, but you need to get there early to avoid queuing. Reservations are not required, unless you’d like a super-interesting guided tour.
  • Info and booking
• The Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museum: you need to book weeks in advance. But it’s worth it, because it’s simply incredible!
  • Info and booking
• The Colosseum: this building is so well booked, so magnificent that you don’t just have to visit it from the outside, you have to book a week in advance during the tourist season. The visit is combined with the Palatine Mount.
  • Information and booking
• The Pantheon, a mythical building. Admission has just been made subject to advance booking (highly recommended, it’s the cheapest and most visited).
  • Info and booking
• Villa Borghese, an essential cultural visit in a sumptuous park. It’s best to book a little in advance
  • Info and booking
• Domus Aurea, Nero’s incredible home. Few visits, only in small groups, so booking in advance is a must!
  • Info and booking

5. Transports made easy

Getting around Rome is really really simple. Why is that? Because the tourist part of the city is small! So you can use local transport, Uber (I prefer Uber to cabs, which are a bit tricky with tourists) and simply on foot.

• For me, getting around Rome on foot is THE best way to discover the city. After all, you’ll be passing through some magnificent, lesser-known places, cobbled streets and ruins absolutely everywhere.
  Take the time to walk. And the city really isn’t that big. For example, to get from the two farthest tourist spots, the Baths of Caracala, to St. Peter’s Basilica, takes an hour. 30 minutes from the city center to the Vatican, via some superb spots.
• You have Ridesharing companies that aren’t really expensive, like Uber, which I’ve used quite a bit locally. On the rare occasions when I used a cab, let’s just say they  weren’t very honest 😀
• Renting a car to visit Rome is useless. It really isn’t necessary. Parking is hell and so is traffic.
• The metro system is good. They’re building a new line that runs through the historic center, and the Vatican is easy to reach.
• Streetcars and buses work well, and go to places without a metro like Trastevere, which is convenient.
• Transport tickets are included in the Roma Pass, with several entrances to tourist attractions.
  • Info and booking

There you have it, I think I’ve told you the essentials.

Rome is an easy city to visit, but given its popularity, you’ll have to plan ahead when it comes to reservations, and choose your period of stay carefully, as the crowds and the heat can be an obstacle to fully enjoying the city’s wonders. But one thing’s for sure: Rome is always a good idea!