Roma Termini is Rome‘s central railway station and the adjacent Piazza dei Cinquecento square is its main bus station. The most important bus line, 64, which connects the railway station to the Vatican City and stops near many of the other tourist attractions, starts from the Piazza dei Cinquecento.
Continue reading “City buses Rome”Category: Practical Information
Roma Pass 2021
The Roma Pass is a combined public transportation and museum pass for Rome, Italy. From the moment it is validated the Roma Pass gives unlimited access to three days of public transportation in Rome. The first two museums or monuments visited (but note that the Vatican Museums are not included) are free, and the following attractions can be seen at a reduced admission price. The pass also allows you to skip the lines at various tourist attractions. The price of the Roma Pass for 2020 is 38,50 Euros. For people who visit Rome for less than 3 days there is an alternative pass (as of April 1st, 2014) called the Roma Pass 48 Hours.
Continue reading “Roma Pass 2021”Rome Metro
At the moment there are only three subway lines in Rome, called A, B and C. The central part of the third line is nowhere near finished, however, and this line is not very useful for tourists.
Continue reading “Rome Metro”Public Holidays Rome
Most public holidays are the same all over the western world and Italy is no exception, although there are some (April 25, June 2) that are celebrated only in Italy, being dates associated with significant events in the history of the country. Rome even has its own public holiday, on June 29th.
Public holidays Rome and Italy
There are some holidays that are celebrated, or at least have some significance, in most European countries, but more so in Italy (August 15 and November 1), whereas others (e.g. Pentecost, Good Friday) are important elsewhere, but are not celebrated at all in Italy.
There is even one holiday, San Pietro and Paolo, which is strictly local. This holiday (June 29) is celebrated in honor of the patron saints of the city of Rome, and only affects the Italian capital.
The dates
- January 1: New Year’s Day
- January 6: Epifenia
- March 17: A new public holiday, to be celebrated for the first time in 2011, in honor of the 150th anniversary of a Unified Italy.
- Easter: April 24 (Pasqua)
- Easter Monday: April 25 (Pasquetta, or “Little Easter”)
- May 1: Labor Day. Usually on this day there are free live concerts and other events all over the city.
- June 2: Festa della Repubblica, to celebrate the birth of the Italian Republic on this date in 1946.
- June 29: San Pietro e Paolo (see above)
- August 15: Ferragosto. Although for Roman Catholics this day is the commemoration of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, its origins go back to Roman times, feriae Augusti referring to the holidays of (the Emperor) Augustus.
- November 1: Ognissanti (All Saints’ Day)
- December 8: Immacolata Concezione (Immaculate Conception). Every year on this date the Pope leads a celebration on the Piazza Mignanelli near the Spanish Steps.
- December 25: Natale (Christmas Day)
- December 26: Santo Stefano (St. Stephen’s Day)
Finding accommodation on a public holiday
On some of these days it will be very difficult to find reasonably priced accommodation in Rome, unless you book well in advance. Contrary to what most people expect, Christmas is not one of these days, since it is a holiday generally celebrated at home, with the family.
By far the busiest days are the Easter Weekend, the New Year’s period and especially the May 1 celebration.
Metro Rome Line A
Of Rome‘s three metro lines (A, B and C), line A is the one that tourists in the Eternal City will use most often. Contrary to what one would expect, line A is not the oldest metro line in Rome, however.
Metro Rome Line A
Latest news metro line A
During the Covid-crisis, tickets on the bus were never checked. However, with the number of infected people having substantially decreased, controllers are entering the buses again. Fines for travelling without a ticket can be steep.
Timetable
Metro Line A starts running at 05.20 AM. On Fridays and Saturdays the last train leaves at 01.30 AM and during the rest of the week this is at 11.30 PM. The trains run every two to ten minutes, depending on the time of day. On Sundays and holidays trains are less frequent. There are special schedules on Christmas and New Year’s day.
At night metro line A gets substituted by the night bus N1. This bus is supposed to run every 30 minutes, but reality is often different. Sometimes there is a longer gap between buses and sometimes two of them arrive at the same moment.
Metro line A stops
The first and last stops on line A are Anagnina and Battistini. Altogether line A has the following 27 stops.
Battistini is the first (or last) stop on line A. The first trains start from here at 5.30 AM and the last ones at 11.30 PM (01.30 AM on Fridays and Saturdays).
From Cornelia you can take Cotral buses to, a.o. Cerveteri.
The next stop is Baldo degli Ubaldi.
From Valle Aurelia you can take the train to places like Bracciano and Viterbo.
The full name of the Cipro station is Cipro-Musei Vaticani, which is sligtly misleading since the Ottaviano station is closer to the Vatican Museum entrance.
Ottaviano-San Pietro is where you have to get off it you want to visit Saint Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums. As soon as you exit the station you will be accosted by people trying to sell you tours of the Vatican. Many of their claims are misleading. Whoever is going to visit a football match, can take bus 32 to the Olympic Stadium from here.
Lepanto is the closest metro station to the Castel Sant’Angelo.
The Flaminio stop is the one closest to the Piazza del Popolo and the Via del Corso. From the square in front of the station you can take tram 2 to the MAXXI Museum and the Olympic Stadium. The local RomaNord train line takes you to Saxa Rubra, where you can take Cotral buses to destinations in the northern part of the Lazio region.
The Spagna stop is where you get off for the Piazza di Spagna, the Spanish Steps and the Villa Borghese. Rome’s most prestigious shopping street, the Via Condotti, starts across the square.
Barberini-Fontana di Trevi: For the Trevi Fountain, the Piazza Barberini and the National Gallery of Ancient Art, the Villa Borghese and the U.S. Embassy.
The Repubblica stop is near the Teatro dell’Opera, the Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri Church and Via Nazionale, one of Rome‘s best known shopping streets.
Termini is the point where metro line A and line B meet. It is the main railway station of the city and the departure and arrival point of the various airport buses. The main bus square, Piazza dei Cinquecento, is also found here.
Vittorio Emanuele is named for the biggest square of the city. It is also the stop closest to our Little Italy Bed and Breakfast.
Manzoni-Museo della Liberazione
The San Giovanni stop is named for the Basilica of Saint John Lateran. It is also from here that you take bus 218 to the Catacombs of St. Callixtus.
Re di Roma
The Ponte Lungo stop is a 5 to 10 minute walk from the Tuscolana railway station.
Furio Camillo
Colli Albani-Parco dell’Appia Antica
Arco di Travertino
Quadraro-Porta Furba
Numidio Quadrato: This stop, just like the next three, is close to one of the entrances of the Parco degli Acquedotti.
Lucio Sestio
Giulio Agricola: The line A Lost and Found office is inside this metro station.
Subaugusta
Cinecittà: This stop is named for Italy’s answer to Hollywood.
Anagnina: The first/last stop on line A. The first train in the morning leaves this station at 05.30 and the last one at 23.30 (except on Fridays and Saturdays, when metro line A is open till 01.30. There are Cotral bus connections to Ciampino Airport and to several small towns south of Rome from here.
Interlocal buses Rome
Even though Italy has a fairly extensive railway network, many smaller towns cannot be reached by train from Rome. The biggest company providing bus connections to towns outside the capital, especially to the northern part of the regione Lazio, is Co.Tra.L. Since it is virtually impossible to find parking space in the centre, the interlocal bus squares are mainly found near metro stations in the suburbs.
Continue reading “Interlocal buses Rome”Foreign Embassies in Rome
Unfortunately the main reason a tourist in Rome would have to contact his or her embassy is when a passport is stolen. Here follows a list of the foreign embassies in Rome by continent, with addresses and phone numbers. In case your documents were stolen and you need a new passport, be sure to get a police report before going to the embassy.
Continue reading “Foreign Embassies in Rome”Public Transport Strikes Rome
It is not unusual for there to be several strikes per month in Rome (and the rest of Italy). One good thing about Rome is that the city center is very compact and that it is very easy to reach most tourist attractions on foot. As an indication, even though our Little Italy B&B is located at the edge of the tourist area, the Colosseum is only a 10 minute walk away and the Vatican around one hour. The Italian word for strike is scioperò.
Continue reading “Public Transport Strikes Rome”Opening Hours Colosseum Rome 2021
The Colosseum is Rome‘s major tourist attraction. The monument attracts around 6 million visitors a year. This means that on the day you visit you will share the monument with around 16 thousand other tourists. On this page you will find practical information about the Colosseum, including address and public transport, opening hours and admission. From October till March admission is free on the first Sunday of the month. I have created a separate page for a short description and history of the Colosseum.
Continue reading “Opening Hours Colosseum Rome 2021”Omnia Vatican & Rome Card 2019
After the Roma Pass and the Roma 48 Hours Pass there is now, for the first time, a pass combining Rome‘s religious and secular tourist attractions. Howe ver, although the pass includes both the Colosseum and the Vatican Museums, it is not necessarily worth it.
Continue reading “Omnia Vatican & Rome Card 2019”
