Back from Sorrento, I landed up in Rome, and checked into of the best apartments I have ever stayed in. Beautiful, absolutely clean and what an amazing host. This apartment was in Vatican and very close to Cipro metro station (the subway station for your visit to Vatican)
Metro Travel in Rome – Sightseeing
The best way to travel within Rome would be a combination of metro/subway train and walking. Subway system of Rome has two lines A and B, and is the quickest way to move around. You can purchase the subway tickets from vending machines at the station, booths or tobacco shops. Irrespective of where you want to go, one ride costs 1.5 euros and ticket is valid for 90 min after validation (you do that at the platforms)
Line A has 2 important stations : Spagna, from where many attractions namely Spanish steps, Pantheon, Fountain trevi, Piazza Navona are easily walkable. The other one is : Cipro for Vatican museums, St Peter’s Square & Basilica.
Line B is for ancient Roman sites. At Colosseo for example, you can disembark for Colosseum and the Roman Forum.
Please note that metro trains are not available at Fiumicino Roma Airport. You can either take Leonardo express or regional trains that run between airport and Roma Termini, Tiburtina or Ostiense stations respectively to use the subway metro for city.
We reached Cipro by 9.30 pm and thankfully our host was there to receive us. A 5 min walk and we reached the apartment. Settled ourselves, ate and just slept.
Next morning, I downloaded an app called ‘visitacity’. A great app when you are in a new city. It gives itineraries, attraction ticket details, and estimates time to walk between places.
Though didn’t follow the itinerary exactly as given but the app was great to know basics. Started with Spanish Steps and Piazza di Spagna in the morning as soon as we got down at Spagna.
Places to see in Rome
Then the Fountain at Trevi.
and the Pantheon
Piazza Navona
Since my husband was arriving in the evening, I booked a night tour to the Vatican. From April to October, Vatican museums open in the evenings every Friday. This luckily matched with our schedule and was a good idea considering the time at hand.
Vatican museum and Sistine Chapel ticket entrances are usually together as they are connected, and are almost beside St Peter’s Square. Since Basilica closes by evening, we could see only the Museum and Sistine Chapel on Friday evening. Basilica was parked for the next day.
Being in one of the oldest cities, experiencing such famed artworks and historical monuments was a surreal experience and I could see a deep sense of satisfaction on my history loving husband’s face. Sistine Chapel is where time stopped, despite thousands of tourists all around with 3-second glances at Michelangelo’s most famous creation.
Also maybe, the amazingly tasty chicken I had cooked for lunch was showing its impact on everyone’s face. Though I am usually a good cook, my cooking scores the highest when abroad.
This is one of the biggest advantages of staying in an apartment. Just carry a few important spices and you are done.
The next morning, we headed for the Colosseum and Roman Forum. People cautioned us about long queues and that you should take “skip the line tours”. But it wasn’t that difficult; within 30 min, we were in!
Wow! This is what we keep seeing in images!
And then comes a Tsunami of selfie-takers. Excuse me Excuse me.. each one looking for a spot to paste himself on to one of the most popular images of Italy. Chinese, Japanese, Americans and so on.
We Indians did claim our spot as well and here we are –
The Forum is just opposite The Colosseum. This is the shot, for which I went ahead assuming my son and my husband would be behind together but that wasn’t the case. A few minutes later, I heard a child bawding “Mumma Mumma” at the top of his voice with tears in eyes… and that was my lad.The same kid scampers ahead in front of me everywhere to take lead and do things on his own. Here, he got scared! Guess all he needed was a phone with google access to ask “where are my parents?” to feel at home.
It was late afternoon, we returned to Vatican through Piazza Venezia. Little rest at our apartment and then we headed for the Basilica.
Basilica was our last pit stop for the evening and what a beautiful place it is. One of my favorites in Rome.
2 days in Rome are never really enough but our ROI was great due to the following –
- Metro access from our apartment in Vatican
- Most sightseeing places in Rome are huddled together with walkable distances.
- Vatican museums at the night was great idea given the time at our hand.
Let us know if you plan Rome and have any query; would be happy to help.
