Questions for anyone who has been to Rome

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Our family will be traveling to Europe in Dec. or Jan. We hope to be in Rome for midnight Mass in St. Peter’s. It looks like we might fly into London and travel from there-- Venice (maybe), Assisi, Rome… I was in Rome for the close of the Jubilee and stayed in a convent (there were 3 moms and 6 girls!).

For a family (2 adults and 3 teens), where would you recommend staying? Are hotels worth the price? What are some out of the way restaurants? I’m getting ready to order a book about monasteries and convents that house travelers. Any comments and suggestions about travel, lodging, sightseeing, etc are welcome! —KCT
 
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KCT:
Our family will be traveling to Europe in Dec. or Jan. We hope to be in Rome for midnight Mass in St. Peter’s. It looks like we might fly into London and travel from there-- Venice (maybe), Assisi, Rome… I was in Rome for the close of the Jubilee and stayed in a convent (there were 3 moms and 6 girls!).

For a family (2 adults and 3 teens), where would you recommend staying? Are hotels worth the price? What are some out of the way restaurants? I’m getting ready to order a book about monasteries and convents that house travelers. Any comments and suggestions about travel, lodging, sightseeing, etc are welcome! —KCT
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If your going to the Vatican, don’t screw around getting there. I believe the museum opens at 9, but the line starts forming at 7. And your about two hours back once you hit 8:30. Have an adult stand in line, while someone drags the kiddies around to all the pope kitsch that’s around ( I still have my Pope on a rope soap, and my Popesicle[a lollipop with the Pope’s face on it] plus it’s not a bad idea for the grown ups to get some coffee/food and there’s lots of more religious things to do as well. I have a beautiful rosary made from rose petals of flowers left at the Vatican, and a pretty cross ( I never wear it, I prefer my celtic cross or my Tiffany Necklace for every day wear)
 
I’ve been there when I was in college, so it’s been 10 years. My husband and I have often talked of returning home again, and I’m so jealous of you guys!

I’ve looked online over the past few years, and it looks like renting a flat is the way to go. Basically, you’re short-term renting an apartment. Prices seem reasonable; under $200 a week for a place that should sleep your entire family comfortably. That’s a ton cheaper than hotels, and you usually have a kitchen! Can you imagine cooking a wonderful pasta dinner for your family made with fresh ingredients just bought at the market? That would also help keep overall costs down, as well as providing amazing experiences. When I looked, there were rooms available all over the city, and with varying sizes and prices.

Venice, if you haven’t been there before, isn’t the most pleasant smelling city in Italy. I think it was lovely and full of charm, but my husband couldn’t get past the stench. Your mileage may vary. I’d suggest Florence instead, or maybe even one of the tiny villages. There’s some beautiful towns off the beaten path that are a wonder. Montefalco is a walled town on a hill where St. Clare of Montefalco is from, and she is housed there. The convent that runs the church has (or at least had 10 years ago) a couple rooms for lent; there was no hotel when we were there. It’s simply amazing, and a very religious experience.

Have some gelati for me, and give the Pope my love!
 
Can’t comment too much on hotels (ours was small and hot) or restaurants (nothing too memorable, go to Florence for good food!).

But, if you’re there on Wednesday, write before you go to reserve tickets for a Papal audience. Besides the Pope, you’ll see people from all over the world who are excited about their faith - very moving. I hope JPII can still do these despite his health. We went 6 years ago.

Another thing I would strongly recommend is a tour of the necropolis under the Vatican which takes you to the ancient tomb of St. Peter - yes, the real thing.

Frommer’s travel book for Italy can tell you how to do both of these things. We always travel with Frommer’s and have always been happy with their suggestions.

Have a good trip!
 
Venice did smell. Like sewage, on a July afternoon 5 days into a heatwave.

Milan is nice. While you’re there, run, don’t walk to leather stores. OMG they have the best leather there. And the chocolate. OMG the chocolate. It’s like PMS heaven!
 
It’s been about 7 years ago that my husband and I went to Italy. I so envy anyone that says the are planning a trip there. I would love to go back in a heartbeat.
We traveled by train ( a good, fast and cheap way to go) from Rome to Florance, Venice and Milan.
Sorry, I can’t help with advice as to places to stay. We stayed in hotels and YES they are expensive. The flat sounds like a great arrangement. There are plenty of books from the Library that can give you more info.
Good luck and enjoy your trip
 
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Almeria:
Venice, if you haven’t been there before, isn’t the most pleasant smelling city in Italy. I think it was lovely and full of charm, but my husband couldn’t get past the stench.
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If you are going in December or January, the smell shouldn’t be a problem. I had heard this also, but my wife and I took our kids (5 of them) and my mother in law last November to Rome, Assisi, Florence, Venice and Lourdes, and there was no foul smell in Venice. It was beautiful, but a little pricey. It was also very, very quiet. Hearing no cars is strange. Assisi was fantastic. Florence was my least favorite (but was still great). We stayed in some middle of the road hotels. They were just fine.
 
I know that Midnight Mass at Saint Peter’s sounds wonderful, but do it only if you love mobs. You may not even get in. It may sound harsh, but I strongly encourage you to visit Rome after Epiphany. You will have your pick of places to stay and the city really empties out. Venice is very expensive. Consider visiting Venice as a day trip; stay in Parma. Much smaller, much cheaper, great food and the most beautiful dome (fresco) in the whole world: a Correggio of the Assumption of the BVM.

One convent in Rome that is lovely is the Brigitine’s (sp?) convent on the Piazza Farnese–not cheap, but not as pricey as a hotel. Feel free to email me for more counsel. I have visited Rome three times and am returning in January.

A good travelling rule: less is more. Rome is the kind of city that it’s just delightful to be in. Don’t worry if you can’t see everything the first time. (You can never see all that the Eternal City has to offer.)

Chris C.
 
I second the idea of not doing Christmas Mass at St Peter’s. There are so many beautiful churches in Rome that will be less crowded. One of them, Santa Maria in Aracoeli, has a beautiful Christmas Eve tradition where a centuries old wooden baby Jesus is brought out and laid in a creche. The statuette is actually kind of scary looking, but it’s a real Roman Christmas tradition.

I was in Venice for three days in November and it didn’t smell at all. If it’s cold, it won’t stink. It’s an expensive city and I paid through the nose for a hostel in the city center, but man it was worth every penny to spend all that time in Venice, just walking the streets, just BEING there. Truly magical city - you will love it!

If you go to Florence, DO NOT stay at Pensionato Pio X. I thought it would be a great inexpensive Catholic lodging alternative. I ended up with bite marks all over my face from bed bugs!!
 
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KCT:
Our family will be traveling to Europe in Dec. or Jan. We hope to be in Rome for midnight Mass in St. Peter’s. It looks like we might fly into London and travel from there-- Venice (maybe), Assisi, Rome… I was in Rome for the close of the Jubilee and stayed in a convent (there were 3 moms and 6 girls!).

For a family (2 adults and 3 teens), where would you recommend staying? Are hotels worth the price? What are some out of the way restaurants? I’m getting ready to order a book about monasteries and convents that house travelers. Any comments and suggestions about travel, lodging, sightseeing, etc are welcome! —KCT
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I went with a group of friends, 6 total, and we rented a cheap apartment for a week in Rome a bit northeast of the Vatican. It was off the beaten path (had to take the local bus down the hill & change near the Vatican).

Anyway, I keep everything on the computer… so I found who we reserved it through: Genti & Paesi, Via Adda, 111 - 00198 ROMA - Tel. 06.85301755 - Fax 06.85301756 gentiepaesi@romeguide.it

The actual place we stayed was:

Cingolani Stefano
Via delle Medaglie d’Oro,189
tel. +39 6 6864994

Maybe they still rent that flat-- it was 1998 when I went.

When I say cheap, it was $1000 US for the whole 7 days (it was worth it b/c we were there a week) and we had a kitchen, dining, & sitting areas + 3 bedrooms. There’s a market close by where we bought fresh veggies, cheese, bread, etc, very cheap. The only drawback is one bathroom in the flat we stayed in-- but we rotated 3 baths at night, 3 in the morning. I paid a deposit, and then paid the rest over a couple of months. For the 6 of us traveling, it made good sense at $28.00 per person per day. Probably could have found some hotels cheap, but not this nice and with kitchen facilities.

There was a restaurant down the hill called Peppericino Dispettoso. We loved this place, no one spoke English, menus were in Italian, we just guessed at ordering and had great meals and reasonably priced. NO TOURISTS found her (except us!)

There are a lot of apartments for rent in the Balduina area, and I recommend it. I did a quick search on the internet and found this site that might be helpful:

appartamenti-roma.com/prati_balduina.htm

Have fun!
 
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