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Rick Steves' Rome

Updates since the 2010 edition:

Sights

Rick Steves audio tours of Trastevere, the Jewish Ghetto, Ostia Antica, and Pompeii will be available in December 2009 (see the list of our currently available free audio tours here).

Transportation Connections

From Dec. 13, 2009, the Artesia Night service from Rome to Paris will depart at 18:20 (6:20 p.m.) instead of 18:40. However, the 7:00 p.m. rule will still apply — that is, railpass holders can mark the following date on their pass, thereby using only one day of travel (provided they haven't traveled previously that date). The return service from Paris still departs at 18:52 and also qualifies for the 7:00 p.m. rule. Also, Rome–Geneva/Zürich night trains are no more (this leaves no Italy–Switzerland night train). Meanwhile, daytime trains on that route will pick up a little more speed.

Getting from the Port of Civitavecchia to Rome

The recommended tour company Rome Walks has put together a helpful video of the walking route to the Civitavecchia train station from the cruise ship port. You can find it on Rome Walks' You Tube channel  (click on "Port Civitavecchia to Rome").

Getting from Fiumicino International Airport to Rome

Rome Walks has put together a helpful video explaining your options for getting from Rome's airport, Fiumicino International, to the city center. You can find it on Rome Walks' You Tube channel (click on "Fiumicino International Airport to Rome Centre").

Updates since the 2009 edition:

Orientation

To use a Roma Pass (or a transit pass) on Rome's buses, you don't need to stamp the pass each time you board (but you do need to ride with a validated pass, so do stamp a completely new pass if its first use is for a bus ride).

Private guide Francesca Caruso has new prices for 2009, as well as a new email addres (€50/hr, francescainroma@gmail.com).

Picnic Discreetly: Public drinking and eating is no longer allowed at major sights, though the rule has proven difficult to enforce. To avoid the risk of being fined, choose an empty piazza for your picnic, or keep a low profile.

Sights

Price Hike Alert: Some of Rome's sights have found a clever way to squeeze more money out of visitors. They host a special exhibit (which no tourist really cares to see) and require you to pay for the extra ticket, along with the normal ticket for the permanent collection. This means already steep admission fees jump by about €3. A prime example: The Colosseum/Palatine Hill/Roman Forum combo-ticket is technically only €9. But for most of the year, temporary exhibits raise the price to a mandatory €12. Expect this practice at the Capitoline Museums, National Museum of Rome, and others as well.

Tickets to the Vatican Museums (which include the Sistine Chapel) are now available online at http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets. You can book tickets up to 60 days in advance and can reserve up to 10 tickets (€4 booking fee/ticket). The museum will send you a confirmation email — print this out and bring it with you — it includes a bar code they will scan when you arrive. With a reservation, you can skip the ticket-buying line. If you're going in the morning, we strongly recommend making a reservation. If you prefer spontaneity, go in the afternoon, when lines usually die down. The museum is open Mon–Sat 9:00-18:00, last entry at 16:00 (but they start ushering you out at 17:30).

St. Peter's Basilica Dome closes at 17:00 Mon–Fri, and at 16:00 on Sundays and in the winter (Oct–March). For the amazing view, first get to the roof — with incredible views over St. Peter's Square — either by stairs or elevator (€5 to walk up, or €7 for elevator to roof), then climb 323 steps to the top of the dome (allow an hour to go up and down).

In the Gesù Church, Bernini's bust of the Jesuit Robert Bellarmine has been removed; it's not yet clear when it will return.

Sleeping

The rates for Hotel Sonya were printed incorrectly. The correct rates for 2009 are: Sb-€90, Db-€150, Tb-€165, Qb-€185, and Quint/b-€200 (tel. 06-481-9911, www.hotelsonya.it).

Hotel Gerber's 2009 high-season rates are a bit higher than printed: two S without air-con-€60, Sb-€120, Db-€160, Tb-€180, Qb-€190 (S and Qb rates unchanged). They offer a 15-percent discount in the low season, as well as a 10 percent discount off these prices in the high season (Via degli Scipioni 241, at intersection with Ezio, a block from Metro: Lepanto, tel. 06-321-6485, fax 06-321-7048, www.hotelgerber.it, info@hotelgerber.it; Peter, Simonetta, and friendly dog Kira).