Tourists and public transport in Rome

After nearly four years in the making, the metro station at the end of my street slid open it’s doors and the first train heading towards the city centre departed from platform two. The continuing extension of the B line makes travelling around Rome much easier for both residents and tourists alike. The “Metropolitana” is just one of many ways to get around the city, even if the lines tend to circumnavigate the centre rather than go through it, though stations at the Spanish Steps, Colosseum, Flaminio and Cipro (for the Vatican Museums) pretty much cover the main tourist sites.

There are plenty of buses which serve the city, but they are often crowded and fall victim to one of Rome’s biggest problems – traffic. Look out for the mini-sized electric buses which run around the city with more ease than their bigger, more cumbersome brothers, allowing them to get into the heart of historic districts such as Trastevere, Monti, the Spanish Steps, and Piazza Navona, which is where most Rome tours gravitate towards. If you want to travel above ground but avoid the traffic, try the trams, although these have a more limited range compared to the buses.

For those of you who prefer to see horses anywhere other than in a frozen lasagna, you can spend an afternoon being driven around the main sites in one of Rome’s many horse and carts that are for hire, although like Venetian gondolas, expect to pay a premium price for the pleasure. A better idea would be to purchase the “Roma Pass” which is sponsored by both Rome City Council and the Ministry of the Arts. It’s a 3 day travel card which not only enables you to use the public transport system, but also gives you free entry to the first two museums you visit, and discounts on all other museums and archaeological sites thereafter. It also allows you to jump the queue at most sites, the €34 fee is worth that alone! Visit http://www.romapass.it for more details.

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