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Trip to Rome Gucci Style
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Ohhhh mannnn! I know you could probably write a book about it. So we will have four days in Rome, what are the “must see/do activities?” Any input would be incredibly helpful . Thank u so much
Thank you again. Your responses read like a novel! I was literally hanging on every word! And yes when she said that I assumed no more than any other major city lol! We live in Houston and travel extensively to Mexico, central and South America, and the Caribbean. This year alone we’ve done Mexico twice, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Honduras, we have another Mexico trip forthcoming (well kids with MIL) and Argentina and Uruguay this summer. We usually get all of the tea from the taxistas, we are a little bit nervous about crossing the pond because my husband was born in Mexico and I speak Spanish fluently so venturing into countries where we don’t speak the language is intimidating lol. We also plan to visit Munich and Amsterdam next summer. But time for us to get out of our comfort zone …it’s scary though
Thank you! That’s helpful. One of the biggest issues / fears is this will be our first trip abroad to a country where we don’t speak the language (except Brasil, but most ppl there speak Spanish as well). My husband is Latin, and I’m fluent in Spanish so we’ve visited almost every single country in the Western Hemisphere (most more than once) Italian is close to Spanish so that’s why we r going there first prior to Munich and Amsterdam lol . I’m not counting on ppl speaking English to usRome is a very old city as everyone knows, there is a lot of graffiti. I met some very nice wonderful people and not so nice. I would recommend being very aware of how to travel by train, cab, and bus in Rome, or you could get lost, or stranded. Keep a card from your hotel in your purse. Possibly have your concierge arrange a cab for you. If you get on a bus and go to the wrong spot, I would seek out a local hotel and have them call you a cab. I was ignorant about how the cabs work there. You can't hail a cab there like you can in the U.S. Otherwise, enjoy yourself! Shop til you drop!
Ahahah let me sort it out for you!
First of all I highly praise the lesser known Garden of the Orange Trees (Giardino degli aranci) on the Aventino hill, it was my fave place of all when I was young. Nearby the lovely Garden (where you have a marvelous view of Saint Peter) you have both a great ancient Church dedicated to Santa Sabina and a strange little place called The Keyhole (IL buco della serratura) where you can see St Peter again through the hole.
Going down the Aventino Hill do yourself a favor and have a lunch at La Villetta where you can enjoy traditional roman cuisine: supplì (fried risotto with mozzarella), spaghetti alla carbonara and all'amatriciana, fried artichokes (carciofi alla giudia) and boiled artichokes (carciofi alla romana).
Nearby this restaurant (book in advance!) there is a quirky place: a real Pyramid (Cestia Pyramid) and a quiet and solemn place called The cemetery of the aCatholics, Keats and Shelley were buried there too.
This whole area named Testaccio is full of both traditional places to eat and little artisanal shops, narrow streets and local inhabitants that often speak very little English to none!
If you want to have a nice walk head yourself from Testaccio to Trastevere through a bridge called Tiberina isle (isola Tiberina) which is nearby the Jewish Ghetto where you can find the magnificent Roman Synagogue and little streets full of memories of the atrocities committed by both fascists and nazis during the 2WW.
Trastevere Is another little jewel for the tourists because is full of places to eat and have fun but beware: tons of them are expensive and so touristics!!!
In Trastevere on Sunday you can visit a great second hand market called Porta Portese (pickpockets are a plague!), even though my fave vintage market is called Borghetto Flaminio (nearby Flaminio Square) always on Sunday morning.
Another great place to visit is Campo De' Fiori: go to Roscioli, a traditional bakery and walk through the fruit and vegetables market eating a particular kind of street food: pizza filled with mortadella (in Italy we have diff kinds of pizza : the traditional Neapolitan one, the Roman one, the Genoese one and the one from Puglia). I really miss her here in Milan!
If you are still hungry just give a try to another couple of traditional roman recipes: fried codfish and fried courgette flowers, there are small places all around that sell tons of great things to eat while walking around.
If you will be visiting the Pantheon (I hope you will do!) in the streets nearby there is a bar called La tazza d'oro (the Gold cup) where you can enjoy a great coffee granita with whipped cream!
Heading to Navona Square which is just a bunch of meters away stop at St Lewis of the French Church filled with Caravaggio's works.
Navona square is magnificent with both the awesome baroque church of St Agnese and the Statue of the 4 Rivers (fontana dei quattro fiumi).
If you still have enough days in the city and you want to venture outside the centre rent some bikes and head to one of the most beautiful archeological areas ever: the Appia antica street with tons of catacombs and the shrine of Cecilia Metella.
If the weather will be good I suggest you to buy some slices of tradional roman pizza at Alice, a chain of pizza only shops, and have lunch at Villa Celimontana on Celio Hill, another lesser known but nice quarter, where you can also find the lovely Navicella Church.
If you ask me, one of the most beautiful church in Rome is St Clemente, a basilica composed by 3 different layers that date back to three different times in Rome's past.
I always advise my friend to take the A line of the underground (sadly, the underground in Rome is awful, dirty, plenty of not so nice guys) till Colli Albani station and head to Pompi located in Albalonga St.
Try googling "Tiramisù" and let me know what do you think
Hope this will be helpful and have a nice and safe trip ❤️
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OMGGGGG thank you this was incredibly helpful! I was literally picturing all of these places (that I have no idea what they look like) in my head as I was reading! I wish my trip were tomorrow! I’m so sad I have to wait a year and two months ….but this was AMAZING!!! I can’t thank everyone enough
Jumping in for Rome tourism. We went in Summer 2019, with my 9yo daughter. One bit of advice is schedule a tour or the big thing for the day (vatican, colosseum, whatever) first thing in the morning when it is still somewhat cool. Then, we would have quick lunch and head back to hotel for a snooze or recharge. Or, this could be a chance for you to do some solo shopping at Gucci while the rest of the family relaxes comfortably. A few hours later we'd be showered and ready to go back out. By then it was a little cooler, crowds were lighter, and we were rested and relaxed. There was record-setting heat that summer and I couldn't imagine going for all day, every day.
We also built in time for things that our daughter would love. She was really into Lego at the time so we took a break between churches and historical sites and went to the Lego store. In the evenings we'd set out from our hotel (right by Trevi Fountain) and just wander, but we let our daughter choose where we were going. No destination planned, just walk out the door and let her decide which way to walk, which street, direction, whatever. This was one of her first times being unscheduled and 'in charge' and she loved it. With phones and maps and such, we were never at risk of getting lost and she ended up walking us right to the Spanish Steps our first night. Another cool thing (literally and figuratively) were the water fountains. The city has an extensive network of public water fountains, all fed by the aqueducts. They were always convenient for refilling water bottles and fun to keep count of how many we spotted while out each day.
Your little ones sound like they're already very good travelers, which should help. Have an amazing time!
We also built in time for things that our daughter would love. She was really into Lego at the time so we took a break between churches and historical sites and went to the Lego store. In the evenings we'd set out from our hotel (right by Trevi Fountain) and just wander, but we let our daughter choose where we were going. No destination planned, just walk out the door and let her decide which way to walk, which street, direction, whatever. This was one of her first times being unscheduled and 'in charge' and she loved it. With phones and maps and such, we were never at risk of getting lost and she ended up walking us right to the Spanish Steps our first night. Another cool thing (literally and figuratively) were the water fountains. The city has an extensive network of public water fountains, all fed by the aqueducts. They were always convenient for refilling water bottles and fun to keep count of how many we spotted while out each day.
Your little ones sound like they're already very good travelers, which should help. Have an amazing time!
Appreciating all the words about Rome here. Along with Florence, I’ll be going there this fall (my first time in Italy) and I love art and antiquities, so I am really looking forward to this.
How is the safety in Rome? My mom keeps cautioning me about pickpockets, so I’m feeling a bit paranoid.
How is the safety in Rome? My mom keeps cautioning me about pickpockets, so I’m feeling a bit paranoid.
I just returned from 3 weeks in Italy (with some Gucci, but I don’t have a SA to share unfortunately). It was my first trip to IT and while Rome was amazing for it’s history, I was otherwise disappointed. It was very dirty (dead pigeons & pigeon parts, trash, cigarette butts, etc.) and not very friendly. And that’s coming from a NYC native and someone who visits Paris regularly LOL I much preferred the Amalfi area (Positano and Ravello in particular) and Tuscany. That said, the Gucci boutique in Rome was well stocked and the SA I worked with was very nice! Enjoy your trip!
ETA: I didn’t find Rome less safe than any other big city. Just be smart and aware, particularly in crowded tourist areas.
ETA: I didn’t find Rome less safe than any other big city. Just be smart and aware, particularly in crowded tourist areas.
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I’ll chime in that I’m in Rome now and was here last November as well. I worked with Marco at Gucci - he was great! I apologize I don’t have more info for him. If I go back before we leave the city I’ll try to get it.
Shopping on via Dei Condotti is amazing! As is all of Rome. Everyone speaks enough English for you to get by. I make small efforts with greetings and niceties but don’t worry at all about the language barrier.
As with any major city, there’s graffiti and it’s varying levels of “dirty”. That said, I personally find it less “dirty” than most major US cities. Also feels much safer than most major US cities.
Others have probably mentioned, but you don’t want to eat or shop too close to the major tourist attractions.
I’ve never felt unsafe or worried about theft. I’m carrying my Mon Mono Speedy 35 this trip and last. I keep it zipped and carry crossbody - zero problems or concerns.
Have so much fun!
Shopping on via Dei Condotti is amazing! As is all of Rome. Everyone speaks enough English for you to get by. I make small efforts with greetings and niceties but don’t worry at all about the language barrier.
As with any major city, there’s graffiti and it’s varying levels of “dirty”. That said, I personally find it less “dirty” than most major US cities. Also feels much safer than most major US cities.
Others have probably mentioned, but you don’t want to eat or shop too close to the major tourist attractions.
I’ve never felt unsafe or worried about theft. I’m carrying my Mon Mono Speedy 35 this trip and last. I keep it zipped and carry crossbody - zero problems or concerns.
Have so much fun!
Don’t let anyone dampen your enthusiasm for Rome! It is one of my favorite cities, it was magical. There are very few big cities that are super clean, I find some of the comments posted a bit silly really. I will say that going at any time other than mid summer is a good choice. We were there in November, nice temperatures (jacket weather), fewer tourists. We were able to do everything we wanted to do including a trip to Capri. The Rome Gucci store was so fun, they were very pleasant and helpful. Have a wonderful time!