ROMEGUIDE - Sygic Travel

1 ROME GUIDEROME GUIDE2 Money3 Communication4 Holidays5 Transportation6 Food8 Events During The Year9 Things to do10 DOs and DO ContactsPolice 113 Carabinieri (military police) 112 Fire Services 115 Ambulance 118 Traffic Wardens +39 667691 Finance Police 117 Central Police Station +39 64686 Essential InformationEven though the Roman Empire might be longgone, its Eternal City still remains and is oneof the most popular tourist destinations in Eu-rope. Its glorious, breath-taking monumentssuch as the Colosseum, St Peter s Basilica orthe Sistine Chapel are a silent witness to themany eras the city has rich historical and cultural heritage is notall there is to Rome, though.

2 The city hasa modern, cosmopolitan feel to it, too. It squickly becoming one of the nightlife capitalsof Europe and also a popular shopping des-tination. Just sit down at one of the delight-ful restaurants or streetside caf s and you aresure to experience this feeling for ZoneUTC/GMT +1 hour, observes ContactsTourist information: 060608 / Lost property onbus or tram: +39 6 5816040 MONEY3 Italy is a member of the Eurozone. 1 = 100 are easy to find and the daily withdrawallimit is 250 . You can exchange your money atany bank, post office or exchange office calledcambio.

3 Make sure you have got some form of IDwith major credit cards are accepted by the major-ity of Roman restaurants, hotels and major cheaper guesthouses and small pizzeriasaccept nothing but cash so always check in ad-vance to avoid RefundsVAT is 21% (will increase to 22% in July) andnon-EU residents are entitled to a tax refund ifthey spend more than 155 on a purchase atshops displaying the Tax Free for Tourists you need to do is complete a form on the spotand have it stamped by Italian customs as youleave the country.

4 The money will be refunded toyour bank information can be found at ( )PricesMeal, inexpensive restaurant 15 Meal for 2, mid-range restaurant, 3 courses 50 Domestic beer ( draught) 4 Cappuccino (regular) Gasoline (1 liter) Hostels (average price/night) 25 4* hotel (average price/night) 120 Car-hire (medium-sized car/day) 90 TippingYou do not need to tip in Italy. Tips in most restau-rants are already included in the bill. If they aren t,tip only if the service was exceptional by leavingthe change.

5 Round up to the next euro for thetaxi driver and give 1 to your chambermaid with a frequency of 50 Hz; continental-typeplugs with two or three round prongs. Do not for-get to bring an adapter or converter if you main language in Rome is Italian, but the dig-nitaries in the Vatican speak Latin at official occa-sions. Many people can speak a second language,mostly English, French or PhonesThe GSM network is operated by four main Italiancompanies: TIM, Vodaphone, Wind and Tre. Thefrequency is 900 and 1800 MHz. Visitors fromAmerica should check their phone informationmanual prior to their arrival to make sure theirphone has the right bands.

6 It is possible to rent aphone in Rome to avoid roaming fees, however,if you stay in Italy for a longer period of time, youmight as well consider buying an Italian SIM will need to show your ID prior to service ac-tivation. If you have a smart phone, do not forgetto switch off the data transfer, for you would geta nasty bill telephone code for Italy is +39 and for Wireless ( ) offers anumber of free Internet hotspots. Many of themcan be found in the historical center at the mostfrequented tourist places. However, you will needa valid Italian number for registration as you haveto make an initial phone call to verify your you do not possess an Italian SIM card, do notdespair.

7 There are numerous bars and caf s thatoffer free Wi-Fi access to their customers. Alsomore and more hotels have Internet available inthe rooms or lobby, although some of them maycharge a small fee. Last but not least, cyber caf sare always a safe bet and finding one is never aproblem. The price can be anywhere in the regionof 1 to 3 per ResourcesOfficial tourist website ( )Wikipedia ( )HOLIDAYS51 January New Year s Day6 January Epiphany17 March AnniversaryoftheUnificationofItalyMonday after Easter Easter Monday25 April Liberation Day1 May International Workers Day2 June Republic Day15 August Ferragosto/Assumption Day1 November All Saints4 November DayofNationalUnityandtheArmed Forces8 December Immaculate Conception25 December Christmas Day26 December St Stephen s DayOpening HoursShops are usually open from 9 to 1 andthen from to Monday throughSaturday (4-8 during summer months)

8 , al-though major shops located at frequently visitedplaces are open on Sundays, too. Large shops canbe open all day until 10 Grocery shops areclosed on Thursday afternoons. A lot of shopsand restaurants take their holiday in markets in the city center operate Monday toSaturday from 7 to 1 Restaurants areopen between noon and and then from7 to 11 operate from to and af-ter the lunch break from 3 to 4 , and areclosed at weekends, while post offices are gener-ally open from 8:30 to 1:30 Monday toSaturday (until 1 on Saturday).

9 All banks andmost shops are closed on public TransportationRome has a fantastic integrated public trans-portation system, which includes subway, buses,trams and trains. There are four ticket categories:Biglietto semplice 100 minutes, Biglietto giornaliero 24 hours, 6 Biglietto per 3 giorni 3 days, Biglietto settimanale 7 days, 24 BusesThere are a couple of bus companies in Romecalled ATAC ( ) and COTRAL( ) Buses run from 5:20 untilmidnight. Night buses run from 0:10 un-til 5:30 every 30 minutes from termini andPiazza Venezia (look for a sign that reads N ).

10 SubwayThere are currently two subway (metropolitana)lines in Rome. The A line (red) runs east to west,while the B line (blue) runs northeast to south-west and connects the three main railway sta-tions. The C line (green) is under lines stop at Stazione Termini. The subwayoperates Sunday to Thursday from 5:30 to11:30 and until 1:30 on Friday andSaturday. They run approximately every 7-10minutes. The subway is operated by tram lines serve mostly eastern parts of thecity and operate from 5:30 to midnight. Theyare run by best way to get a taxi is to find the nearesttaxi stands which are generally located at themost frequented places.