Try Zia in the Trastevere; the chef is 2-star Michelin. Get the tasting menu (about $50) You won’t regret it!
http://ziarestaurant.com and no visit to Italy is complete without a trip to the Opera; this link has some free or special pricing tickets https://www.classictic.com/en/special/rome-opera/72/ and this free walking tour of Rome (2hrs) is superb - give a gratuity at the end; $5-$10pp is sufficient http://www.newromefreetour.com/free-tour
Enjoy!!!
Still thinking about the best thing to do for this trip (will most likely be fall). Should we grab a quick train (they say only 1.5 hours - here is NJ that is as quick as NJ transit into the city!) and do a day in Florence? I don’t see me returning to Italy any time soon and I think I might feel I missed out if I didn’t do the museums in Florence.
Yes!
Timing:
In Europe, I think everyone goes on vacation in July/Aug. Like the whole continent.
So that is busy.
But, they will do restoration during the off season. So make sure your favorite building won’t be under scaffolding when you go.
If you don’t do an organized tour/guide, make sure you look at buying tickets ahead of time so you dont’ have to wait in line.
You should definitely take the train to Florence – the trains in Italy are easy and comfortable. The cities are completely different and you will find the contrast fascinating. Florence is very small and walkable and the Santa Maria Novella station is located right where you want to be.
In Rome, we stay at the Hassler. It’s expensive, but exquisite and located right at the top of the Spanish Steps. If you want a decadent and special dinner, go to Aroma – it overlooks the Colosseum and has one of the most spectacular views in the city. Roscioli is great, and so is La Tavernaccia. You can walk around Trastevere and almost any place is good.
Make a point to go to the Capitoline Museums - inexplicably, they are not on everyone’s list, but should not be missed. The famous statue of Marcus Aurelius is there, as is she-wolf nursing Romulus and Remus, the symbol of Rome. Also, the view of the Forum from the second floor is stupendous.
I love Rome in late November. It really wasn’t terribly cold, although it did rain 1 1/2 days and no crowds. Plus, it’s truffle and mushroom season. Can’t beat that!! Last fall we stayed here when I traveled with a group of girlfriends. A splurge but there is nothing like having the only vacation rental literally hanging over the Forum which is all lit up at night.
https://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p6514984?adultsCount=6&noDates=true&petIncluded=false
You can check train schedules and fares in Italy at https://www.trenitalia.com/ (you can choose English, French, German, or Chinese on the web site if you do not know Italian).
Note that each city may have more than one train station. Roma Termini and Firenze Santa Maria Novella are the main ones in the respective cities’ areas where tourists tend to be most interested in.
We used to fly to Milan and then connect a flight to other cities in Italy, but we were often delayed due to wether or other issues. I finally figured it out it was easier and much more pleasant and reliable to take a train from Milan to other cities, or from Rome to other cities. First class train tickets are also not that expensive. I am like to drive when needed.
@oldfort There’s a reason the airport in Milan is called Malpensa ( literally bad thought or as many Italians call it a headache.). The fog is frequent and delays are common. Flying into the South of France is an option, so is Rome then taking a train North.
I vastly prefer flying into Milan than into Fiumicino - Malpensa is far smaller and more modern and Rome is always awful. Milan is such a great starting point for southern France and Switzerland, as well as northern Italy and we used it often when there was a direct flight from Boston to Milan, but that went away several years ago :((
Back from a fabulous vacation. We went to Rome and then Florence. I ended up using a travel agent (which was a good idea). We had a car drive us from Rome to Florence with a stop for lunch at a Tuscan farm and a tour of a winery. Both hotels were great (very conveniently located) and we had dinner reservations made in advance for every night (which were all delicious and made it very stress free).
Did a food tour in Trastevere in Rome one night which was fun. Had the early morning Vatican tour (which made it possible to see the Sistine Chapel without ridiculous crowds). We had skip the line tours for all the museums - which you really need. A highlight was a personal tour of an old library in Florence which the tour guide arranged just for us.
Weather was great (75-80 each day and sunny) and we walked like crazy (my phone says 9 miles every day).
Thank you for checking back in! I’m trying to get DH on board to go back to Italy next fall with our adult sons. We’ve not been to Florence and I was trying to figure out a way to go to Tuscany without taking a whole day tour. I really like that idea of having a driver between the cities and then stop along the way!
Did you do the Travestere Twilight Tour with Eataly? I did that one and it was so much fun, we were stuffed at the end.
The food tour we did was through a company called Devour. They have food tours in several cities and just expanded to Rome. It was especially good because it ended up being only my daughter, myself, and one other person on the tour that night.
My tour was packaged, so I don’t know exactly how much the day trip between locations cost me. It would probably be more cost effective for a larger family.
I found no need to use a tour guide or a car. You can get around everywhere using bullet trains, local trains, buses and Mytaxi/Uber. With enough planning (you’ll need plenty of advanced planning for the Borghese Gallery in Rome and the Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan (Last Super)) pretty much you’ll avoid long lines everywhere. We went from Rome, with day trips to Pisa, Florence, Serrano/Amalfi Coast/Sorrento/Pompeii/Naples and a weekend trip to Milan all in 6.5 days.