Travel advice: Naples & Rome

[Vegas Seagull]

Don't go to Rome. Spend all your time in Naples.

Don't let your guard down - it's not a relaxing place, and expect to be robbed, but totally worth it! Go to Vesuvius, Herculanium and Pompeii. Eat and drink plenty. Wander about. When we were there (a few years ago now) it was noisy, dirty and edgy - there's certainly an atmosphere to the place unlike anywhere else I've been. Learn how the roads work, and how to cross them. Don't expect people to stop at lights/junctions. Look at wedding dresses!

With Rome you can 'do' the touristy bits in 2 days. After that there's not a lot. Oh, don't go INSIDE the Collosium, spend the extra time saved in the Vatican instead.

The last paragraph us the worst piece of travel advice I have ever seen, here or anywhere
In you spent 2 weeks planning a 2 month trip to Rome you would still have to go back to see some gems you missed

 

[BBassic]

Rome is great but really only got 2/3 days worth of sightseeing.

There are a shed load of tourist traps out there. I got done for 30 euros by some goon tying a ribbon around my wrist. I told him where to go but his bigger, scarier mate started to look mischievous.

 

[BBassic]

Oh! Don't forget to check out the Capuchin Crypt. Easily one of the strangest places I've ever stepped foot in. I think it's "free" if you pay a small donation.

 

[smudge]

Do watch your back. Italians are robbing b'stards.

 

[Ⓩ-Ⓐ-Ⓜ-Ⓞ-Ⓡ-Ⓐ]

Did Frank Gehry build this?

 

[withdeanwombat]

Yes with bells on to both.Make sure the bells are superglued on,though.

Do "do" the Amalfi coast.As suggested.It's better than the Marina to Newhaven.

 

[Herne Hill Seagull]

With Rome you can 'do' the touristy bits in 2 days. After that there's not a lot. Oh, don't go INSIDE the Collosium, spend the extra time saved in the Vatican instead.

Couldn't disagree more. You can do the really famous stuff in two days (though, frankly, the Vatican museum is so huge that I've been twice, spent all day there both times and still didn't feel like I'd seen everything), but I've been twice for four days each and loved it both times. No such thing as a bad restaurant, two football teams to choose from, plenty of places to see apart from all the postcard stuff.

Edit: One caveat; if you get the chance, don't stay at the Hotel Impero. You have not been charged for this advice.

 

[Gazwag]

There is quite a big thread on Rome on here somewhere, I was disappointed with the majority of the city but others were not.

 

[jemwillett]

There is quite a big thread on Rome on here somewhere, I was disappointed with the majority of the city but others were not.

We walked from the port in Naples up to the bus station, through the back streets and stuff and it was great. Not threatening at all, although thats not to say it isn't. Stop and watch and go to a local pizza place for great food and beer.

 

[sam86]

Cheers all. Anyone watch the show about Pompeii last night? Truly fascinating.

Is it "worth" going to Herculaneum and Pompeii?

 

[Tom Bombadil]

!

With Rome you can 'do' the touristy bits in 2 days. After that there's not a lot. Oh, don't go INSIDE the Collosium, spend the extra time saved in the Vatican instead.

What a load of crap. Personally i could spend a month in Rome and still not see everything i wanted.

 

[teaboy]

I'm not going to edit my original post, but wish I hadn't put "after that there's not a lot"(!)

There's obviously plenty of things to see and do in Rome, but the main tourist things (Travi fountain, Spanish Steps, Collosium, Vatican, etc) will not take more than a couple of days to 'see'. Personally I could spend a week in the Vatican and not get to the Sistine Chapel.

 

[fork me]

Yes, yes, I'm yet again coming to the good folk of NSC for travel advice.
You are all so very helpful when it comes to the do's and don'ts (??) of traveling.
This time: Naples, followed by Rome.
Cheers x

Opposite of Teaboy, Rome is MUCH better than Naples.

Naples has a very high crime rate compared to other Italian cities, yes it's very beautiful, yes, it is the best place to get to Pompeii from and yes it's worth seeing, but be alert.

Rome, however, I loved. I was fortunate in that when I went to Rome I met up with an Italian friend of mine for the first few days who knows the city well, that gave me a huge advantage in finding my way around, even after he'd left. The Subway is simple (only two lines and most of the important attrractions are on or near them - the day tickets are cheap). One bit of advice, using the Rome subway is NOTHING like using the London Underground. People do NOT waot for you to get off the train before they get on. The doors open and it's a mad free for all both ways. Once you've worked that out and don't expect anyone to get out of your way (and likewise learn not to get annoyed when others barge past you - it's just the way it's done there) getting on and off is fairly simple. Go with the flow, be assertive, just watch out for any kids.

The Collosseum and Forum are both on the same ticket, whichever you see first, keep the ticket to do the other. I intended to spend an hour in the Forum but spent over half a day there, it's MASSIVE. The Vatican Museums are worth seeing, but get VERY crowded. Two places you should see even though they don't seem to get as much publicity are the Castel Sant'Angelo (a round castle on the banks of the Tiber right in the middle of the city - the Popes used to hide there when Rome was invaded, but it's actually built over Hadrian's tomb) and the Capuchin Crypt. The latter is not very big, it's under a church but the bones of all the Capuchin monks were used for thr decor. Even the chandeliers are made of human bones. Well worth a trip.

Food - cheap food during the day you can't beat the meter pizza places. They're all over the place, small places where the pizzas are precooked in huge rectangles and you say how much you want, they cut it off and weigh it (so called because you can buy a meter of pizza). Very cheap, but nice pizza. Pasta restaurants are all over the place, but check the price list first, some are tourist rip off places. Also watch out for rip off merchants round the Collosseum trying to get money for nothing. (One scam I was warned about while I was there: A friendly bloke comes ove and starts chatting informally, while he's doing so he ties a friendship bracelet to your wrist, which he them charges you €20 for backed up by some large friends who suddenly appear).

Drink: There isn't much of a pub culture in Rome, Romans tend to socialise in resaurants and cafes more than pubs. There are a vfew decent pubs around, but they tend to be thin on the ground. In the summer it's more pleasant to drink in the open air in the Piazzas anyway, and there are mobile stalls all over the place that sell beer (along with snacks and soft drinks).

 

[fork me]

The last paragraph us the worst piece of travel advice I have ever seen, here or anywhere
In you spent 2 weeks planning a 2 month trip to Rome you would still have to go back to see some gems you missed

This.

One thing I forget though, Italy is the only country I've been to where a green man doesn't mean it's safe to cross the road! Cars are allowed to turn right through a red light (and aren't always careful when they do - Roman drivers see pedestrians as an inconvenience), so keep your eyes open on main junctions.

 

[SeagullSongs]

Sorrento is a magical place and was pretty safe from what I saw. Didn't stay in Naples for long after flying there from Stansted so can't really comment on that. I'd recommend a trip to Capri, absolutely stunning island. Don't allocate just one day for Vesuvius, it can be foggy and then climbing it is pretty much a pointless exercise, if it's foggy, come back another day.

Haven't been to Rome but I'd absolutely love to.

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

Cheers all. Anyone watch the show about Pompeii last night? Truly fascinating.

Is it "worth" going to Herculaneum and Pompeii?

Absolutely. In fact, it's essential. It's an entire city and way of live preserved for eternity.

 

[crodonilson]

I am also doing Rome and Naples, part of a cruise with Mrs Crodo. Got one day in Rome prior to the cruise and then first stop is Naples so only got from 8 until 8 there.

Of the many things to do in Rome and Naples what would people most recommend if they only had a day to do them?? Read all of the touristy guff and there's probably a weeks worth of things to do in either so struggling to narrow it down, not to mention the less touristy bits.

 

[dougdeep]

The trouble with Rome is that there is so much to see and with the traffic so bad it takes forever to see it all.

 

[blue2]

Naples is a tip but has great museums and Pompeii is close by as is the Amaifi coast which is stunning Rome is somything else history everwhere and the Vatican museum every one runs down the corridors which go on and on to get to the cistean chapel take your time and look at the works of art out of this world

 

[NutterDave]

Rome. Beautiful city, mental drivers, narrow streets with Vespas and little cars hurtling down them, best ice cream in the world.
Great Views across the city from Castel St Angelo. Don't bother queue jumping at the Vatican with the tour groups, you still end up queuing and you have to go round at your tour group's pace.
You can walk everywhere, we stayed neat the Vatican and walked across to the Coliseum and back in a day.
Campo di Fiore is much better at night than the larger Piazza Navona.