I'm going to be spending a week in Italy before classes in London start for me and was looking for help with ideas. I'm get into Rome 6/25 and tentatively am planning on leaving Rome for Florence on the 28/29th, Florence for Milan on the morning of the 1st. Schedule necessitates flying to London the afternoon of the 3rd. Info. on cheap places to stay, good restaurants, and sights would be appreciated. So, any ideas for a 22yo male college student would be appreciated.
Rome: Where to start? St Peters, the Coliseum, the Roman Forum all are must see sights. The Popes former residence near St Peters is pretty cool too. Basically almost any restaurant in Italy serves great food. In Rome there are a lot of good places by the Termini train station. In Florence, I ended up staying in a huge hostel that was in the suburbs. Don't stay here because it's kind of a pain in the ass to get to the city (you have to take buses and stuff). You're probably better off getting a hotel in town. Get up super-early if you want to go to the Uffizi gallery, as the line to get in gets really long very quickly. Check out the Ponte Vecchio. Go to the top of Il Duomo, as the view of Florence is awesome from there. Try the white bean soup, which is a specialty from this region. I know you're flying from Milan but I wouldn't spend much time in this city. It's too cosmopolitan and not much to see, it doesn't really fit in with the rest of italy in my opinion. Go to Venice or something. A good alternative is to go to Lago Como. There's some really good hiking around here, if you're into that. Or, if you're timing is right go to Siena for Il Palio. It's in tuscany, and Siena has this insane horse race through the town square called Il Palio twice a year during the summer. Forget trying to get a room on those nights, but this race is not to be missed.
Rome 1. Don't be suprised if many of the monuments/statues/churchs etc are covered in scaffolding. 2. Be prepared to do alot of walking - Rome does have an underground but it is not very good. 3. The safest way to cross a road is behind a group of nuns. 4. Be very careful of pick pockets.
Rome and Florence are two of my favorite cities I've ever been to. For Rome, I would consider what you want to concentrate on. Basically, it's a city that's in layers, from the ancient, through the middle ages to the Rennaisance and today. Pick the era you want to see most of, and do things for that era. Two places I would definitely put on my list though - The Pantheon, and the church of San Clemente. The Pantheon was originally built by Augustus' right hand man Agrippa, and was rebuilt by Hadrian (he of the famous wall in England). In fact, there's an inscription in Latin written on it, that reads, more or less "Agrippa built it." It is one of the very very few intact buildings from antiquity. It started its life as a temple to all the gods of Rome (hence "Pantheon" - from the Greek for "all gods") but was converted to a Christian (now Catholic) church in the 400s. Due to that conversion, it was never destroyed to have its marble used as a quarry. Until Brunelleschi built the famous cathedral in Florence (Il Duomo) in the 1400s, the Pantheon had the largest dome in the world. Its apex has an "oculus," which means essentially there's a big hole in the middle, which is its only source of natural light. It is an amazing building. The Piazza Della Rotunda, outside it, is a great place to just chill out and people watch. San Clemente is a church that dates from around 1100 AD, but it was built on top of a temple to Mithras, a god brought to the West from, I believe, Persia. The cult was popular with the Roman legions, and was contemporary with early Christianity. In fact, I believe it was outlawed by Rome around the same time that Christianity was, so its followers took their ceremonies underground, just like the ancient Christians. The temple itself is at the very bottom of the church, and was discovered during excavations in the 1800s. The early Christians used the site to build the first church of San Clemente on top of the Mitraic temple in the 500s or 600s, and the final church was built on top of that in the 1100s. Visiting it is like going back in time, first to the late middle ages, then to the late Roman period, and finally to the time of the Caesars. Don't miss it. It's also near the Colloseum, so you can do both the same day. Also, don't miss the Colloseum, the Piazza del Popolo, the Vatican, and the Fora (Forum Romano, Caesar's Forum, Augustus' Forum, Trajan's Forum, etc) and Trajan's column. So, speaking of Florence, don't miss the aforementioned cathedral, Il Duomo, with the dome designed by Brunelleschi, who studied the dome of the Pantheon in trying to figure out how to build one for Florence's cathedral. His goal was to build the greatest building in the world for the Medici family, who were his patrons (I think it was Lorenzo Il Magnifico at the time). Another nice thing in Florence is the walk to San Miniato al Monte, which is on the other side of the Arno. Once you climb up there, the views over Florence are absolutely amazing. The Piazza del Signoria is really another great place there. It's the central square of Florence, and is again another fantastic place to people watch. Oh, I forgot to mention, Rome has a fantastic nightlife. There's this club called Rock Castle Cafe which was a blast, but there are lot's of other places that are great too. Finally, if you get a chance, check out some of the tours these guys have http://www.romewalks.com/ and their pub crawl - http://www.walksofeurope.com/intropub.htm
I forgot - go see the Spanish Steps in Rome too. If you're young and single, it's probably a great place to hook up. Lots of hot young Italian chicks hanging around there.
For Florence, I also forgot to mention the doors of the Baptistery of the Cathedral. They call the doors "The Gates of Paradise." Actually, the ones outside today are copies of the originals, which were cast in bronze by Ghiberti. The originals are in Il Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (the cathedral's museum). I like Florence. A lot. I have some pictures there on this site http://glasssteelandstone.com/IT/Florence.html
On the heels of Mike's comments, I think Circus Maximus in Rome is a cool place to go as well. It's where they used to have the chariot races. There's really not much left there in terms of structures, but there's still a long lump in the middle of this field which served as the median which the chariots raced around. You can still easily see the path the chariots took, and imagine them racing down the track. One notable aspect is how sharp the turns were, I'm sure more than a few chariots rolled over during races. It's totally open to the public; it's actually more like a city park than anything. Lots of people go there just to hang out and people watch. And I'm sure if you bring a soccer ball, you'll easily be able to get a kick-around going with some of the locals.
Rome: see St Peter's and the Vatican City, and of course the Spanish Steps as someone else mentioned (next to the main shopping area). Be careful, every step will find you coming across Roman ruins. It is, quite simply, awesome. My grandmother lives there. Florence: said grandmother comes from here. If you are going to the Uffizi gallery in Piazza della Signoria, take some proof of student status. You should be able to jump the queue and get a discount, especially if you hook onto one of the many student groups. You will find the original of Michelangelo's David here - worth seeing just for that. Florence is also known for its nightlife, so check out a club or two. Italians club all night, so be prepared Milan: one major landmark, and apart from this, shopping central. Easy to get around due to extensive (and, bizarrely for an Italian city) reliable trams. Also has damn good, but pretty expensive clubs. A serious style capital where everyone, including the street hawkers, look good. Oh, and as for London, have a fantastic time
Thanks for all the help so far. I had originally picked Milan to fly out of because it was the cheapest fare on easyjet to London, but I've since discovered Venice is only 10 euros more, so I'm subsituting the Venice in for the Milan dates. And if anyone knows of any good, affordable places to stay, that'd be great as well. And as for London, I'll have as good a time as the LSE course load permits. Fortunately, my brother's been getting his master's there for the past year, so I'm all set on ideas for London.
Minor correction. The original of Micheangelo's David is in La Galeria dell'Academia, which is north of the Duomo on Via Ricasole. The Uffizi is fantastic though. BTW, go see David for sure. It's the most amazing sculpture I've ever seen. He's so alive it almost seems as if he's ready to start breathing. And afterwards, go to Carabè gelateria, which is also on Via Ricasole, just a bit to the north of the the Galeria. I think it's #60R Via Ricasole. The owners are from Sicily, and they make and serve Sicilian granita in addition to more traditional Italian gelato.
good call. i could not stand milan. the piazza del duomo and its cathedral are an amazing site to behold, the gothic cathedral that is the worlds 4th largest...but other than that the city pretty much "blew" in my opinion. it is just too damn expensive for a college kid, which i was at the time, to really enjoy <clubs, shopping, etc. are all way too expensive> and seeing venice is a much better option. venice is in the top five in my opinion of all the cities in europe. i had heard horror stories prior to going there about how the canals made the city smell and how easy it was to get lost and it was frustrating; but i found the opposite to be true. the canals were dirty, but there was never any noticeable smell in my opinion and part of the joy and wonder of the city is to get lost in the walkways & bridges around the city, they all hold their own unique beauty and character...the only negative is if you are going during tourist season the islands can be a little crowded for some peoples taste. i highly recomend seeing all the highlights of the city; st. marks square and the basilica in the evening when the restaurants that surround the square have musicians and you can just bring you own bottle of wine and sit in the square and enjoy the music without paying an arm and a leg for a meal at the restaurant. head to the accademia to see wonderful venetian artwork as well as travelling exibits they have on hand which are usually excellent. see the rialto area of town which was the commercial center for many, many centuries and today still bustles with excitement with the bridge over the grand canal. there is also the great glasswork and lace made in the city, and the wonderful masks which are everywhere you turn. find your masks in some far-off shop where the tourists don't normally shop...you'll get better deals and much better service from happy shopkeepers. and finally, take some time and 'get lost' in the city, literally. just walk around and don't plan on trying to get to a certain place...that is what i loved about the city, just walking around to the point of getting lost and enjoy the out of the way, less "touristed" areas of the city which you'll find. enjoy yourself...venice is what you make of it, stay off the beaten path and you will enjoy it so much more!
We were in Venice for two weeks, from September 1st to September 16th, 2001. The Venetians were incredible to us on September 11th. I'll never forget how sympathetic they were to us when they found out we were Americans. There's a great little bar just south of the Rialto Bridge, on the east side of the Grand Canal. Go there around sundown and drink a few bellinis or a bottle of wine.
I apolgize if this has already been addressed (I havent had time to read the entire thread) but which cities in Italy have the best nightlife and most attractive women?
i found rome to have a pretty "kickin" nightlife, which was not surprising considering the size of the city. venice didn't have much of a nightlife if you were looking for clubs and lots of young people. as for the women, i was disappointed in the italian women, the good looking ones were few and far between. i thought the country would be crawling with them...but nope; much better looking women in france and germany...go figure.
Agree about Rome and Venice. Strongly disagree about Italian women - they are gorgeous! One thing about clubs in Italy (and most of Europe), be prepared to stay up late. A lot of places don't really get going until well after midnight, and don't close until maybe 5 or 6 am.
One thing I'd recommend about Rome - get a restaurant guide or two and stay away from eateries filled with tourists. There's lots of tourists in Rome and lots of tourist ripoff joints. Don't believe that stuff about any restaurant in Italy serving good food. Only if you're pleased with everything including Chef Boyardee. Still, Rome is my favorite city in the world.
My general rule of thumb for restaurants. Don't eat anywhere that has menus in more than four languages - Italian, English, French and German. If you see other languages, especially Japanese characters, the place will likely be a tourist trap. Rome is probably my favorite city in the world as well.
Dude this is clubs EVERYWHERE not just Italy/Europe. But since you're an old man and prob hung out at Studio 54, Ill cut you some slack.
Not in DC. When I got back from Germany in '87, I got stationed at Andrews. I wanted to go out and party all night. Much to my surprise, places shut down at midnight during the week and at 1:00 am on weekends. Now the hours have been extended, but everything closes down at 2:00. Hell, I've been to clubs "back in the day" that didn't even get started until 2:00 am. But yeah, I'm too old for that now.