Advice for those wishing to try a short-term apartment rental in Rome

Ever since the beginning of time Rome has been a favourite place for both long and short holidays. Since the 1800s there has been intense growth in tourism. Especially for English people, renting an apartment for a short period in Rome was a must as part of the grand tour, that had already for some time been considered an essential part of every gentleman’s education. Today’s tourism is different, only the pleasure of admiring Rome’s splendid sights has remained unchanged and unchangeable. So as to help you, let us give you some useful advice for your holiday in Rome.

THE CLIMATE IN ROME

Rome is in central Italy. Weather is by nature unpredictable, but maybe what follows can be of help to you if you are planning a trip to Rome on the basis of a short-term rental.

WINTER

It can get very cold in the months of January and February, rainfall is concentrated in only a few days a year. We recommend a heavy wind jacket, better if with hood, and comfortable walking shoes that can cope with Rome’s cobblestone streets.

SPRING

Spring generally appears suddenly, the temperature rises considerably during the day, but watch out for the evenings when it can be very humid. For long walks around the city we recommend comfortable shoes and a light raincoat, perhaps a scarf, all useful during your short-term holiday in Rome.

SUMMER
In summer the temperature in Rome, especially in July and early August, reaches 36° Celsius. But as the sun sets the typical Roman breeze rises and wafts in cool air from the hills or the sea to give solace to the city. Ideal clothes are jeans or shorts, t-shirts, light shoes … this’ll be enough to cope with the Roman summer.

AUTUMN

The Autumn is warm and virtually always sunny, with unforgettable red sunsets among the Roman ruins, a light breeze, and at times the odd short shower. We recommend shirts, a pullover, jeans jacket and an umbrella for good measure.

SOS - POLICE, EMERGENCIES and CHEMISTS

POLICE

TOURIST EMERGENCIES - 06-422371

POLICE - GENERAL EMERGENCIES - 113

CARABINIERI GENERAL EMERGENCIES - 112

POLICE-CENTRAL POLICE STATION - 06-4686

POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR FOREIGNERS - 06-46862987

FIRE BRIGADE 115 or Headquarters Via Genova, 2a - 06-44441-4

TRAFFIC POLICE - emergencies - 06-6791

HIGHWAY ASSISTANCE - 116

HIGHWAY POLICE - 06-55441

EMERGENCIES - 06-5577905

ACI HELP LINE FOR TRAVELLERS BY CAR - 06-5110510

ACCIDENT AND MEDICAL EMERGENCIES

FULLTIME MEDICAL EMERGENCIES - 06-4826741

RED CROSS - 06-5510

HOSPITALS:

OSPEDALE SAN CAMILLO Circonvallazione Gianicolense, 87- 06-58701

POLICLINICO - Viale del Policlinico - 06- 49971

OSPEDALE FATEBENEFRATELLI - Isola Tiberina 06-58731/27691

CENTRO DI TRAUMATOLOGIA E ORTOPEDIA Via S. Nemesio, 21 - 06-517931

CHEMISTS

As there are many chemists open in Rome also at night, we list only two that are in the centre of the city. If you are in Rome for a short holiday period, you can get information on chemists open at night by calling 1921, an operator will give you the list of all those open.

FARMACIA DELLA STAZIONE - Piazza dei Cinquecento, 49/51 - 06-4880019

FARMACIA INTERNAZIONALE - Piazza Barberini, 49 - 06-4871195

AMBULATORIO VETERINARIO COMUNALE (MUNICIPAL VETERINARIAN) 06-5800340 06-5810078

OTHER USEFUL ADDRESSES FOR TOURISTS

E.P.T. ENTE PROVINCIALE PER IL TURISMO

Via Parigi, 5 06-4883748

STAZIONE TERMINI (CENTRAL RAILWAY STATION)

06-4871270 / 4824078

AEROPORTO INTERCONTINENTALE LEONARDO DA VINCI (customs zone)

06-6011255 06-60l24471

PROVINCIA DI ROMA

Palazzo Valentini - Via 4 Novembre, 119/A - 06-67661

COMUNE DI ROMA

Piazza del Campidoglio - 06-67101

TOURING CLUB ITALIANO

Via Ovidio, 7/A - 06-6874603/6874432

CENTRO TURISTICO STUDENTESCO E GIOVANILE (CTS)

Via Nazionale, 66- Centralino 06-46791

AIRTERMINAL OSTIENSE - 06-5747950

ASSOCIAZIONE TURISTICA GIOVANI (ATG)

Via di Torre Argentina, 47 - 06-6547863

ATAC (Rome city bus company)

Information office - Piazza dei Cinquecento - 06-46954444

Lost property office - Via Volturno, 65- 06-46951

ACOTRAL - UNDERGROUND

Information office - Piazza dei Cinquecento - 06-5915551 06-57532323

POSTAL SERVICES

CENTRAL POST OFFICE

Piazza San Silvestro - 06-6771

open 8,30-20 (weekdays) - 8,30-12 (Saturdays)

AEROPORTO DI FUMICINO LEONARDO DA VINCI

Via dell'Aeroporto di Fiumicino - 06-65951

AEROPORTO CIAMPINO - Via dell'Aeroporto di Ciampino - 06-794941 06-79340585

P.S. For trips to and from Leonardo da Vinci airport there is a handy train that runs every thirty minutes from Piazzale Ostiense station to Fiumicino and vice versa.

BY BUS...

Bus services outside the city

AUTOSERVIZI A.CO.TRA.L information office 06-59155514.

TAXI S

La Capitale - 06-4994

Roma Sud - 06-6645

Tevere - 06-4157

Autoradio taxi Roma - 06-3570 06-63898

IL TAXI DEGLI ANIMALI (animal taxis) - 06-5295360 06-0336 784294 (round the clock)

SHORT-TERM CAR RENTALS

AVIS - Piazza Esquilino, 1 - 06-47011 - Via Sardegna, 28a - 06-4701228

EUROPCAR - Via Lombardia, 7 - 06-4823381

HERTZ - Via Veneto, 156 - 06-3216831-5-4 - Stazione Termini - 06-4740389

EURODRIVE - Via Ludovisi, 60 - 06-4880921 06-4744532

CRISS - Via dei Prati Fiscali, 273 - 06-8863281 06-8861920

MAGGIORE - Via Po, 8 - 06-8840137 06-8548698

SHORT-TERM MOTORBIKE RENTALS

SCOOTA-LONG - Via Cavour, 302 - 06-6780206

SCOOTERS FOR RENT - Via della Purificazione, 66 (also rents bicycles) - 06-465485

SAINT PETER MOTO - Via di Porta Castello, 43 - 06-6874909 06-6875714

SHORT-TERM BICYCLE RENTALS

BICINOLEGGIO TELEFONICO- Lungotevere Marzio, 3 - 06-6543394

COLLALTI - Via del Pellegrino, 82 - 06-68801084 open: 8,30-13 & 14,30-20.

I BIKE ROMA - Villa Borghese car park (lower floor) - 06-3225240 - open: 9-13 & 15,30-19.30 (weekdays) - 9-19,30 (holidays).

METRO SPAGNA - at the underground exit.

PARCHEGGIO ACI - Piazza del Popolo.

VIA DEL CORSO - Piazza San Lorenzo in Lucina.

HOW TO BOOK TICKETS

Advance bookings are something that Italians don’t contemplate as part of their style of life. There are however two agencies that will for a modest fee book tickets for you: Gesman and Box Office. As a rule theatres don’t take telephone bookings. You’ll have to leave the apartment you’ve rented for a short-term and that is your Rome base, and go to the box-office yourself where you’ll pay a surcharge of 10% for early booking. Tickets for classical music concerts are often only sold for the evening of the same day thus making it possible to decide whether to go or not at the last minute. The Opera House is an exception, tickets for which are, barring a few kept till two days before, sold months in advance. The box-office at the Opera House sells season tickets for summer and winter and has a computerised system.

Tickets for rock and jazz concerts can be bought from: Orbis, Prontospettacolo and in major record stores such as Rinascita. In Rome ticket touters are rare save for major football matches.

TICKET SALES

Gesman

Via Angelo Emo 65

06-631803

Box Office

Viale Giulio Cesare 88

Tickets for classical music, rock, pop and jazz concerts as well as sports events.

06-372 0215, 06-3720216

Orbis

Piazza dell’Esquilino 37

06-474476

Prontospettacolo

Bookings by phone only.

06-39387297 06-39387440

Rinascita

Via delle Botteghe Oscure 1

06-67974600 06-6797636

OPEN-AIR SHOWS

Opera, cinema, classical music and jazz concerts fill the calendar from end June till end September.

The open-air shows can be splendid, set in amazing scenery and followed by enthusiastic viewers. Some are major events, but there are also minor ones that can be just as good: for example a guitar concert at the cloisters of Santa Maria della Pace or the jazz festival in the gardens at Villa Doria Pamphili.

In summer there are also many open-air film shows, when for a brief period cinema takes over the outdoor arenas, as well as annual film festivals under the stars.

Theatre too goes outdoors in summer. In Ostia Antica ancient Greek and Roman theatre and other theatrical events take place in the Quercia del Tasso amphitheatre.

There are also other minor festivals, but dates and places change from year to year and so one needs to find out what these are locally.

If instead you prefer something less organised, do as the Romans do and join them for their evening walk, the best places are Piazza Navona and Via del Corso.

STUDENT DISCOUNTS

If you have an international student card you can get discounts on public transport, in museums and hotels. For information contact the Centro Turistico Studentesco.

Centro Turistico Studentesco

Via Genova 16.

06-446797.

(Branches: Via Appia Nuova 434 & Corso Vittorio Emanuele 297)