Rome was once the largest, wealthiest, most powerful city in the Western world. It’s no wonder that today Rome is packed with countless historical landmarks, museums and over 900 churches.

While I loved the history and culture of Rome, I will admit that the city takes some getting used to.  Rome is loud, dirty and seems to be bursting at the seams with the mass of people living in and visiting the ancient city.

I needed a lot of downtime to adjust to the hustle and bustle.  We would venture out to see the fascinating historical sights then pull back to decompress in a quiet quieter spot like a small piazza, park or even back at our apartment.  I think I needed the breaks just as much as the kids did on this trip!

If you’re planning to visit the highly popular capital of Italy, I’ve put together a list of 15 things you should know before visiting.

Things To Know Before Visiting Rome:

1. Kids under the age of 10 ride the metro for FREE. If you’re traveling with children, you don’t need to pay for them to use public transportation!  This can add up to a nice savings when traveling with children.

2. Speaking of public transport, you need to purchase tickets prior to boarding.  Purchase from the tabacchi (tobacco shop), select supermarkets or kiosks at the metro and train stations. We purchased tickets at the same time we grabbed an Italian SIM card. You can’t purchase tickets while on the bus or metro.

Since tickets aren’t considered in use until validated, you can purchase tickets in advance, then validate them (in the yellow machines) when you need to use the transportation.  Tickets are valid for 75 minutes, so you can change buses within that time frame.  You can also use the same ticket for the metro and bus.

[Read more…]