Written by: Wyatt R.
So you’ve arrived in Rome: What should you know about the city?
The decision paralysis, a bustling city, millions of small and densely packed businesses, beautiful restaurants, and ruins intricately intermingled. So you may be asking yourself, where do I even start? This guide will be your one-stop shop to get yourself moving when you first touch down in Rome. I studied abroad in Rome in the fall of 2024, and the vibrancy of the city itself was overwhelming, so it is important to know about the essentials!
Where do I shop for food?
Rome has a number of different supermarket chains, most notably Pams, Pewex, Tigre, Todi’s, and Conad are some of the largest supermarkets in the area. Most are affordable, but I’d recommend staying away from Pam’s as they have a limited selection, are by far the most expensive of the five, and they ride the line in between supermarket and convenience store. These are where you can go for affordable and basic staples, although no supermarkets in Rome have the same level of selection as American supermarkets. Aside from your basic supermarkets, the most valuable shopping experiences in Rome will be in the local markets. They have local produce at affordable prices directly from the producers and sell things like fruit, pesto, cheese, and spices. Additionally, if you get homesick and want any American drinks, head to Castroni, as they are a gourmet food store focusing on imports, so they are the only place to get things like root beer and cherry cola.
What should I do in my first few weeks?
Rome is an absurdly large city, and the amount of culture and history that you can see within the city cannot be emphasized enough. So, my foremost recommendation is in your first few weeks, just walk the city. The hours you spend walking the city will allow you to see much more of how the people act, scope out restaurants to try, and get the lay of the land. Rome is a walking city, so getting used to it early and finding what is around you is very important, especially with Apple and Google maps not being entirely reliable.
Hold off on the tourist activities in your free time. They are good to intersperse throughout your semester, and you will do many of them through your orientation. You will get more enjoyment out of them when you don’t try to cram them all together within the first two weekends.
What about dining out?
Cafés are a staple in Roman culture and thus are everywhere. Finding a café you love will be a necessity if you love coffee like I do. With a coffee ranging from 2-4 euros in most non-tourist trap cafés, espresso 1-2 euros, and pastries from 1-3 euros, I recommend you explore your options until you find a café that suits you best.
Dining hours are a little bit different in Rome with cafés being open most of the day and restaurants falling into 3 different meals:
- Lunch is from 12:30pm to 3:30pm at most restaurants.
- Aperitivo is a time for drinks and appetizers and runs from 5pm to 7pm.
- Dinner is later in Rome, often not even opening until 7, with some locals saying you should wait even longer as 7pm is when the restaurant staff eats as well. So, dinner hours often run from 7pm to 11pm.
What do I do for local and domestic travel?
Rome has a well-established metro system that runs rather dependably, with trams running a max of 5-10 minutes behind. They connect to most every area in the city as well as the train stations. Domestic travel is especially easy through Omio, the best way to purchase and monitor all of your journeys. Train travel is affordable as well with some round-trip tickets being only 20 euros for smaller destinations. Be careful when you book for more popular Roman cities. Florence, Venice, and Milan all become more expensive closer to travel time and with tourist events like Milan Fashion Week with prices sometimes reaching over 100 euros.
Don’t miss the smaller Italian cities/towns for the best deals. Local artisans have high quality leatherwork and jewelry for a fraction of Rome prices. I would recommend Orvieto and Assisi for day trips or weekend excursions.
Personal Favorites:
- Cafés: Pupi di Zucchero, Parenti Silvano, Dolce Mascolo
- Restaurants: Ragna D’Oro, Pizza Milionario, Four Green Fields
- Markets: Mercato Trionfale
- Museums: Doria Pamphili Gallery, Vatican Museums, Galleria Borghese