Exiting customs, you find yourself in a typical reception hall of an international airport. With official information points and matting points, which are useful if someone is picking you up. There are also toilets, which may be the most important thing on your mind.

Keep an eye out for signs telling you where to go, especially if you are renting a car. If you have contacted a travel agent or tour guide in advance, you can be picked up by private car for around 50 euros. 

The most important thing is not to go with just anyone that approaches you – these are illegal taxis and absurdly expensive. 

Right outside of arrivals, there is a taxi stand. By law, a Roman taxi can charge a base fee of 40 euros from Fiumicino airport to the city centre – any additional fees are listed on the placard in the back of the cab, and on our website. The taxi must be a white car with a ‘taxi’ sign on top and ‘Comune di Roma’ written on both sides. If it says “Comune di Fiumicino” on the side, the base fee will be 60 euros. 

The most economical way –and the quickest – into the city is the train. Just follow the signs and the mechanized walkways to the station, where there will be a map of the city’s train system – including all the stops on the airport routes. There is also a snack bar, newsstand and ATM machine at the station along with ticket machines.

You must buy a ticket before getting on the train and validate it before you get on at the machines next to the track. The express train to Termini station costs 11 euros and the local making stops throughout Rome, including Ostiense, costs 5.50.

This is Ostiense train station. It is connected to the rest of the city by Metro, bus and by taxi. A taxi from here should cost much less than from the airport. 

When you are going back to the airport, make sure to check the departure board at the station you are leaving from to confirm times and track numbers of the train to Fiumicino.

Enjoy your journey.

Rome’s Orto Botanico (botanical garden) is pleasantly tucked away behind Palazzo Riario Corsini in Rome’s ancient Trastevere quarter, just steps from the historical centre. One of the city’s most stunning – and best-kept secrets, the ‘Orto Botanico’ is a hidden treasure in the heart of a breathtaking city and one of the most important botanical gardens in all of Italy. It is a delightful place to relax and get enjoy a bit of nature right within the heart of Rome.

The 18^th century Palazzo Corsini looms over the gardens like in a fairy tale . Tåhe palazzo is not only home to the famous Accademia dei Lincei – the scientific academy whose prestigious members once included Galileo – but to the Galleria Corsini, a small but delightful museum that hosts works by masters such as Caravaggio and Rubens. 

Stretching upwards the gardens reach their summit on the Gianicolo hill, offering unforgettable views of Rome’s stunning cityscape and distant Alban hills – a cool, green and enchanting refuge from the tourist-filled streets below. 

A 5-euro entrance fee includes the self-guided tour in Italian or English, and  even offers a special itinerary for the blind. The Orto Botanico is located at Largo Cristina di Svezia, Trasevere and is open Tuesday through Saturday, but closed in the month of August. 

The Galleria Corsini is located around the corner at on Via della Lungara and is open from Tuesday through Sunday from 8.30 to 7:30. Admission there is 4 euros.

Here was the centre of ancient Rome, standing at the centre of today’s Rome. This is the Roman forum, and around it formed all of western civilization. There is one unified ticket for all three sites, costing 11.50 euro, or 12.50 if purchased on the internet and it is valid for two days. For the serious archaeology fans there are other ticket options, which you can read about on our website, romealive.com.

All three sites are open from 8:30am till one hour before sunset and the ticket office closes two hours before sunset.

All are closed on January 1, December 25. 

Enjoy your journey!

Rome’s lively and bohemian Trastevere quarter is also one of its oldest neighborhoods – with well over two thousand years’ history, it has seen its share of changes, but is also home to enduring traditions. With its earliest roots as an Etruscan settlement, Trastevere became home to a lively and multi-cultural community during the Roman Imperial Age. In the middle ages, it took on its present-day look as a tangled maze of narrow streets. Home to a poor but proud working-class population until the late-twentieth century, Trastevere today is a heady mix of artists, old Romans, the nouveau riche and of course, tourists.  

The neighborhood is striking for its numerous churches, some dating to early Christian times. Lively religious processions throughout the year involve the devout – and visitors – of all ages in their uniquely Italian celebration of the divine.

The Feast of Saint Anthony of Padua in June includes a solemn procession accompanied by a marching band and festivities lasting all weekend; many other processions take place throughout the year as well – they can literally pop up from around corners and inside churches, and wind through the Trastevere’s warren of vicoli with a peculiar mix of devotion and revelry. It is a powerful example of how the spirit of this ancient community remains unbroken by time and Trastevere’s transformation from proletarian to trendy. 

Green spaces make cities livable. giving people a place to exercise and relax. In a city like Rome, the green spaces aren’t just useful, but they are also beautiful.

The Villa Doria Pamphili, on the Gianicolo - the tallest of Rome's seven hills - is the largest public landscaped park in Rome. With an area of 1.8 square kilometers, the villa is one of the best sites for bird-watching and jogging. The park was designed to hold the Panphili sculpture collection, most of which today is in the Capitoline Museum, leaving the gardens with its sense of grandeur. The park was bought from the Doria Pamphili family 1965 by the City of Rome and has become one of the premier parks of the city. With plenty of sunny meadows and shady groves of umbrella pines, it is the perfect place for a picnic, a jog, a dog run or just relaxing. Just inside the park, there is an excellent cafe - the Vivi Bistro - good place to grab a picnic lunch or to lounge with a glass of wine. In the summer months, the Bistro is also open dinner and offers homemade gelato. 

A short distance away, overlooking Trastevere, the Villa Sciarra perches right at the top of the Gianicolo hill. Smaller than the Villa Doria Pamphili, this is more of a family park, enclosed in medieval walls and with a playground for young children. The villa Sciarra also hosts an excellent collection of classical sculptures and fountains. If you look around, you might find Apollo and Daphne, a faun chasing a nymph and many other hidden treasures. Its one of those great secret spots that makes Rome a city of unending discovery.