Tips

• Italy is a country of the European Union and its currency is the Euro. It is advisable to do the currency exchange in Mexico to save the commissions charged by most money exchange parlors.

• To travel as a tourist there is no need to obtain a Visa in the consulate as long as the visit doesn’t last for more than ninety days, to embark one only needs a valid passport.

• The service hours for lunch at the restaurants are usually from 12:00 to 15:00 and for dinner are 19:30 until 23:00. The city downtown stores, in general, remain open from 10:00

to 20:00.

• The weather of Rome is Mediterranean and warm, this makes any season of the year a good time to get to know the city. The best seasons to visit it are spring and autumn, since the number of tourists is lower and the temperatures is more pleasing. Of these two seasons, during spring rainfall is least likely.

 

 

 

Tops

• Via Veneto is the main tourist center in Rome. Its streets are full of bars, restaurants, high-end shops and hotels. It also offers other attractions like la Fontana del Tritone and of the Api, both developed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

• The scenic view of Rome can be appreciated from different places (Pincian, Janiculum, Quirinal, Dome of St. Peter’s Basilica, etc.), but from the vantage point of the Savello park, located on the Aventine mount (known as the Garden of the Oranges), the Eternal City displays all its splendor with its spectacular domes and bell towers.

• A few steps away from the Garden of the Oranges, it is another of the best kept secrets of Rome. The only hint is a line of onlookers in the middle of la Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, that await their turn to look through the keyhole of the gate of the Palace of the Aventine (embassy of the Priory of Malta). When your turn comes, get close to the gate and sleuth through the key hole of the Knights of Malta, surely you will be surprised by the view.

 

Text: Amura ± Photo: TRAVEL MOOD / BO / ST / ROSETTI