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GETTING THERE & AWAY
Air
Rome's main international airport is
Leonardo da Vinci Airport (FCO).
It's commonly known as Fiumicino,
the name of the town the airport is
located in, 35 km from the city. The
30-minute nonstop Airport-Termini
express (called the Leonardo
Express) goes directly to the
Termini Station in Rome. There is
also a non-express train leaving the
airport every 20 minutes from 5:30
am until midnight which goes to the
same station. If you decide to take
the bus, it will take you to the air
terminal of via Giolitti in Rome
which is not far from the Termini
Station. Taxis are abundant outside
the airport and may be the best
choice if you travel with huge
luggage, but depends on the traffic,
the trip into town could take as
long as an hour. If you are flying
domestic from other Italian cities
or from other countries in Europe,
you'll most likely land in the Ciampino
Airport (ROM) which is 16 km
southeast of Rome. High Season for
flyers to Rome is the period from
June to the beginning of September.
This is the most expensive and most
crowded time to travel. Low season
runs from November 1 to December 14
and December 25 to March 31. Train
Italy's national rail company is
Trenitalia. The main Trenitalia
stations in Rome are Termini,
Tiburtina, Ostiense, and Trastevere.
Most of the trains arrive and depart
at Rome's Termini station, including
all InterCity, regional and national
trains. A few international trains
also stream into Ostiense and
Tiburtina stations. Train routes
include: the EuroCity Michelangelo
between Rome and Munich, the
E368/369 Express Train between Rome
and Nice, and the EuroNight train
connecting Rome, Basel and Geneva.
Artesia has overnight service
between Rome and Paris. Bus
Rome has several main bus stations
which service buses from other
Italian cities as well as from other
countries in Europe. Long-distance
and suburban COTRAL bus
routes usually stop near Tiburtina
Station or at outlying Metro stops
such as Rebibbia and Ponte Mammolo
(Line B) and Anagnina (Line A). Car
The main access routes from the
north are A1 (Autostrada del
Sole) from Milan and Florence and
the A12-E80 highway from
Genoa. The principal route to or
from points south, including Naples,
is the A2. All highways
connect with the Grande Raccordo
Anulare (GRA), which channels
traffic into the city center.
GETTING
AROUND Rome is a perfect
walking city as most of the
interesting places are located close
to each other, but you may find
tramping to be a trying task after
having wandered inside a couple of
churches and museums, and trying to
dodge the heavy traffic in the city
center. Rome's integrated
transportation system includes buses
and trams (ATAC), Metro and suburban
trains and buses (COTRAL), and some
other suburban trains run by
Trenitalia. Tickets can be purchased
singly or in quantity from ticket
booths, some bus stops, automatic
ticket machines, some coffee bars,
newsstands and tobacconists. Note
that you must date-stamp your ticket
at the yellow stamping machines
before you board the first vehicle
and stamp it again when boarding for
the last time within 75 minutes. Taxis
are plenty in Rome but they might
not be cheap. Use only licensed,
metered white or yellow cabs,
identified by a numbered shield on
the side, an illuminated taxi sign
on the roof, and a plaque next to
the license plate reading servizio
pubblico.
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