Blog - Life in Italy

Rome is a big city and rich of art and history at every corner, although you can easily walk all the top attractions in the city center of Rome it could be tiring after a while.

Bus Tours are a great way to explore the city in relax with an extensive hop-on hop-off itinerary through the heart of Rome. You can get off at any stop, take a walk of the area and then hop on the next bus at no additional cost for the validity of your ticket (1-2 days).

The buses are open top which allows you to enjoy full 360 degree panoramic views as you travel along your route.

This is a very family friendly service and is also a very good idea to jump start your vacation and get acquainted with the city, attractions, places and distances. Just have a tour, see what Rome has to offer, get off at your favourite place if you can't resist :) or take the whole loop and carefully choose your next top attraction to visit.

There are many different companies (up to 7) that operate very similar core routes around the Rome sights.
Although all tours are loops where you can start at any point, nearly all operators start at Termini Station the main central station of Rome, connected to both metro lines A and B.

Generally you have the choice of a 24 or 48 hours ticket with which to make use of the 12 to 20 stops in the most beautiful, cultural and evocative areas of the Eternal city. The tours operate 365 days per year.

Open Top Buses
All of the buses are open-top and equipped with a personalized throwaway audio system which functions more than 8 languages languages, providing recorded commentary throughout the tour. Ofter there is also an English and Italian speaking host onboard each bus to assist with any queries. You will be provided with a set of earphones which you keep and use for the duration of your ticket.

Itinerary
The itinerary usually goes from Termini Station passing the Colosseum and Roman Forum then Circus Maximus and along the River Tiber, where you can walk over to Trastevere. Then back again to the other end of the Roman Forum and then Piazza Venezia. From Piazza Venezia it stop along the way near the Piazza Navona and Pantheon and then straight to the Vatican crossing the River Tiber.
After the Vatican most buses will route through the Villa Borghese, Via Vittorio Veneto, Piazza Barberini, Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. Then back to Termini. Check out the travel map for the specific bus operator of your choice for the detailed route.

Ticketing and Prices
Prices are between 15€ and 20€ for a 1-day ticket and between 23€ and 25€ for a 2-day ticket
Average time for a complete tour and about 2 hours total time departing about every 15-30 minutes usually between 9am to 6pm (last departure from Termini station)
Most operators offer a discounted fare for children aged 6 to 12 years old.

Major Rome Bus Tour Companies

• Open Tour '110 Open'

• City Sightseeing
  

• Green Line

• Ciao Roma
  
• Roma Christiana
• Archeobus
  

A couple of  them are more 'thematic' than the others and specifically:

- Roma Christiana in addition to the standard route has an extended tour that visits many Basilicas to the south of the city, Baths of Caracalla and is the only bus that visits Trastevere itself, even going up the hill behind Trastevere with great views down on the city.
- ArcheoBus goes through the centre of Rome and then along the famous Park of Via Appia Antica, and the Christian catacombs stopping at many of the major archaeological sites.

Enjoy your tour!

Comment (2)

If you are that curious type which loves peering into antique trade, collectibles, new and used clothing, shoes, vinyl and CDs, there are several places you should definitively go in Rome!

You will find here below the list of the most frequented open-markets in the Rome.

“PORTA PORTESE” MARKET:
Is the biggest and most famous of the markets in Rome.
It is open on Sundays only from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm..
It goes from the homonymous arch of “Porta Portese” (the very end of “Trastevere”) to “Piazza Ippolito Nievo” and to “Via Ettore Rolli”. The market holds over 1000 stands of every kind of goods/ antique furniture / collectibles / stamps and also shoes / clothing / kitchen utensils etc… It is extremely crowded and requires several hours to visit.
Website: http://www.portaportesemarket.it/

“PONTE MILVIO” MARKET
Open every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm in “Piazzale di Ponte Milvio”.
The 3rd Sunday takes place a special market made by handcrafted products.
 For info call +39 335 5804254.

ANTIQUE TRADE IN “PIAZZA VERDI”
Open every 4th Sunday of the month from 9:00 am until dusk. It is held in “Piazza Giuseppe Verdi”.
For info call +39 06 8552723 – 8552773.

THE OLD STAMP MARKET IN “Largo della Fontanella Borghese”
Held on Mondays and Saturdays from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm. You will find here every kind of stamps and books.

“VIA SANNIO” MARKET  
It is open from Mondays to Saturdays from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm (close to “San Giovanni in Lateran”)
Its name comes from the homonymous street hosting it. The market offers new and used clothes and shoes as well as accessories.

“BORGHETTO FLAMINIO”
Open on Sundays (except in August) from 10:00 am to 7:00pm.
It is held in Piazza della Marina 32 (next to “Piazza del Popolo”)
For info call +39 06 5880517.

For more info about markets visit http://www.060608.it

Comment (0)