|
City transport
|
|
|
Like most Italian cities, even the larger ones, the best way to get around Rome is to
walk
- you'll see more and will better appreciate the city. The city wasn't built for motor traffic, and it shows in the traffic jams, the pollution, and the bad tempers of its drivers. That said, its
bus service
, run by ATAC, is, on the whole, a good one - cheap, reliable and as quick as the clogged streets allow. Remember to board through the rear doors and punch your ticket as you enter.
To sidestep the traffic, Rome also has a metro , which runs from 5.30am to 11.30pm, though it's not as useful as you might think, since its two lines are more directed at ferrying commuters out to the suburbs than transporting tourists around the city centre. Nonetheless, there are a few useful city-centre stations: Termini is the hub of both lines, and there are stations at the Colosseum, Piazza Barberini and the Spanish Steps.
When the buses and the metro stop around midnight, a network of
nightbuses
clicks into service, accessing most parts of the city through to about 5am; they normally have conductors so you can buy a ticket on board (but keep spare tickets handy just in case); they are easily identified by the owl symbol above the "bus notturno" schedule. During the day there are also a few
tram
routes in operation, one of which - the #8, connecting Viale Trastevere with Largo Argentina - is brand new and very quick. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
|
Italy,
|