I am interested in knowing if anyone has taken the River Boat ride down the Tiber River for lunch or dinner. I saw a note that it is near Ponte San Angelo at Ponte Umberto off Via Zandaille in Rome. If you have any information please let me know. Thank you.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
I've seen this question several times, and the answer is always the same. The Tiber is an ugly oversized creek with high concrete walls on both side. The rivers sits about 15-20 feet below street level so there's nothing to really look at.
Posted by
Port Townsend, WA
64 posts
Tim is right--this is not a river to cruise. The concrete/stone walls all along the river are enormous and covered with graffiti, this is all you will see if you're on the water. I walked along the river while I was there. There is a paved walkway along the Trastevere side, with lots of folks riding bikes and strolling. There are some trees, shrubs, etc., it was a pleasant walk, but I wouldn't pay to cruise this river.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
Trust those of us who've been there - You do NOT want to take a dinner cruise down the Tiber for the reasons given above. You'll be stuck with a bunch of other clueless tourists who didn't bother to research this like you're doing right now. Good for you! The Tiber is mostly good for being in the bottom of the pictures that you take from the bridges that cross it. Use Google Earth or flicker.com to look at pictures that others have taken of the Tiber to see how far down it sits from the level of the rest of the city.
Posted by
SF Bay Area, CA
2030 posts
Right, the Tiber is a non-sight in Rome.
Posted by
Portlandia
3313 posts
I'm mystified by this question. Can boats even float on the Tiber in Rome? It looks way too shallow.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
Oh, they exist alright. Here's a picture. At first glance it's hard from this angle to get a sense of just how far below the main street is the river, until you realize that the picture was taken from street level.
Posted by
bergamo
401 posts
A few years ago they did this big thing about having tour boats on the Tiber. I haven't seen or heard anything about it lately. It is definitely not a "dinner cruise" type of river, I don't even know if they do those things here in Italy on any river.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
I agree completely on being doubtful that a boat could even navigate the Tiber. That's why I called it an "oversized creek" in my previous comment.
Posted by
Henson, Florida, USA
466 posts
Don't waste your money on the Tyber River cruise! Like the others have said, it's a big brown creek with high walls!!