We have 1 1/2 days before we meet up with our tour group in June. We are staying near Via Firenze and Via Settembre. Having never been to Rome, how difficult is it to walk from here to the Borghese gallery? Google maps put it at 15 minutes. Is that realistic? Is it easy getting around on foot to most areas? How convenient are the off/on tour buses versus city bus? I enjoy walking but if the route is not made for foot traffic I would jump on a bus. Thank you in advance.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23784 posts
Walking is easy in Rome. We walk all the time. Not much different than any other big cities. They have sidewalks and stop lights. Although in Rome stop lights are only an indication of preferred behavior. And watch for the Vespas! There are several areas with pedestrian only zones. City buses are more convenient because they are running on a schedule on fixed routes. The hop on/off are designed to hit the chief tourist attractions. There route is also fixed but the schedule is much loser.
Posted by
Arctophilia, Northamptonshire, England
34899 posts
From the Hotel Aberdeen or the Nardizzi America it is an uphill walk past Barberini and then up the Via Veneto and up into the park then a decent walk through the park - about 2 km, or a bit less if you take shortcuts. Under 30 minutes for most people.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
Also consider a taxi. Rick's book details the options for getting to the Borghese Gallery, and all except a taxi still involve walking a bit through the park (lovely, as long as you have time). Remember you need to get to the Gallery in time to collect your tickets in advance (so they're not sold to someone else), as well as to check bags, use the toilet, get your audioguide, etc. If you're at all running short on time, take a taxi.
In general, you will do a LOT of walking in Rome, and will also most likely take a fair number of buses. The metro, so useful in many other cities, is not nearly as useful in Rome, but you may take a few rides. The HOHO buses are fine for a spin for orientation, but don't work well as transportation. Again, Rick's books have all the details on how to get around - be sure to get one.
Posted by
Long Beach, California, USA
3398 posts
I had always heard that Rome was huge and was very surprised when I got there and saw how relatively compact it is compared to a lot of other European cities. You can walk pretty much anywhere - the only difficulty can be the heat. June shouldn't be too bad yet but keep it in mind and consider cabs as an alternative to walking.