Good to know....
Self- guided tours
[Revised February 2025] Why should we – tour guides – advertise a self-guided tour? Because with the high season our availability is limited and sometimes we cannot accommodate everyone in our calendar. So this is an alternative! We can provide a virtual guide to be downloaded on your tablet or smartphones. It provides virtual reconstructions […]
“I feel like dancing”
[Revised February 2025] If you are not too tired after all the sightseeing during the day, you might hit the dance floor during your stay in Rome! So here is a little list of clubs and we wait for your discoveries and suggestions: Caffé Latino: in the lively Testaccio district Nur: near Piazza Venezia, a […]
Eat like a local
[Revised January 2025] Many of you ask about “non touristy restaurants”. Let’s be honest, Rome is a touristy city and most of the restaurants in the centre now cater for tourists more than locals. They can be good, anyway, even if you will be surrounded by many languages different from Italian. We tried to provide […]
14 fun facts about Italian food (and drinks!)
[Revised January 2025] A little collection of “Foodies’ pills” which can be interesting to know preparing a trip to Italy: Italian cuisine, differently from the French one that was created in the kitchens of the most famous chefs, was born in the homes of the middle class in the XIX century. This domestic gastronomy had […]
25 ideas for your “Ancient Rome” tour
[revised January 2025] Most of our visitors in Rome have in their “must see list” what is generally called “ancient Rome“. They usually mean the archeological area in the very centre of Rome, represented by the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine Hill. But in Rome we have “ancient roman stuff” everywhere! With this article we want […]
How hot is Rome in the summer?
[This article has been written in September 2023] Summer 2023 is almost at its end and I decided to recollect some thoughts about the “heat waves”: last July I received some calls and mails from the other side of the ocean (friends, former or future guests, journalists) asking how was I coping with the heat? […]
No “must sees” tickets? Try these alternatives.
[revised January 2025] “Everybody goes to the same handful of sites. If you just go to those sites, you’re going to have a trip that is shaped by crowds. Or you can break free from that and realise that you can study the options and choose sites that are best for you. You can go […]
Vatican tours? We quit.
When I began as a tour guide – 15 years ago – I wouldn’t say the Vatican Museums were ever empty, they were definitely busy, yet bearable and occasionally even pleasant. There are unique masterpieces in the collections, and I’m not just talking about the Sistine chapel: we also have Raphael, Botticelli, Perugino, Caravaggio, all […]
How can you trust A Friend in Rome?
[Revised January 2025] Let’s admit it: the problem with tourist services is that you rarely need them more than once, or surely not very often. Booking a tour is not like buying milk everyday and making your choice based on your daily experience. You have to make an investment without really seeing nor testing what […]
What is an Underground Rome tour?
[revised January 2025] When we offer a tour of “underground Rome” it can mean many different locations, as Rome has always something “below the surface”. It is surely one of the most fascinating aspects of our city. Nevertheless, not all the underground sites are appropriate for such a tour: some have very difficult (or expensive) […]