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Contemporary Rome
[revised February 2024] “Eternal Rome” means that the jewel box of antiquity also has a very modern soul that will surprise you. Here is a list of areas, museums and venues we recommend, if you are looking for the contemporary aspect of Rome: EUR district was the rationalist project that should have been hosting the […]
Food weirdos
[revised February 2024] Food can be a divisive subject, something so personal and “ancestral” that we immediately notice when somebody has different eating habits from us. So, it was fun to collect some of the aspects that make us, Italians, seem weird to the eyes of people coming from another continent: we usually eat lunch […]
Aperitivo on the roof
[revised February 2024] The skyline of Rome has undoubtedly something special and the joy of the sunset with a drink from the rooftop of a smart terrace should be part of your Roman holiday! Thanks to the suggestions of some friends who are actively “researching” and testing, we have here now a list of cool places for […]
Children in Rome: with us
[revised December 2023] Following our post dedicated to families travelling to Rome, and our tips to enjoy your spare time with your children on own, here is the final section dedicated to what we can do for you: we offer tours and activities especially planned for families. Up to 6 year old. Very young travellers […]
Children in Rome: on own
[revised December 2023] Following our post about how to best arrange a family trip in Rome when young travellers are involved, here we collected several suggestions on how to spend your spare time with kids in Rome, divided by age groups: Up to 6 year old. Casina di Raffaello (indoor): it is a game room […]
Children in Rome
[revised December 2023] Rome offers a lot to families with children: many open-air attractions, the food every child loves, curiosities for any interest or age, and professional guides with a special attitude with kids (yes, that’s us!) At A FRIEND IN ROME we do not offer standard kids tours, but a selection of itineraries and […]
10 fun facts about St. Peter’s basilica
[revised March 2024] When the pandemic started, I understood how serious it was when St. Peter’s basilica shut down (March 2020). It never happened in the history of this church, never! Many visitors go to St. Peter’s from the Vatican Museums in order to skip lines, which is surely smart. But after the visit of […]
How do we create a new tour?
[revised December 2023] Preparing new tours is one of the most exciting moments in our tour guide job! How do we proceed when we decide to introduce a new itinerary in our portfolio? (BTW, current portfolio already includes more than 80 tours/activities, but we love diversity, even when it comes to tours!) first of all, […]
Virtual tours? No, thanks
[editor’s note: this post was written during the pandemic, in April 2020] Sometimes what better defines you, is what you are NOT. For instance: we do not lead big groups, we do not put strangers in the same tour, we do not offer segway tours, we quit the Vatican Museums. And now we do […]
How to start planning a trip to Rome: 5 tips
[revised November 2023] In time of Covid-19 we learnt that sometimes you cannot travel and you just have to wait and dream. But this is not necessarily a lost time. Have you ever heard of the “Grand Tour”? It was a “travel habit” of the bygone days, just reserved to upper classes (and mostly male […]