The beautiful city of Rome, Italy may be enormous but thankfully the main sites are concentrated in the historic center and getting from place to place can be as simple as walking.

Public Transport

The bus and metro system are run by Agenzia dei Transporti Autoferrotranviari del Comune di Roma or ATAC (but their website is only in Italian). The same tickets are used on the extensive bus and the subway (metro) system. Tickets are purchased from vending machines in stations, ticket offices in stations or from kiosks or tabacchi which display a sign with a large T. From the time you validate your ticket in the machine on the bus or in the metro station the ticket is valid for 75 minutes and you are allowed to change lines or form of transport in that time. The main train station is Stazione Termini. Children under 10 travel free on all Rome public transport except on trains where under 4s ride free. Tickets are 50% from 10 to 12 year olds.

BIT (€1.5) is a single ride ticket valid for 100 minutes.

BGI (€7) is a full day ticket (not a 24 hour ticket) valid until midnight on the same day. It gives you unlimited use of buses and the metro system.

BTI (€18) is a ticket valid for unlimited use on buses and the metro system for 3 days from the date of validation and first use.

CIS (€24) is a weeklong unlimited travel ticket.

Bus - You can identify bus stops by the yellow sign. Enter the bus from the front or back door and exit through the middle door. Remember to validate your ticket onboard by clicking it in one of the machines and note that the front seats of the bus are reserved for the elderly and handicapped. The Rome bus routes change often and many of the maps in circulation are no longer valid so make sure you have a current map.

Metro – There are three metro lines in Rome – the Red Line A (Battistini to Anagnina stopping at the Vatican, Spanish Steps, Barberini and San Giovanni among other stops), the Blue Line B (from Rebibbia to Laurentina stopping at St. Pauls, Piramide, Circus Maximus, Coliseum and the Tiburtina train station) and the Green Line C which runs between the Pantano terminus, in Montecompatri, and the Prati neighbourhood, near Piazzale Clodio.

Trains from the airport – The Leonardo Express runs directly to and from the airport (Fiumicino) to Termini in 35 minutes (€14). The train runs every half hour leaving the airport 6:37am to 11:37pm and on the return trip from the Termini 5:52am to 10:52pm.

Trams – There are 6 tram lines in the city, mostly going passed famous sites. They use the same ticket system as the buses and metro.

Taxis

Hailing a taxi on the streets of Rome can be difficult, rather get your hotel/restaurant to order a taxi for you or go to a taxi rank. Taxis charge a base price of €2.33 (7am-10pm; €4.91 (10pm – 7am) for the first 3km and €0.92 for each additional km. Suitcases are an additional €1.04 each and there are extra charges if the taxi drives fast or if the journey is outside of the city. A taxi from the airport would cost about €40. Local taxis include Cosmos (06 8 81 77); Pronto Taxi (06 66 45) and La Capitale 06 49 94). When ordering a taxi by phone you can be charged from the time the driver receives the call.

Cars

Avoid driving into Rome, and if you have to then return your rental car asap to avoid the erratic Roman drivers, narrow twisting streets and confusing road plan. Note that parking in the historic center requires a permit which can be obtained from your hotel.

Bike

Bicycles can be a convenient way to avoid the traffic and there are quite a few bike lanes in the center. You can rent a bike from Bici&Baci at Via del Viminale 5; Collalti at Via del Pellegrino or Bikeaway on Via Monte del Gallo to name but a few. Prices range between €3 and €11 an hour or €10 for the whole day.