10 Tourist Mistakes to Avoid In Rome

Judging by how much content centered around my trip to Rome has been plastered all over my blog - I wrote about Rome's best restaurants and created a photo diary of my trip - you guys might know how much I love the city by now.

I enjoyed my time there so much that I've made a vow to return one day - hopefully sooner rather than later.
However, no matter how much I enjoyed the time I spent in Rome, there's also quite a few lessons I've learnt during the week that I'll have to keep in mind when visiting again.

And as I know that Rome is literally overflowing with tourists, especiall around this time of the year and there will most definitely be a lot of tourists visiting Rome for the first time, I wanted to share 10 tourist mistakes you should definitely avoid making to make your stay more enjoyable!

1. Getting a hotel near Termini station.

It's definitely tempting to book a hotel or hostel in the area around Termini station, but that's a mistake that you'll only make once.
Our hotel was only a few hunderd meters from the station and even though it was located in the "nicer" or more tourist-y part of the neighborhood, you can literally walk fifty meters to the right and end up in the most dogy streets you'll ever see.

For women, these streets are definitely not safe at night - I went out to grab a late night snack with some friends one night and was literally stared up and down and even followed around, which gave me the creeps. There's a lot of pickpockets around the area as well, which means you basically have to watch your every move.

It's better to invest some more money into a hotel that's located on the other side of town - even if it'll cost you more, you'll also feel better when leaving your hotel room.


2. Buying water in stores.

If you don't know this you might not even notice them, but there's soo many fountains that carry drinking water all around the city!

They're often hidden in smaller alleys, which means that you might not always have one right at hand and will have to look for one, but as the water's quality is excellent, it's much better to spend a few minutes looking for one of the drinking fountains rather than buying a bottle of water - those can become very expensive, ranging from one to three Euros for half a litter of water.


3. Visiting during the summer months.

If you, like me, are a student who only has enough time to travel during the summer months, you really have no choice when it comes to chosing the season you want to visit Rome in.

If you can decide when you're visiting freely, however, I advise you not to come during the summer months, meaning June, July and August.
I visited in late June to July and it was unbearably hot, with 25 degrees Celsius when we woke up in the morning, reaching up to 36 degrees at mid-day.
You can imagine that when you're out and about all day, such a climate is rather harsh - no matter how much sunscreen I used, I still got sunburnt almost every day.

It's a wiser choice to visit during spring or fall - due to the city's climate, it will still be quite warm then so the weather is still enjoyable for you without making you feel like you're having your brain cooked.


4. Wearing fancy shoes like sandals or even heels. 

I did Rome in sandals as, due to the heat, my feet were too swollen to fit into my sneakers, and believe me, I'm still dealing with the blisters an entire month later.

Roman streets were just not made for walking in fancy shoes. They're plastered with cobblestones and usually uneven, which means that you might even struggle when wearing comfortable shoes, but you will only get yourself hurting, blistered feet in shoes like sandals, flats or even heels (for the love of god, if you don't wish to break your ankles leave the heels at home.)


5. Grabbing a bite near tourist attractions.

Merely looking at a restaurant's menu near a major tourist attraction should be enough to put you off eating there. The prices rocket sky-high and you'll easily find yourself spending a 20€ note on freaking pasta.
Besides that, the food you'll be served there will hardly be authentic Italian food but often rather poor quality meals prepared in a short time to reel in as many tourists as possible.

It's better to venture into side streets or smaller alleys and look for restaurants there - but be careful, you should still check out their prices before ordering or you might still be trapped into paying 12€ for a bottle of water like I was. (Please punch me.)


6. Visiting the Colloseum on a weekday.

The Colloseum is one of the sights nearly every tourist will want to visit and if you do, too, you should really think about whether or not you'll stop by on a weekday and pay the full price for your ticket.

That is because entry to the Colloseum is free on Sundays, which means that you can save some real money here, especially if you're travelling with a bigger group.
However, you should keep in mind that more people will want to use this to their advantage so you should show up earlier if you want to avoid an isanely long queue.


7. Tipping.

If you've never been to Rome, you might not know that a lot of restaurant already charge for their services, meaning everything ranging from the table's decoration to the waiter's tip.
Because of that, you should always read your bill carefully to not tip a big amount on top of that.

In case the restaurant doesn't automatically charge you for their service, it is of course custom to leave a tip - but not a higher one than 10%.
 You can use quite a lot of money by tipping more because you feel like you have to, even though it isn't even expected from you.


8. Not watching out for your priced possesions.

As I already mentioned earlier, there are a lot of pickpockets out and about in Rome, and not just in the area around Termini.
Every monument or even crowded street, even the undergrounds are usually home to at least one thief, and they are quite cunning - you won't even notice how they grab something out your bag or even slice up the bottom of it with a knife to send your wallet, keys or phone tumbling to the ground.

Because it's so easy to get pickpocketed here, you should always carry your bag or backpack in front of you and keep your hand on it while walking; as well as carrying your phone in your hand or bag rather than the pants' pockets.
 That might sound drastic, but that way you're always keeping an eye on your belongings and make sure they stay yours.


9. Wearing the wrong clothes when you intend to enter a church.

I don't know how far churches' regulations go where you live, but here in Germany it's not required to cover your shoulders or legs in most churches so long as you keep your head uncovered.

I think that's what confuses a lot of tourists and might be why most of them try to enter the Vatican or other Roman churches wearing shorts or tank tops, because that's an absolute no-go. You will be prohibited from entering if you're not wearing appropiate clothing, which would be quite disappointing.

What you can do here is either wear something that covers your shoulders and legs up to your knees to begin with, take some clothing to change into before you enter the church or bring cloths to temporarily cover said areas.


10. Not taking enough time to marvel.

With so much to see, it's quite easy to get caught up in running around the city and doing sightseeing, but you shouldn't get too caught up in all of that because you might miss out on the wondeful atmosphere all around you.

Take some time to sit down, maybe in a cafe or even on the kerbstone and just take everything in. Watch people going about their everyday lives. Wonder how you could end up in heaven on earth. Be glad that you're able to experience all of this. Feel alive.



Now, have you made some similar tourist mistakes to mine? Please let me know about them, I'd love to hear your stories!

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