What to do, what to do...
Since you are viewing this page, we are assuming you have followed the tour and are standing just outside of the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. You have various options available to you to wrap up your day in this part of town.
Take a few moments to gather your thoughts; you might sit on the steps of Santa Maria sopra Minerva or go to the Pantheon square while you make your next decision. To go to the Pantheon square, stand with your back to the church, look ahead of you to the right. You will see a round building, which is the back of the Pantheon. There is a short road to the right of the Pantheon which leads you to the square.
Sunset and Photographs
If it is later in the day and you are tired of walking, go back the Pantheon, find a restaurant on the east side of the square and settle in for dinner and your favourite beverage. You won’t see the complete sun set on the horizon from here because of the buildings in the square, but the colours from the sunset will fill the western sky above the buildings. Be sure to sit on the east side if you want to see the colours in the sky. Dinner will be costly, but it will be worth it! It is a kind-of magical experience.
You could choose to return to Piazza Navona. The Navona square really picks-up at night with lots of tourists, entertainers, and vendors, so it’s a fun place to be. Plus, lights illuminate the fountains and you can take some terrific photographs. There are some great restaurants that line the edges of the piazza. Be prepared as these restaurants are also expensive. It is so much fun to sit and watch the action in the square and the service at the restaurants is very good.
You could head back to Trevi Fountain. The fountain is lit at night, which gives a little more drama to the fountain and makes for great photographs. There is a small store across from the Fountain where you can buy wine, water, cheese, cold meat, etc. If you want to pick up a great souvenir, try their Balsamic Glaze. Tell the clerk, who is the owner of the store, that you love his store and want to always remember it and he might give you a small container of mints with the store name on it which he keeps hidden in a drawer under the cash register.
The best sunset photograph on this tour, is from the Pincio Hill as the view overlooks Rome in the right direction. It might take 40 minute’s walk to the Pincio Hill from the Pantheon. If you head up to the Pincio be sure to walk back to the Spanish Steps because the steps and fountain are also lit at night. There are good restaurants in that area too.
Food
If you feel like eating before you do anything else, you are in the right part of town. The neighbourhood is filled with wonderful restaurants and coffee shops. Many of them have tourist or pizza specials which are reasonably priced. The majority of the servers speak English as well as Italian, so it is easy to place your order. The servers are friendly and helpful, and the food is good. Be sure to check out the seafood on their menus.
You will pay more for dinner if you eat in the main squares, but the ambiance, in my opinion, is worth the price. You will be charged for the bowl of bread they bring to you as you sit down. If you don’t want it, don’t let them place it on your table. If you order water, you will also be charged for that. Nothing is free. As you get further from the main squares on the side streets, the cost of food in the restaurants drops.
Transportation
There is not a Metro stop close to the Pantheon and buses don’t run in the area because of the narrow streets. The closest Metro stop is at Piazza Barberini, which is a little north-east of Trevi Fountain. It will take approximately 25 minutes to walk there from the Pantheon.
There is nohelp available to guide you to the Metro lines as they expect everyone to know where they are going and what they are doing; which a lot of us don’t. Look for and follow the Red Metro Line signs to direct you to the entrance. There aren’t very many of these signs, so have a good map with you. Once you find the entrance you will descend a few flights of stairs or escalators.
To buy a Metro ticket, look for a ticket machine opposite to the Metro entrance gates. Selection buttons on the ticket machine allow you to pick your language of choice. Be careful if you buy the 24 hour ticket as is not good for 24 hours from the time of purchase. The 24 hour ticket is only good until midnight of the day of purchase and then it expires. When you get on a train or bus be sure your knapsacks and other valuables are secured and in front of you.
Taxi
If you prefer to take a taxi home, head to the north end of Piazza Navona to find one. There are usually taxis parked in a line on the small street that runs north of the piazza near the Fountain of Neptune.
The first taxi in the line is the taxi to take. It doesn’t matter if you prefer the driver in the third taxi back for whatever reason; you will be sent to the front of the line. Check the price with the driver before you get in.
Aside from seeing everything you saw today, you also walked approximately 3.5 km so you might be a little tired. If so, take a taxi home or to your next destination if it is of any distance. You can sit in the back seat and know that the driver will get you where you want to go and you won’t have to deal with the twisting, turning streets. Once you’re in the taxi, be sure to put on your seatbelt.
Thank You
We hope you shared in our joy and fascination of Renaissance, Mannerist and Baroque Rome.
Thank you for joining us on this tour.
I can be reached at [email protected] and Mary at: [email protected]
Take a few moments to gather your thoughts; you might sit on the steps of Santa Maria sopra Minerva or go to the Pantheon square while you make your next decision. To go to the Pantheon square, stand with your back to the church, look ahead of you to the right. You will see a round building, which is the back of the Pantheon. There is a short road to the right of the Pantheon which leads you to the square.
Sunset and Photographs
If it is later in the day and you are tired of walking, go back the Pantheon, find a restaurant on the east side of the square and settle in for dinner and your favourite beverage. You won’t see the complete sun set on the horizon from here because of the buildings in the square, but the colours from the sunset will fill the western sky above the buildings. Be sure to sit on the east side if you want to see the colours in the sky. Dinner will be costly, but it will be worth it! It is a kind-of magical experience.
You could choose to return to Piazza Navona. The Navona square really picks-up at night with lots of tourists, entertainers, and vendors, so it’s a fun place to be. Plus, lights illuminate the fountains and you can take some terrific photographs. There are some great restaurants that line the edges of the piazza. Be prepared as these restaurants are also expensive. It is so much fun to sit and watch the action in the square and the service at the restaurants is very good.
You could head back to Trevi Fountain. The fountain is lit at night, which gives a little more drama to the fountain and makes for great photographs. There is a small store across from the Fountain where you can buy wine, water, cheese, cold meat, etc. If you want to pick up a great souvenir, try their Balsamic Glaze. Tell the clerk, who is the owner of the store, that you love his store and want to always remember it and he might give you a small container of mints with the store name on it which he keeps hidden in a drawer under the cash register.
The best sunset photograph on this tour, is from the Pincio Hill as the view overlooks Rome in the right direction. It might take 40 minute’s walk to the Pincio Hill from the Pantheon. If you head up to the Pincio be sure to walk back to the Spanish Steps because the steps and fountain are also lit at night. There are good restaurants in that area too.
Food
If you feel like eating before you do anything else, you are in the right part of town. The neighbourhood is filled with wonderful restaurants and coffee shops. Many of them have tourist or pizza specials which are reasonably priced. The majority of the servers speak English as well as Italian, so it is easy to place your order. The servers are friendly and helpful, and the food is good. Be sure to check out the seafood on their menus.
You will pay more for dinner if you eat in the main squares, but the ambiance, in my opinion, is worth the price. You will be charged for the bowl of bread they bring to you as you sit down. If you don’t want it, don’t let them place it on your table. If you order water, you will also be charged for that. Nothing is free. As you get further from the main squares on the side streets, the cost of food in the restaurants drops.
Transportation
There is not a Metro stop close to the Pantheon and buses don’t run in the area because of the narrow streets. The closest Metro stop is at Piazza Barberini, which is a little north-east of Trevi Fountain. It will take approximately 25 minutes to walk there from the Pantheon.
There is nohelp available to guide you to the Metro lines as they expect everyone to know where they are going and what they are doing; which a lot of us don’t. Look for and follow the Red Metro Line signs to direct you to the entrance. There aren’t very many of these signs, so have a good map with you. Once you find the entrance you will descend a few flights of stairs or escalators.
To buy a Metro ticket, look for a ticket machine opposite to the Metro entrance gates. Selection buttons on the ticket machine allow you to pick your language of choice. Be careful if you buy the 24 hour ticket as is not good for 24 hours from the time of purchase. The 24 hour ticket is only good until midnight of the day of purchase and then it expires. When you get on a train or bus be sure your knapsacks and other valuables are secured and in front of you.
Taxi
If you prefer to take a taxi home, head to the north end of Piazza Navona to find one. There are usually taxis parked in a line on the small street that runs north of the piazza near the Fountain of Neptune.
The first taxi in the line is the taxi to take. It doesn’t matter if you prefer the driver in the third taxi back for whatever reason; you will be sent to the front of the line. Check the price with the driver before you get in.
Aside from seeing everything you saw today, you also walked approximately 3.5 km so you might be a little tired. If so, take a taxi home or to your next destination if it is of any distance. You can sit in the back seat and know that the driver will get you where you want to go and you won’t have to deal with the twisting, turning streets. Once you’re in the taxi, be sure to put on your seatbelt.
Thank You
We hope you shared in our joy and fascination of Renaissance, Mannerist and Baroque Rome.
Thank you for joining us on this tour.
I can be reached at [email protected] and Mary at: [email protected]
