Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
87
summer), a comprehensive set of mosaics from the floors of the port town's many
stores, thermal baths, and what is believed to be an old Roman bar, complete with
an advertising fresco on the back wall. These ruins are best visited with a site map,
available at the ticket booth.
After Ostia Antica, continue on the metro to Ostia Lido, the last stop on the
blue line and the closest beach to Rome. From the station you can easily walk to
free beaches or paid establishments that rent chairs and umbrellas.
POMPEII
If you're not planning to visit Southern Italy, consider a day trip to
the ruins of Pompeii. Trains (www.trenitalia.it) run every couple of hours and take
just over 2 hours to get to Scavi di Pompeii. Cost: €44 round trip. See p. 508 for
more information.
The ABCs of Rome
American Express
The main offices in
Rome are at
Piazza di Spagna, 38
(
%
06-
67641). Travel services are open Monday
to Friday 9am to 5pm, Saturday until
12:30pm. Financial and mail services
operate Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.
The tour information office is open
Monday to Saturday 9am to 12:30pm dur-
ing summer.
Area Code
06
in Rome. Numbers begin-
ning with 3 are cellphone numbers.
Business Hours & Siesta
Banks are
open Monday to Friday from 8:30am to
1:30pm and 3 to 4pm; stores generally
open at 9:30 or 10am and many close at
1 or 1:30pm for the afternoon siesta,
reopening between 4 and 4:30pm until
7:30pm. It is difficult to eat lunch before
12:30pm or dinner before 8pm unless you
go to a
tavola calda
self-service style
restaurant or
pizza taglio
(pizza-by-the-
slice venue). Kitchens often stay open
until midnight.
Car & Bike Rental
Major car-rental
kiosks are at both airports and in the Villa
Borghese parking lot, entrance Metro
Spagna, where you can also rent bicycles,
three-wheel peddlers, and 50cc mopeds.
Currency Exchange
Exchange bureaus
are called CAMBIO and are well located
throughout the city. There is generally a
service charge of 1
1
⁄
2
% imposed by both
banks and cambio outlets.
Doctors
The U.S. Embassy (
%
06-46741)
has a list of English-speaking doctors. For
emergencies, go to a
pronto soccorso
emer-
gency room at any hospital. The
Aventino
Medical Group
(Via della Fonte di Fauno,
22;
%
06-5780738; www.aventinomedical
group.com) is a consortium of English-
speaking specialists who cater to the
large expat community in Rome.
Emergencies
For an ambulance, call
%
118
or
113.
Hospitals
If you take a car or taxi, ask
to be driven to the
pronto soccorso
at
Policlinico Gemelli, Policlinico Umberto
I,
or
Bambino Gesù.
The ambulance will
take you to the nearest hospital, which is
not always the best.
Internet Cafes
Internet cafes now dot
the city and many hotels offer free Wi-Fi,
as do some city parks like Villa Borghese.
In general, Internet cafes charge
€
3 a
half-hour,
€
5 an hour. New anti-terrorism
laws require users to provide an ID, which
is photocopied.
Newspapers & Magazines
The
Herald
Tribune, New York Times, USA Today,
and
the major American newsweeklies are all
available at newsstands throughout the
city. Rome does not have an English-
language newspaper, but a twice monthly
magazine
Wanted in Rome
has interesting
English articles on local events.
