If towards the end of the day you wish to escape the heat and
hustle and bustle of the city we found a couple of attractions
which we enjoyed. Villa Borghese, a huge green area with
woods and a lake, criss crossed by roads. Lovely cool shady areas. Cafes and a bar. Boats can be hired on the lake and
also a childrens play area where you can hire family pedal cycles
We also loved the walk to Janiculum Hill. Spectacular
views of the City. Plenty of cool shady walks. Both very relaxing and cool after a hot day's sightseeing.

From the moment I arrived at the airport almost everyone I met whose job was in tourism was rude and arrogant and difficult. The sleaziness was appalling, the place needs a good clean and though it is supposedly heavily regulated the rip off by the cabbie (charging me 63 euro for a 30 euro trip) was done in such a threatening way even though I tried to argue I could not stop it. The people at the Albert, a small english pub run by an italian man and his scottish wife, were the only gems in what was otherwise an anwful, expensive and dreadfully dissapointing holiday. The price for english is more expensive for everything and if you happened to be asian then god help you; they are even ruder to them than to the english speaking people. Even at the train station the people in front of me were charged 20 euro for a ticket on the same train, same journey as I was charged 11 euro for. Their crime, they were asian. At the Vatican they line you up like cattle, no explanation of where you are heading and then charge 5 euro to walk up some stairs or 7 euro to hop in a lift for three floors. I am not opposed to paying for the upkeep of worthy places but in this instance the fact that I had no opportunity to refuse was what was annoying, I am about to join my family for a three week holiday and our plan had been to return to Rome to show the children the birthplace of civilisation, we will not do this now as though that might have been where it all began they have not progressed very far at all.

Roberto Contursi of Gioia Tours was our guide this past fall to Rome. What a wonderful guide he was! We had been to Rome in our younger days doing sightseeing on our own but occasionally joining up with a large tour group. Believe me that is truly not an optimal way to spend your time especially if you have only a few days in Rome.

We can not say enough good things about our time in Rome with Roberto as our personal guide - and it felt very personal as if we were family. English seems to be second nature to Roberto which we did not appreciate until we spent the next 12 days in big tour groups outside of Rome. Roberto not only knew the history but because he was fluent in English, he was able to transmit all of that to us without holding back because of a language defiency.

Besides knowing the English language and the facts, Roberto knows Rome and how to best get around Rome and when to arrive at the various sites. In addition he is a licensed tour guide. These 2 things meant we could see more attractions in our limited time in Rome. Additionally, it meant we got to the front of the line at attractions which had lines - and they could be long and time consuming (wasting). Roberto also had friends in the restaurant business, so we were able to get first class service and authentic, delicious Italian food for much more reasonable prices than we had to pay when we were on our own for comparable meals.

In summary, Roberto was extremely personable - treated us like family. He was knowledgeable and could portray that knowledge so that it was a story that fascinated us. He enabled us to see more, do more and learn more than we could have done on our own or even with tour groups. If one could quantify what Roberto provided us like grocery stores now give the price per ounce, I can tell you that Roberto has all other products beat without question. When next in Rome, we will definitely plan ahead to make sure Roberto is available to be our guide.

We spent 1 1/2 day on a private tour with Federica and my husband and I throughly enjoyed every minute of the experience. Federica is a native Roman and very experienced and knowledgable guide. We took a Vatican tour, ancient rome tour and angels and demon tour with her. She was very caring and friendly and worth every penny. She was funny with a good sense of humor and could show you the insiders Rome as well. I would definitely choose her again as our guide should we one day travel again to Rome. Her webiste is touristinrome.com you will not be disappointed.