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Things You Need To Know Before Travelling To Rome

If this is your first time travelling to the Eternal City, you're in for a lovely surprise because Rome is a delightful, freewheeling, historic and exhilarating place in which to stay.

If you haven't done so already, be sure to check out our Rome airport transfers.

The people

Italy as a whole is a country in which passions often ride high. Typically, this manifests itself in the nature of its residents. Rome is a fascinating city, not least because it is positioned roughly halfway between Milan and its cool, sophisticated citizens and Sicily, whose natives are known for their warm, direct personalities.

All of this means that the Roman psyche is quite hard to pin down. On the one hand, the locals can be friendly and welcoming; on the other, they can be brusque and stand-offish. One thing's for sure, if you make the effort to learn a bit of conversational Italian, you'll find that most Romans will instantly take a shine to you.

The wrong kind of people

The sort of characters that you will most certainly want to avoid – or at least, discourage – are Rome's petty criminals. Incidents of pickpocketing and bag snatching tend to be a little higher than is average for a European city. That doesn't mean that you'll need to be in a permanent state of anxiety, however. As long as you remain mindful of the possibility of such crimes, you'll be fine; just ensure sure that wallets, purses, smartphones and the like are kept safe as you explore the city.

The crowds

It's the summer months that see Rome at its most crowded. This is because the majority of the city's tourists tend to descend on it at this time. Rome is just about big enough to absorb the influx, however. If you'd rather avoid wading through hordes of holidaymakers and queuing for attractions, you might like to consider travelling at a slightly earlier or later time of year.

The weather

It can get very warm in Rome during the summer, with average peak temperatures of 31°. At the very least, the weather tends to be really quite mild, even during the winter months – although the city is apt to experience quite a bit of rainfall from October to April.

Thanks to Holiday Extras' airport transfers, getting to your place of stay from the airport is always a breeze.