The best way I know to describe my first visit to Rome is to compare it to being dropped into the middle of New York City—only you are surrounded by thousands of years of history.
Rome is big, busy, noisy, beautiful, and sometimes a little overwhelming. Around almost every corner there seems to be another ancient building, fountain, church, or ruin. It is the kind of place where you can turn down a street simply because it looks interesting and find yourself standing in front of something hundreds of years old.
And that was exactly what made my first trip so exciting—and a little intimidating.
I have returned to Rome since that first visit, and those later trips have given me a much better understanding of how to get around and what I would do differently.
So this post is not meant to be a complete Rome travel guide. Instead, I want to share what I learned as a first-time visitor and the things I wish I had known before I arrived.
Getting to Rome
If you are flying into Rome, you will most likely arrive at Fiumicino Airport, also known as Leonardo da Vinci International Airport.
On my first trip, I remember being a little overwhelmed when we arrived. Finding our luggage and then figuring out exactly where we needed to go for transportation into Rome was not as simple as I expected.
Today, there are plenty of signs and transportation options to help you get into the city, but I still recommend doing some research before you arrive. When you have just gotten off a long international flight, the last thing you want to do is stand in an unfamiliar airport trying to figure everything out from scratch.
One of the places you will probably become familiar with is Roma Termini, Rome's main railway station and one of the city's major transportation hubs.
This is where you will find trains, buses, taxis, and connections to other parts of Rome and Italy.
My biggest piece of advice for a first trip to Rome: know where you are going before you arrive. I learned this the hard way.
When we got off the bus at Termini, we were turned around and had a difficult time figuring out which direction we needed to walk. We were tired, unfamiliar with the area, and trying to find our hotel.
Fortunately, I had done something before the trip that turned out to be incredibly helpful.
Before our trip, I used Google Earth and Google Maps to look at the area around our hotel. I looked at the streets we would need to walk and even used Street View to see what the hotel and surrounding area looked like.
That preparation paid off.
Even though we were confused when we first walked out of Termini, I recognized the streets from my research and knew which direction we needed to go.
That experience taught me something I still do when traveling:
Research your arrival before you leave home.
Today, I would take it a step further than I did on that first trip. Download your maps for offline use, save your hotel address and important destinations to your phone, and take a screenshot of directions in case you have trouble with your internet connection.
You do not want your first experience in a new city to be standing on a sidewalk with your luggage, trying to figure out which way to go.
One thing I worried about before traveling through Europe was the language barrier.
I had read plenty of travel information saying that English was widely understood in tourist areas. While you will certainly encounter people who speak English, I learned that you should not assume everyone will.
That was especially true for us in some of the smaller places we visited.
Our hotel owners on this first trip did not speak much English. My broken Spanish and their limited English somehow managed to get us through our conversations just fine.
And honestly, that became part of the fun.
A smile, a little patience, pointing at a map, and a willingness to laugh at yourself can go a long way when traveling.
I have also learned on subsequent trips that translation apps can make things much easier, so I would definitely have one available on your phone.
Rome Can Feel Overwhelming
Rome is amazing, but it can also feel overwhelming—especially when it is your first time.
There are crowds, traffic, tour groups, unfamiliar streets, people trying to sell things, and so much to see that it can be difficult to know where to look.
We were trying to find the Vatican on our first trip and ended up on a dead-end street where a strange man tried to grope my daughter.
That was certainly not the experience we were hoping for.
It is one reason I think it is important to pay attention to your surroundings when traveling, especially in a large city. Keep your belongings secure, stay aware of the people around you, and if a street or situation does not feel right, turn around.
That does not mean you should be afraid of Rome. I have been back since that first trip, and I would absolutely return again.
It simply means that you should use the same common sense you would use in any large, busy city.
After a long day of walking around Rome, we were hungry as we headed back toward our hotel.
We stopped at Tavola Calda Ristorante, where I had what I remember as the best pizza ever.
Whether it was actually the best pizza I have ever eaten or whether it was simply the perfect pizza at the perfect moment, I cannot say.
But I do know that I loved it.
And then came my first taste of gelato.
We went next door to the gelateria, and I quickly understood why everyone talks about Italian gelato.
That first pizza and gelato experience became one of those little travel memories that has stayed with me long after the trip ended.
What I Would Tell a First-Time Visitor to Rome
After returning to Rome since that first trip, I would give a first-time visitor a few simple pieces of advice:
Do your research before you leave home. Know how you are getting from the airport to your hotel and how you will get from your arrival point to your accommodations.
Save your hotel information. Keep the name, address, and phone number somewhere you can easily find it.
Download maps for offline use. Do not depend completely on having a cell signal or Wi-Fi.
Wear comfortable shoes. You will probably walk much more than you expect.
Give yourself extra time. Rome is not a city I would try to rush through. There is too much to see.
Pay attention to your surroundings. Rome is a wonderful city, but it is still a large, busy city.
Do not be afraid of getting a little lost. Some of my favorite travel memories have come from simply walking and seeing what I found.
Final Thoughts
My first trip taught me a lot about traveling in Europe. My later trips taught me how much easier it becomes once you understand how a city works.
If you are getting ready for your first trip to Rome, I hope some of the lessons I learned the hard way help make your first experience a little easier—and a lot more enjoyable.
Rome is chaotic, ancient, beautiful, crowded, fascinating, and completely different from what I was used to. I am a small-town girl from Arkansas, so stepping into a city like Rome was a little overwhelming at first. I had never experienced anything quite like it. There were people everywhere, cars going in every direction, narrow streets I was not sure I should even be walking down, and history around every corner.
But that is also what made Rome so exciting. One minute I could be trying to figure out where I was going, and the next I would look up and realize I was standing beside something I had only seen in pictures.
I have been back to Rome since that first trip, and I understand the city much better now. But there is something special about that first visit—the excitement, the confusion, and the feeling of What in the world have I gotten myself into?
So if you are a first-time visitor to Rome, especially if you come from a small town like I do, I want to share some of the things I learned along the way. test
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