BIG NEWS! Before we get started on our favorite tours, things to do and places to explore, we’re excited to share our newest project with you: in February 2016, we teamed up with the awesome people over at VoiceMap to create our own storytellers tour! What Emperor Hadrian Lost: A Walk Through Ancient Rome is a 50-minute walking tour of our favorite ancient Roman spots, hosted by none other than Antinous, our favorite tour ghost from the times when Rome ruled the known world. All you have to do is download the tour (price is US $3.99) and get yourself to the starting destination (Castel Sant’Angelo). Then put your headphones on and your phone away, and let Antinous take you through his favorite haunts, from the Pantheon to Piazza Navona and lots of other cool destinations. Your phone will use your GPS to locate where you are, and Antinous will tell you where to go while regaling you with tales of his city. You’ll also make stops for the best coffee and gelato, of course. You can find the tour here, and preview the first three tracks before purchasing to see if you like the sound of it! If you listen, download, or just go over and check out the intro and preview the tracks – we made this for you, so please let us know what you think! You can always reach us at whichwaytorome@gmail.com or flaviinrome@gmail.com.
Now, on with our regularly scheduled programming!
Our favorite tours in Rome (and beyond), as well as some of our favorite spots!
Over at YiR, 2018 is the Year of Organization (YOO)—that is, taking content and making it more easily accessible for you guys to use! If you’ve been following us for a bit, then you know that when we come across a great tour, we love to share it, so that first-time visitors to Roma (or fifteenth-time visitors, Romans, or expats!) don’t risk being disappointed by a tour that’s… super touristy. Flav, who runs the blog, keeps this page updated with posts of her favorite spots as well as the reviews of close contributing writers that can give their own unique perspectives on the tours they’ve embarked on. Rest assured that these reviews come from our own experiences—we are never, and would never, get paid to say anything nice. If these guys are on our list, it’s because we went on their tours/interacted with them directly and thought they represented our favorite city really well.
Here’s our list so far, with links to the articles we’ve written about them or direct links to their websites, where you can check out tours other than the ones we’ve been on ourselves.
Keep this page tabbed for updates! The last time we updated this page was in August 2017, when we added the TripHappy neighborhood guide.
Tip: Bookmark Flavia’s Like A Local page to stay up to date with reviews on her favorite places in Rome, from food to drinks to shopping! And for more tips, don’t miss her articles on the 5 things you didn’t know you’d miss about Rome, the top 10 best free things to do in Rome, how to do it like the Romans do, 5 pitfalls to avoid in Rome and what to do instead, and her top 5 day trip adventures from Rome!
New Find! Looking for a super guide to Rome? Our friends at TripHappy have created a guide to Rome with a setup we’re loving: all you have to do is click a neighborhood, and the guide gives you a summary of what the area is known for, what you can’t miss seeing, and even where you can’t miss eating! You can even book a place to stay directly through their site.
Spots and other fun: If you’re looking for some great spots to have a gin cocktail in Rome, then don’t miss this article by YiR contributor Amelia Stewart, and for some great lunch spots, check out CityXplora’s article!
Tours:
The Roman Guy: This is a great tour company that specializes in trips all over Italy—Flavia’s favorite is the early-entrance Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museums, and St. Peter’s Basilica tour, which you can find all the details of in her article. You can also check out her review of the Colosseum Dungeons tour (another favorite). For a review of one of TRG’s amazing Venice tours, check out Evy’s trip of a lifetime here!
Walks of Italy: Flavia adored her tour through Ancient Rome with Walks of Italy—check out her review here with all the details. We’ve also taste-tested these guys by attending one of their pasta-making classes, which you can check out the details of directly on the company’s website here.
Through Eternity: This tour company offers traditional as well as ‘off the beaten’ track tours in Rome and beyond. Flavia took their Scandals off the Beaten Track tour as her very last tour of 2015, and deemed it one of her very favorites. Read her Through Eternity review here!
WithLocals: These guys aren’t just your regular tour company: they help you tap straight into the local culture. Check out Flavia’s WithLocals review here!
LivItaly Tours: We took their running tour of Rome and absolutely had to add it to our list of favorites – this is a great, healthy way to get a first taste of the city. The tour will take you through the major spots in the historical center and also through some of the beautiful hidden streets that make Rome the magical city it is. The tour is about an hour long, and if you’re looking to run off yesterday’s carbonara and see Rome in a new light, this is a great option during the fair-weather months! If running isn’t your thing or you’re visiting during colder/rainier winter months, check out LivItaly’s other tour options here.
Context Travel: Lauren is still talking about her walking tour last year with Context Travel, which covered the history of the Grand Tour and the English Romantic Poets influenced by the Eternal City. Read her full review here!
City Wonders: One of Lauren’s favorite tours took place in Florence and was led by this charming tour company—check out her article here! Another great tour of theirs that we’ve been on is their Dark Heart of Rome tour.
Have you been on any amazing tours or your own adventures in Rome, or in Italy? Let us know! As always, shoot us an email over at younginrome@gmail.com!
