To Rent or Not to Rent? When Visiting Rome There’s Really No Question

Guest Post by: Bridget Staroscik O’Reilly

The streets of Rome are an amazing walk into the past. Yet for a city so steeped in the past Rome is one of the most vibrant and alive places on earth.  Each street is a new discovery. On one side you might see a modern apartment complex and on the other ancient ruins.

One of the best things about Rome is its walkablity. True you have the Metro for the longer treks, but the walks are what you will remember when you’re stuck at your desk in six months watching the rain fall outside. There is a freedom in Rome that comes from the fact that you can walk almost everywhere a visitor would want to go. There’s also the fact that a walk can sometimes take you where you never planned to go.

When you’re driving somewhere, especially in a city like Rome, where traffic can be a bit scary, you have to concentrate on the road. Because of this, you tend to go where you planned with little deviation. Even if you happen to see something you’d like to explore further, it gets pushed to another time.

Driving a car, which gives you so much freedom when traveling in the Italian countryside, becomes excess baggage in a city like Rome.  After all finding a parking space takes time. Who knows if you could even find that thing you glimpsed out the window by the time you manage to stop and park. Plus once you’ve parked, you’re tied to where the car is. First you need make sure everything is locked up tight so nothing gets stolen.

Then once you leave the car behind, you still have to worry about it. Woe to the person who wanders too far a field and loses the car entirely. Try explaining that to the rental agent.  I don’t imagine it would be a fun conversation. As any couple who has misplaced their car, rental or otherwise, can tell you; it is always the other person’s fault and there is no scenario in which you aren’t the other person.

Even if you know exactly where you parked, the car could still be gone. It probably won’t get stolen, but I assume, like most large cities, Rome tows cars that are parked illegally. At the very least I’m sure they ticket them. And yes in case you’re wondering, you are responsible for those parking tickets. They don’t disappear because you crumpled them up and threw them away. The rental company has your credit card number and they are not going to pay your parking tickets to be nice.

Trust me; you don’t need that kind of stress. You’re on vacation, so toss the roadmap aside and wander around Rome on foot. Pretty soon you’ll feel like a local. Maybe some guy will even come up to you outside of the train station looking all frazzled and ask you for directions. It happened to me on my second day of walking around Rome, and I have to tell you, it makes a person feel very cosmopolitan. Now isn’t that better than extra parking ticket charges on your credit card bill when you get home?