Popular Architecture in Rome

Clear recommendation and real insider tip! The guided tour through Ostia Antica with the archaeologist Maria Rita was a highlight of my trip to Rome. Perfectly prepared and organized by here. One invests half a day and understands so much more about the connections by the example of this phantasticly preserved Roman settlement and receives a living picture of this epoch. Even with children very well suitable, because Maria Rita adapts wonderfully didactically to her guests and includes even child interests. She tells with heart and soul and great knowledge. Ostia is so easy to reach (only 35 minutes from Stazioni Porto San Paolo, not far from Colosseo, with a normal city ticket for 1.50!) There is a very nice café in the mids of the parc with delicious food where you can relax wonderfully. Getting off the train you can already smell the pine trees and the sea air. Ostia Antica is a place of peace. No pushing and shoving. A relaxing little escape from the hectic rome.

Definitely do the option to skip the queue, else you’ll waste the day stuck on the sun for hours. Beware of the tours trying hardest to make you buy additional tickets. You’re not told you can’t take photos of the Sistine chapel until you’re about to enter. After about 2hrs of a crowded line of cattle trying to get there through the museum, it’s disappointing not to be able to take photos! However, saying that, the Sistine chapel itself is actually awe inspiring. But the problem being so crowded, the security staff usher you through very quickly! Not ideal, so be prepared to be treated like cattle.

There is so much to see and so many people it does become overwhelming. The guide was great and informative. I noticed the sound system did not work as well the farther I was from him so I made sure I was close to him so I could hear everything. I heard a little tip that it's better to go on this tour later in the day (2pm etc) because there are not as many people and you still get the full tour. I would recommend doing that because we went earlier in the day and we felt like a herd of cattle plowing through the massive amounts of people.

We were in a group of 24 people with basic interest to advanced knowledge of ancient Roman history. The guide Antonella Palma had the abilty to capture and maintain one's attention for 3,5 hours with superior knowledge and answering to all levels of interest. After the tour one could really put the Roman jig-saw puzzle together in one's imagination in a very understandable way and one really felt that the tour answered to why one participated in the tour.

I know you have directions but when you are visiting a place you don’t realize the distance. We didn’t save time probably because was not summer, the lines were short and my family had to wait for me to pick up the tickets. I appreciate the lady give me some time to go back and reschedule my tickets. What amazed me is that we had our digital tickets but I had to go to the office to get printed out.