From food to opera – those most Italian specialities – Rome can offer all manner of delights to tempt a traveller’s appetite.
Entertainment options in Rome are dominated by gastronomic pleasures. Even if you are exhausted after a long day’s sightseeing, you will undoubtedly enjoy a leisurely meal at one of the city’s excellent restaurants. If you have more energy, and want to sample some of the more varied pleasures Rome has in store; your choice is wide. The city has an opera house, the Teatro dell’Opera and a reasonable number of smaller theatres, also nightclubs, bars, literary cafes, football matches and many more evening activities waiting to be discovered.
Do as the Romans do
In the evening, the most popular activities locally are eating and the evening passeggiata. This splendid Italian activity consists of a leisurely stroll around the streets, people-watching, greeting acquaintances, pausing for a drink or an ice cream. Rome evenings are heavily oriented towards the outdoors. A long drink outside a bar on one of the pretty medieval streets in the centre is one of the most pleasant experiences Rome has to offer.
Rome’s theatres mostly put on plays in Italian, which may be of limited interest to the tourist. However, there are also occasional musicals, dance shows etc. able to be enjoyed by non-Italian speakers. For many it would be a shame to come to Rome and not see an opera; all year round there are performances of staples like La Traviata in churches in Rome – these are usually advertised by posters and fliers handed out in tourist areas. During the summer there are hundreds of operas, concerts and recitals performed in the open air amidst Rome’s gardens, parks and monuments. And the best, of course, is to be seen at the Teatro dell’Opera, Rome’s prestigious opera house, which also puts on ballets.
Information about events in Rome, apart from those at the major theatres, can be hard to research online. When websites are functional, the information on them is rarely up-to-date or comprehensive. The best way to entertain yourselves in Rome is to wait till you arrive. Then you’ll have a better idea of the city’s geography and the timings of your days; you may also see posters for events which interest you. Visit a tourist information kiosk for details of events aimed at visitors. Buy a copy of Roma c’è magazine, which comes out on Wednesdays and is the best listings guide, from a news-stand. There’s a section at the back in English; but the Italian listings are quite easy to understand. Apart from the biggest operas and ballets at the Teatro dell’Opera, few events sell out in advance – and these are among the few which can be booked online.
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