Rome Transport

Rome's two subway lines, A and B, are inadequate and inconveniently located. Expansion is always in the air, but screeches to a halt every time the digging unearths another major artifact. Nevertheless, the Metropolitan (marked by a large M at the entrances) connects many of Rome's main tourist sights and runs from 5:30 A.M. to 11:30 P.M. (line B stops at 9:00 P.M.). Tickets can be purchased in major subway stations from machines, which require the exact change in coins, or from tobacconist shops, newsstands, and bars.

Rome's public bus system is extensive and relatively cheap. Various types of tickets as well as a routes map are available at the ATAC information booth in the parking area in front of Stationed Termini, the main train station. (Telephone information is available by dialing 46951.) Tick ets are good for unlimited use on any bus line for a 90 minute period. There are also daily, weekly, and monthly passes that permit unlimited travel on any bus line (but not the metro). In addition, passes allow the passenger to enter from the front of the bus, which is convenient during rush hours. Otherwise, buses are boarded from the rear and exited from the middle doors. (Passes for the metro are available at the ticket office next to the metro entrance on the lower level of Stazione Termini.)

Once you board the bus, place your ticket in the validating machine, which will stamp it with the time, date, and bus number. Failure to display a correctly stamped ticket or a pass to the controllers, who can board buses at any time and any place, could result in a hefty 50,000lire fine payable in any currency.

The same rules apply to the more limited tram service. A ride on tram 30 is an excellent way to get to know the city. The tram passes most of the major monuments and takes about an hour. If you have a 90minute ticket, you can get on and off as many times as you want, so long as you stamp in your last ride before the time limit is up.

Each bus or tram stop, called s fermata, has a yellow sign that lists all the stops on the route and shows you where you are provided you can read the small type. Most buses run from 5:00 A.M. until midnight, although some stop at 9:00; the hours are indicated at the bottom of each route listing. Popular routes have a night service listed under the servizio nocturne column. Night routes often differ from day routes, so check carefully. Night buses have conductors who sell tickets.

Whatever means of public transport you use, do not underestimate pickpockets. They are extremely enterprising with their hands, razor blades, and other means of getting into your pocket or purse. Make photocopies of your documents for easy replacement and leave the originals and any other valuables you don't really need in your hotel safe. Violence is rare in Rome, but petty crime is not, so keep your money in a money belt or neck pouch and don't carry a bag or a conspicuous camera case. If your bag is snatched by a passing motorcyclist, do not hold on to it or you may incur more injury than the bag is worth. Report the loss to the police and the embassy, as very often the bag, minus the money, turns up in a post box or somebody's back yard.

Rome's hills, heavy traffic, and cobblestones make the city less than ideal for bicycles, but in some cases a bike can be. the best way to explore the city. Bicycles can be rented for 3,000 lire an hour, 10,000 lire a half day, or 15,000 lire a day at piazza San Lorenzo in Lucina off via del Corso, at piazza Sonnino in Trastevere, and at St. Peter Moto at 43 via Porta Castello near the Vatican (Tel: 6875714). Other locations are just outside the metro at piazza di Spagna and in the Borghese Gardens. A ninemile bike path traces the Tiber, on the Trastevere Vatican City side, beginning north of Ponte Cavour.

We were well accommodated with three handsome bed rooms, a dining room, larder, stable and kitchen, wrote Montaigne's secretary of their lodgings in Rome. It's possible to get an idea of the value of the 20 crowns a month they paid in the 16th century when Monsieur Ie secretaries goes on to estimate that the beds in their rooms must have cost between four and five hundred crowns apiece. In that light, the room was a real bargain, especially when you consider that nowadays, the price in dollars of a room in one of Rome's top hotels is closer to what the beds cost and without the larder, stable, or kitchen.

The Eternal City, in case you haven't heard, is no longer the dolce vita dreamland of cheap lodgings and gargantuan meals for a song. You have to hunt around and choose carefully now, but it is still possible to find reasonably priced accommodations, especially if you are willing to compromise on location or forego the stable and larder and some of the other conveniences of home.

The hotels in the following list are arranged according to neighborhoods. The Centro Storico (Old Rome) area offers proximity to the major monuments; the Villa Borghese area skirts the park; piazza di Spagna is close to Rome's elegant shopping district; via Veneto has the highest concentration of luxury hotels and an active nightlife; and the area near Stazione Termini, the central train station, is convenient for those who need to come and go in a hurry.
Adrian vultur writes for holiday illness claim