Rome, the eternal city, is often seen as an expensive destination for travelers. However, in this video, you’ll discover that it’s possible to experience the best of Rome on a budget. From free sights to visit, cheap ways to get around, and where to find authentic Italian cuisine without breaking the bank, this travel guide has got you covered.
The video takes you on a whirlwind tour of Rome, showing you all the essential landmarks while also revealing hidden gems that are off the beaten path. You’ll learn how to avoid the crowds and long lines at popular tourist sites and discover the best spots for a picnic or to simply sit and marvel at the city’s timeless beauty.
The hosts, Juliana and Martin, share their personal experiences and insider tips for making the most of your visit to Rome without overspending. From the Trevi Fountain to the Coliseum to the Pantheon, they cover all the must-see spots while also seeking out underrated gems that are often overlooked by tourists.
Throughout the video, they emphasize the importance of sticking to a budget while still having fun and indulging in the local culture. Whether you’re a first-time visitor to Rome or a seasoned traveler, this video provides valuable insights and practical advice for anyone looking to explore Rome without breaking the bank.
So if you’re planning a trip to Rome and want to make the most of your budget, this video is a must-watch. It’s a comprehensive and entertaining guide that proves that affordable travel to Rome is not only possible but also incredibly rewarding. With the right tips and tricks, you can experience the magic of Rome without emptying your wallet.
Watch the video by Tourist to Local
In the Eternal City of Rome, where ancient buildings meet modern-day spectacle, it’s easy to get lost in a sea of tourists, each one chasing the same snapshots, the same spoon-fed experiences. This city, a glorious mix of history, art, and culture, has become, for better or worse,
The epitome of a tourist trap. But what if we told you there’s another Rome, one where you don’t walk away feeling as if you were both financially and emotionally drained? Now, Rome may not have been built in one day, but we’re going to see it in one. Today, we’re challenging
Ourselves to see the Eternal City in one day with under 50 euros per person. We’ll navigate the mandatory tourist sites but also veer off the beaten path to places where Rome reveals itself only to those who look beyond the facade. Along the way, we’ll indulge in authentic Roman
Cuisine that doesn’t break the bank and cover shortcuts that bypass the long lines and find serene spots amidst the chaos to pause and soak in the city’s timeless beauty. Welcome.to Rome. Well Martin, we’ve been traveling around for a few weeks, and our budget is running low. That’s
Right. Also, when we arrived in Rome, we started comparing the prices between Rome and Sicily, and oh my God, I’m a little bit shell-shocked. So today’s plan is to stick within a budget, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to be having any fun. So we started off our morning bright and
Early, which we would recommend you do the same so you can beat the crowds and also, if it’s summer, you can beat the heat. So we started off our morning at the most important place to see
First on our trip, the Trevi Fountain. We thought we were really doing something when we woke up at 5:30 a.m. to come over here, but the truth is, there’s a lot of people to be 6:30am. Yes, I mean,
Check this out, guys. It’s I mean, not as packed as it could be during high hours, but definitely not to ourselves. It’s so funny to be to see people with big dresses or like fancy shirts
Only to take a picture over here. Probably they woke up at 4 in the morning, but it’s all right, and probably we’re maybe on the budget, but we’re still going to throw a coin over there so we can
Return one day to the Eternal City. Yes, here we go. Yeah, first Euro of the day in the fountain. There we were, tossing coins into the Trevi Fountain, making bets with the universe about coming back to Rome. You’ve got to love a city where throwing money into water is considered a
Sound investment for future travel plans. €2 well spent, I guess. Let’s get this touristy stuff out of the way, though, because next up, the Coliseum. Picture this: a sea of tourists, each performing an elaborate dance of duck faces and selfie sticks, and whatever it takes to get
The shot. It’s too bad they don’t know the spot, but we’re going to show you guys. It’s actually in the back of the Coliseum, so there’s less people, and if you’re trying to find it on the map,
There’s a restaurant called La Biga. It’s right in front of there. There’s this nice little place you could sit, get some great unobstructed views of the Coliseum, some great photos, and at this time of day, the light is gorgeous. Pictures check. Follow us on Instagram to see how they turned
Out. But in the meantime, there’s a few other things to see around here. This is the Arch of Constantine. They made this arch to celebrate a big victory in a battle, like the one that is in Paris. This one also here also commemorates a big battle, and these beautiful buildings sometimes
They get overshadowed by the big Coliseum, you know. And talking about the Coliseum, if you want to visit and get inside, you have to get your tickets online. They don’t sell it over here, and watch out for the scammers. There’s a couple of people dressing up as gladiators that they want
To take a picture with you, and then they want to charge you big money, so be aware of that. We try to save money, so the last thing we want to do is just being scammed. Take a look at this guy
In the back with the scooter. He’s actually onto something because we’ve learned that there’s tons of these lime scooters around the whole city. If you’re able to use your phone while you’re here, it’s totally worth it to rent one of these lime scooters to get around. And pro tip:
Don’t just do it by minute because it gets very, very expensive. They actually have day passes. You can do a 60-minute pass, 90-minute pass, and you can spread it out throughout the day how many minutes you use, and that’s a super great way to save money. But you know what’s even better,
You know what’s even cheaper than a scooter? Walking. So bring some walking shoes like Martin and I because yeah, we’re trying to stick to our budget, so every dollar counts. Whenever you’re going to eat or going to drink coffee or drink something else, make sure you’re at
Least two blocks away from the famous buildings. Why? Because otherwise, they’re going to charge you a lot, and probably the food or drinks they not going to be as good. So right now, we check there’s nothing around us, so we’re going to have coffee over here. I see there’s locals
Here. It’s fast, it’s nice, it’s our place. All right, let’s break down the anatomy of a genuine Italian coffee shop. Dark wood like this is a good sign, and even better if you see people in
And out in a matter of minutes. If a menu isn’t present, you know you found a good spot. Oh, and if there are chairs, it’s probably a tourist trap. True Italians take their coffee standing up. If you order a cafe, a coffee over here,
They’re going to give you this, which I love. Perfect temperature, just drink it and go. And I feel slightly at home here because this place is a Sicilian-style cafe. Locals are coming in and out super fast. The faster, the better here in Italy. I thought I was queen of
Fast food in the US. No, they know how to do fast coffee here. Anyway, also got a cannoli to hit the road. Looks delicious. The thing about pastry shops, coffee shops in Rome, and throughout Italy is it doesn’t need to be anything fancy. See these people lining up down the block? You know,
To have some sort of fancy pastry? No, you can get something just as good, cheap here at uh, Cafe di Noto. €8 so far, well, 10 if we count the two that we put into the fountain, so 10€ so far.
The reason why everybody comes over here and the reason why you should come over here if you come to Rome is because this is the best-preserved building of ancient Rome. It’s beautiful. La Cupula, how do you say that, Jules, Dome, the dome is magnificent, and it’s a beautiful,
Beautiful building. We bought the tickets online that we avoid big lines, and it’s only €5 each, so right now we spend €20 for all our day so far. The Pantheon has a legacy as immense as its dome. Built in 126 AD, this ancient temple turned church is a testament to Rome’s architectural ingenuity
And is the final resting place of legacies such as the renowned artist Raphael and two Italian kings. And what they don’t tell you when you purchase those admission tickets is that you’re also snagging front-row seats to the greatest show not listed on the ticket: people-watching. It’s like
A crash course in human behavior, only way more entertaining. And sure, we’re part of the circus too, making this video for you, but don’t worry, we draw the line at scrawling out on the ground. Somebody needed to say it. Now that we’ve crossed most of the crowded spot off our list today, what
Do you say we head to a spot that has much less crowds? This is the Monument of Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of Italy as a unified country. This is a very nice monument. You
Can see right now it’s under construction, but you can still climb it, and best of all, it’s free to watch. Some Romans, they call it the typewriter because if you see it all, it looks like one.
Wow, the view up here is totally worth all those steps. In our next spot, we’re going to escape the crowds a bit, which I’m excited about. Just me, Martin, you guys, the camera. We’re going to go
Have a little picnic. Our goal is to find some sort of really good deli with meats, cheeses, or some sort of takeaway option, have ourselves a picnic in this beautiful place we found, so we’ll
Meet you guys over there. One thing I love about this city is that you’ll be walking around on your way from sight to sight, and you’ll get distracted by other buildings that are so, so beautiful, and also tons of fountains everywhere, which, by the way, if they look like this,
You can drink out of them. You can bring your water bottle with you, fill it up for free. I’ve also seen people sticking their heads under the the faucet to drink, but no, no, no, we’re going
To do it like the Romans do. I’m going to show you a little trick that I’m not seeing many people know about. Amongst all the alleyways of Rome is this place, the Spanish Steps. Here, art, history, and cosmopolitan energy converge into what is quite literally steeped in centuries of story.
Now, they are free to enter. There’s tons of tourists here. There’s something to be mindful of: to make sure that you don’t lose a ton of money while you’re here. Not many people realize you will be fined for eating, drinking, and sitting on the steps. We’re going to probably see a few
People getting fined right now because a lot of people don’t realize this. You might be walking with a drink in your hand, sipping it, and a police officer will come and fine you a big fine,
So avoid that at all costs. Put away your drinks, walk the Spanish Steps, and let’s do it for free without having to spend a dime or a euro, in this case. The Spanish Steps, a grand staircase
Of 135 steps, has a history that stretches back to the 18th century. Funded by a French diplomat, they were built to link the Bourbon Spanish Embassy to the Trinità dei Monti church above, symbolizing a peaceful connection between France and Spain. While here, we realized there were a
Few other unofficial rules no one told us about: no sleeping, no fast food, no apple cores. Yeah, no, no astronauts. Yeah, no diving boards, no hairspray. Oh yeah, I, I encourage that. Don’t spit while you’re talking. Don’t divide men and women; treat them equally. But back to the main
Task right now, having a picnic. We are walking away from the crowds, and just our luck, we see a shop selling meat and cheese with no English menu in sight. This is our spot, Il Salumaio
We found this sandwich place, and, they’re going to make it right now for us. So Jules ordered one that it’s Italiano, that’s mozzarella, tomato, and, and basil, and for me, I ordered Norma, that it has also tomato eggplant, ricot, and basil. Sounds good. We’re going to take it to
Go. €4 in a place that is totally unpretentious, and the menu is in Italian, like it should be. Across the street, we saw this other deli where they have tiny bottles of wine, a perfect addition to our picnic, and €9 for a bottle of wine, small one, and they open it for
Us. €43 so far, right? €43 so far, well spent. In a city as crowded and as big as Rome, sometimes it’s difficult to avoid the crowds. That’s why Villa Borghese, it’s like a sanctuary, like an oasis, you know, in the middle of the
City. It’s a nice park, huge, that allows you to be away from all the people, relax, and enjoy the nature, and if you have enough wine, maybe you’re going to forget that you’re in a crowded city. Geese hanging out, couples making out, kids having gelato,
This park is just such a vibe. What do you say we dig into our sandwiches? I cannot wait. Cheers. We’re in freaking in Rome. Well, that sandwich was a million times better than we expected it would be. Seriously delicious, and we’re probably going to go back tomorrow, off-camera. But what
Do you say we go back to exploring some more free spots to see in Rome? Let’s go. Well, another free spot for us to see. Yes, this is La Piazza del Popalo. It’s very, very famous and unique. It has two fountains on each side, and then the big obelisk that
Is from Egypt. So so cool. And you told me there’s some reason that we’re here, some sort of movie reference? If you’ve seen the movie uh, Angels and Demons with Tom Hanks, you will know this piazza. That is so you, Martin, referencing that movie. Meanwhile,
Off-screen, I have been referencing the Lizzie McGuire Movie nonstop. She made me watch it. As late afternoon approaches, we decide to take a visit to the other side of the river Tiber, to Trastevere. And it certainly feels different from the Rome we saw this morning. I mean, this is
All that you’re looking for when you’re coming to Rome, right? It’s all that all of us are searching for: little alleyways, cobblestone, ivy growing so, so high, restaurants setting up with little twinkle lights. And at this time of day, it’s perfect to just walk around and see what there
Is. I like this neighborhood a lot more than some of the other areas we were today. It’s super cute, so let’s see what else we can find. And you can’t do Rome without having some gelato, right? But that’s one expense we’d gladly splurge on. To make sure we got the real deal,
Fatamorgana. Incredible gelato is served here. We got two for €6, which brings us, I believe if I’m correct, to a grand total of €49. Your, that is correct. Okay, and here’s what you need to look for when you’re looking for gelato. Okay, number one rule: when they serve pistachio, it doesn’t
Matter if you’re going to order pistachio or not, if it is a vibrant, bright green, unnatural color, it is not a good place. The pistachio color should be almost like an earthy, brownish-green, like a natural color pistachio, and their vanilla should also have a slight yellow color to it. This place
Has come highly recommended, and what I loved is that they actually had some very unique flavors, and they’re all very, very small batches, so the stuff here is very fresh. I went for lemon curd,
Plus I went way off of what I normally do. It’s basil, walnut, I want to say ricotta, I can’t remember what the third ingredient was, but let me tell you, I had a little lick of lemon curd,
By by far my favorite ice cream or gelato I’ve ever tried. It is a true lemon curd flavor. It’s not like just lemon; it is lemon curd. It’s got that creaminess. I ordered tuna. If you
Don’t know, tuna, it’s what grows in the cactus, not the fish, not the, not the fish tuna. And I also ordered papaya. Was delicious, delicious. Over here, it feels a little bit more like local life in this neighborhood. You can see a lot of kids playing in the park using their Roma shirts.
I love it. It’s like the real life of Rome. As we were finishing our gelato, two local kids, fresh out of school, came up to us shyly, asking if we were YouTubers. It’s a weird thing, this YouTube gig. You’re in this bubble, always chasing more views, more subscribers. With our
75,000 subscribers, we often feel like just a drop in the bucket. But when these kids looked us up and saw our subscriber count, their eyes lit up in a way that made us pause. “Can I follow, yeah,
Follow you, Tourist to local. oh oh my God, oh my God.” Currently having our Lizzie McGuire moment. We’re going to become famous in Rome, take over the city. These boys from the city, they came up and said hello. They’re so, so sweet. What are your names? “Me, Julio. him, Arturo.” Juliana
And Martin.” Very nice to meet you. To them, we weren’t just small fish; we were, I guess, kind of a big deal. It was a real heartwarming moment to know that some kids in Italy think we’re celebrities or something. I don’t know, it was just nice. The next place we’re going to show
Pays tribute to one of our personal heroes, that’s Anthony Bourdain. Tony loved negronis and used to love to come over here to this place in Rome to drink his negronis. So, let’s figure it out this
Place. This isn’t just any bar. It’s where I got one of the best negronis I’ve ever had. Yeah, I said it. This one is for you, Tony. But what really confused me was the buffet spread that magically appears with your beverage. It’s like they know you’re spending all your euros
On ancient ruins and need a break. Here, your drink buys you more than just a buzz; it buys your dinner. But even though the food here is included, we skip it because we have dinner plans at La Famiglia tonight. This restaurant was right by our hotel. We came here night one,
Off-camera, and returned for a total of five times during this trip. The carbonara here is life-changing, and we’ll probably regret telling you about this place when we come back in the future and see a line. And the grand total here, for a water, a wine,
Two plates of spaghetti, and a couple of new friends from Canada, a little more than €28. “Yep, yep. I used to do tap dance.” “Me too.” “My daughter, did it for 15 years” “Me too” That carbonara was life-changing, and that cacio e pepe, my God. Now, funny enough,
You guys wouldn’t know this, but we actually were planning to talk to you a lot more during that dinner, but we ended up meeting just the coolest couple, this nice couple from Canada, and we were just talking all night long. Seriously, okay, so grand total, Martin,
What are we at?” “Okay, the grand total for both of us is €87.56, so divide that by two, €43.78. I’d say that’s pretty, pretty good for two tourists in Rome who just are trying to have a good time and not be too cheap. For an entire day, I think that’s awesome.” “And
I guess this concludes our journeys around Italy, right?” “That’s right. I’m very sad, but I’m very happy with all the experiences that I have over here. Seriously, every person we’ve met, happened to found this channel after meeting us, thank you so much for just being a part of our
Journey and making this trip so magical. And if you haven’t seen the series that we did in Sicily, I would strongly recommend you to check that out. Seriously, because if you are thinking of going to Rome, I would highly encourage you to maybe, maybe just pop over to Sicily
Because I loved it. All right, we left this video over here for you guys to watch next. So long, travel well, make the world your neighborhood. See you guys next time. Bye.
Video “Travel ROME on a BUDGET – Tips + Things to do in Rome 2024” was uploaded on 02/18/2024. Watch all the latest Videos by Tourist to Local on Gretopia