AIRLINES Alitalia,
Via Bissolati 11
(information tel 06.65.643;
24hr domestic flight
information tel 06.65.641;
international flights tel
06.65.642); British Airways,
Via Bissolati 54 (tel
06.485.480; Fiumicino
airport tel 06.6501.1513);
TWA, Via Barberini 67 (tel
06.47.211; Fiumicino airport
tel 06.6595.4921). Note that
most other airlines are
either in or very close by
Via Bissolati and Via
Barberini.
AIRPORT ENQUIRIES
Fiumicino tel
06.6595.3640/06.6595.4455;
Ciampino tel 06.794.941.
AMERICAN EXPRESS
Travel office and exchange
facilities at Piazza di
Spagna 38 (Mon-Fri
9am-5.30pm, Sat 9am-12.30;
longer hours in the summer;
tel 06.67.641).
AUTO CLUB D'ITALIA
(ACI) tel 06.49.981; 24hr
recorded information tel
06.44.77. Italy's automobile
club has an English-speaking
staff that can help you with
driving or repair
information at little or no
cost. If you belong to an
autoclub in your home
country you may be entitled
to free services. Call their
free recorded number for
weather and road closure
information.
BIKE AND SCOOTER
RENTAL Collalti, Via del
Pellegrino 82 (tel
06.6880.1084; closed Mon)
does bike rental and
repairs; Rent-a-Scooter
Motoservices, Via F. Turati
50 (tel 06.446.9222) is the
best deal for scooters and
offers a 10 percent discount
to Rough Guide readers;
Romarent, Vicolo dei Bovari
7a (tel 06.689.6555) and
Roma Solutions, Corso
Vittorio Emanuele II 204 (tel
06.446.9222/06.687.6922)
rent both scooters and
bikes.
CAR RENTAL All the
usual suspects have desks at
Fiumicino, and well-posted
signs lead you to a number
of rental booths in the
parcheggio multipiano at
Termini. In the city centre
itself, there are, among
others, Avis, Via Sardegna
38a (tel 06.4282.4728),
Hertz, Via Veneto 156 (tel
06.321.6831), and Maggiore,
Via Po 8 (tel 06.854.8698).
CAR REPAIR Call
116 for emergency breakdown
service. Otherwise, consult
the ACI or the Yellow Pages
under Autoriparazioni for
specialized repair shops.
CLUB ALPINO ITALIANO
Corso Vittorio Emanuele 305
(tel 06.683.2684).
DENTIST The
Ospedale di Odontoiatria G.
Eastman, Viale Regina Elena
287b, has a 24-hour
emergency service (tel
06.8448.3232). If you're an
EU citizen be sure to take
your E111 form, which
entitles you to buy a
"ticket" for a
consultation - currently
L26,400.
DISABLED TRAVELLERS
Although changes are in the
works, Rome can be quite a
challenge for those with
disabilities. Contact the
Consorzio Cooperative
Integrate-COIN, Via Enrico
Giglioli 54a (tel
06.2326.7504, toll free in
Italy tel 800.271.027), who
have English-speaking 24hr
information on their phone
line, and produce a guide,
Roma Accessible, which
contains information on
accessibility to major
sites, museums, hotels and
restaurants. Also, their Web
sites - www.coin@inroma.roma.it
and www.andi.casaccia.enea.it/hometur.htm
- have additional
information.
ELECTRICITY 220
volts. If coming from the US
buy an adaptor before you
come as they are more
expensive once you get here.
EMBASSIES
Australia, Corso Trieste 25c
(tel 06.852.721 or for
emergencies toll free at tel
800.877.790); Britain, Via
XX Settembre 80a (tel
06.482.5441); Canada, Via
Zara 30 (tel 06.445.981);
Ireland, Piazza Campitelli 3
(tel 06.697.9121); New
Zealand, Via Zara 28 (tel
06.441.7171); USA, Via
Veneto 119 (tel 06.46.741).
EMERGENCIES tel
113. Both the Police and the
Carabinieri have offices in
Termini. Otherwise the most
central police office is off
Via del Corso in Piazza del
Collegio Romano 3 (tel
06.46.861), and there's a
Carabinieri office in Piazza
Venezia to the right of Via
del Corso.
EXCHANGE American
Express; Thomas Cook, Piazza
Barberini 21a (Mon-Sat
9am-8pm, Sun 9.30am-5pm),
and Via della Conciliazione
23 (Mon-Sat 9am-8pm, Sun
9.30am-5pm). Post offices
will exchange American
Express traveller's cheques
and cash commission free.
The last resort should be
any of the many Ufficio
Cambio, almost always
offering the worst rates
(despite "no
commission" signs).
HOSPITAL In case
of emergency tel 113 or tel
118. Otherwise the most
central hospitals are the
Policlinico Umberto I, Viale
del Policlinico 155 (tel
06.49.971), and the Santo
Spirito, Lungotevere in
Sassia 1 (tel 06.68.351),
near the Vatican. The Rome
American Hospital, Via E.
Longoni 81 (tel 06.22.551)
is a private multi-speciality
hospital with bilingual
staff.
INTERNET Museo del
Corso, at Via del Corso 320
(Tues-Fri 10am-8pm, Sat
10am-10pm, Sun 10am-8pm,
closed Mon; tel
06.678.6209); Netgate,
Piazza Firenze 25 (Mon-Sat
10.30am-10.30pm; tel
06.689.3445); Internet
Point, Via Gaeta 25, Mon-Sun
9am-12am; tel 06.4782.3862).
All offer Internet access
for around L10,000 an hour.
LAUNDRY Onda Blu,
at Via Principe Amedeo 70b
and Via Lamarmora 12 (both
daily 8am-10pm); Wash and
Dry, Via Della Pelliccia 35
and Via Della Chiesa Nuova
15/16 (both daily 8am-10pm).
All offer a wash including
soap and tumble-drying for
about L15,000 for a 6kg
(15lb) load.
LIBRARIES The
British Council, Via delle
Quattro Fontane 20 (Mon-Tues
& Thu-Fri 10am-1pm, Wed
2-5pm; closed Aug &
Christmas; tel 06.478.141),
has a lending library, for
which yearly membership
costs L100,000. Non-members
are, however, allowed to use
it for reference purposes
for free. There's also a
library at the American
church of Santa Susanna, Via
XX Settembre 14 (tel
06.482.7510), which also has
a good noticeboard for
finding work, accommodation
and so on, and at the
American Studies Center, Via
M. Caetani 32 (tel
06.6880.1613), though this
last is for reference only.
LOST PROPERTY For
property lost on a train
call 06.4730.6682 (daily
7am-11pm); on a bus tel
06.581.6040 (Mon and Fri
8.30am-1pm, Tues-Thurs
2.30-6pm); on the metro tel
06.487.4309.
MODEM If you want
to use your laptop's modem,
bring a plug adapter and
check with your Internet
service provider to be sure
you can access your account
from Italy.
NEWSPAPERS English
newspapers are available the
same day of publication
later in the afternoon at
newsstands in Termini,
Piazza Colonna and Via
Veneto. The International
Herald Tribune, available at
most newsstands, is printed
in Italy and includes an
Italian news supplement.
PHARMACIES Piram,
Via Nazionale 228 (tel
06.488.0754) and Farmicia
della Stazione, Piazza dei
Cinquecento (tel
06.488.0019) are both open
24hr, year-round.
POST OFFICES
Rome's main post office is
at Piazza San Silvestro
18/20 (Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat
9am-2pm; closes midday last
Sat of each month). Other
post offices are usually
open Mon-Sat 8.30am-1.30pm.
The Vatican Post Office,
located on each side of St
Peter's Square and in the
Vatican Museums (Mon-Fri
8.30-7pm, Sat 8.30-6), is
run by the Swiss postal
service and is more
reliable, faster and a bit
more expensive than the
often unreliable Italian
post.
RADIO Radio Centro
Suono (101.3 FM), plays more
interesting music than most
of the local radio stations;
for regular rock, try Radio
Rock (106.6). Radio Citta'
Futura (97.7) plays a
variety of alternative
sounds, and at 10.30am daily
has information on what's on
in Rome.
TELEPHONES All
phones take phone cards
available at most tabacchi,
bars, and newsstands for
denominations of L5000,
L10,000 and L15,000. Very
few Italian phones take
coins, but those that do can
be found around Termini.
TIME Rome is one
hour ahead of GMT, six hours
ahead of Eastern Standard
Time, and nine hours ahead
of Pacific Standard Time in
North America.
TRAIN ENQUIRIES
For general enquires about
schedules and prices, tel
1478.88.088 (daily 7am-9pm).
TRAVEL AGENTS For
discount tickets try the CTS
offices at Via Genova 16 (tel
06.462.0431) and Corso
Vittorio Emanuele II 297 (tel
06.687.2672), both open on
Saturday mornings, when all
the other travel agents are
closed. Other good places to
try are Viaggiare, Via San
Nicola da Tolentino 15 (tel
06.421.171), who have some
English-speaking staff, and
Elsy Viaggi, Via di Torre
Argentina 80 (tel
06.689.6460).
