Rome City Driving Tour: Visit and Experience Must-See Landmarks With The Roman Guy

We had previously discussed the Roman Guy’s food tour, and now it’s time to talk about their Rome City driving tour. Whenever we travel abroad, the first thing we want to do is explore, but there’s a part of me that just gets too exhausted after 6 hours of walking, and not even covering 1/10th of my must-see locations. Thankfully, I didn’t have that issue this time courtesy of a wonderful driving tour.

The entire tour is conducted from an air-conditioned, luxury vehicle, so you won’t be exposed to those punishing summers [or winters] without protection. Not only does this allow you to see Rome without getting your feet tired or your face sunburned, but you cover almost three times as much as you would walking. The tour also manages to combine the ‘usual’ tourist attractions with stops alongside the ‘real’ Rome – smaller historical streets and lesser-known locations that speak to the culture of Rome without being over-run by tourists. In other words, you get the best of both worlds.

The tour had everything on our list, including the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Circus Maximus, the Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona, the Piazza Venezia, the special statue by Michelangelo, the Jewish Ghetto, the Campo de’ Fiori, and the famous Malta Key Hole.

 

The squares were all stunning and picturesque, and pictures don’t do them any justice. Starting with the Spanish Steps, make sure that you’re not easily winded before climbing these – they don’t look like much, but it’s a steep stairway comprised of 135 steps. The Trinita dei Monti church is at the top, but the biggest attraction of the steps are the actual steps themselves. And the view from the top? Beautiful.

The Piazza Navona and the Piazza Venezia are both old city squares built around the turn of the millennium, although Venezia is actually considered one of the hubs of Rome, with many major streets intersecting at the square. Navona, on the other hand, has the large open space of a stadium, and it’s also famous for being home to many famous fountains.

Then, we have yet another square in the form of the Campo de’ Fiori, which is also covered in the Roman Guy’s food tour. This is located just south of the Piazza Navona, and it’s one of the busiest squares in Rome, acting as a street market, a shopping district, a restaurant district, and a meeting hub for youngsters and tourists alike.

Of course, we also discovered the Pantheon!  The best part of visiting the Pantheon was actually getting to walk through the buildings, noting that they haven’t changed in over 2000 years. It’s majestic, devastating, massive, and it is one of the best-preserved buildings in all of Rome [understandably, considering its popularity as a tourist destination].

After the Pantheon, we visited yet another tourist-friendly spot, the Trevi Fountain. The tour notes that you should bring some change for this part of the trip, since legend has it that tossing a coin into the fountain will all but guarantee you a return trip to Rome.

Next is a fan favorite, the Circus Maximus. This should be a particular treat for fans of cinema, since we literally get to re-live the famous Oscar-winning movie Ben-Hur. Not only do we get to explore what is coined the ‘biggest stadium ever built’, but we also witness the astonishing acts of violence and adventure that were beholden to that time.

As we drive by the Mountain of Truth, we also get to see the Jewish Ghetto. Plus, the tour has enough flexibility that they offer you a variety of options [provided we had time, of course], including the Orange Groves, the Magic Key Hole on Aventine Hill, or any particular church you want to visit.

The tour itself lasts about three hours, with stops for meals and snacks [usually at one of the locations]. Our tour guide was Irene, and we couldn’t have gotten luckier with her! Not only was she an actual Roman , she spoke fluent English, Spanish, and Italian, and she was extremely enthusiastic and knowledgeable. She also had a degree in art history, so she was able to include all these interesting tidbits about all the places we visited.

But you know, you don’t have to believe us – the Roman Guy’s driving tour has a stellar 5-star rating on TripAdvisor, and is considered one of the best tours offered in the city. Our entire experience with them was fantastic, not even including the actual tour itself. The booking was easy, the prices were fair, they were all professional and friendly, and they really felt like our long-lost Italian family by the end of the trip.

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Disclaimer: Compensation was not provided for this post, The Roman Guy kindly provide the tour for review purposes.  All opinion are my own.