Ro's Recz

This is my own personal list of my 15 favorite cities in the world to visit. I have ranked them in 10 categories on a scale of 1-10: local cuisine, non-local food, public transportation, safety, scenery/beauty, history, price, cleanliness, tourist friendly, and walkability.

These are my own personal opinions, and I am sure that many people would disagree with the rankings. These are only cities that I have personally visited, so if your city is not on here, that may just mean I have not been yet.

Local Cuisine (how good the cities local cuisine/food was): 9/10

The Italian food in Rome is excellent; if you enjoy eating pasta, pizza, and traditional Italian dishes, Rome is a great place for food. Although there are many touristy Italian restaurants as well, if you do enough research there is plenty of good food.

Non-Local Food (how good food from other places was): 9/10

Surprisingly, the non-local food in Rome was actually very good. There was this one restaurant called Doozo Art Books and Sushi that is both a book store and a restaurant. The Japanese food was excellent, and it was on par with many restaurants in Japan. Since there are so many Asian tourists visiting Rome, there are plenty of non-Italian places to choose from.

Scenery/Beauty (how pretty/cool the sites and nature were to look at): 9/10

Rome is a very aesthetically pleasing city. In addition to its popular tourist sites, it is just a classical looking city. Since Rome has been around for such a long time, walking down the streets is like being transported to a different era. Overall, it is just very cool to think you are walking down the same streets that the Roman Emperors once did.

History Monuments (how the city’s historical monuments are): 10/10

I could have given this a rating higher than 10 if possible, as Rome is probably THE MOST historic city of all time. It has two most famous tourist destinations in the entire world in The Colosseum and the Vatican City. It also has other sites such as The Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, and plenty more. If you are a history buff, Rome should no doubt be the #1 country on your list.

Public Transportation (whether they had trains, subways, buses, etc. and how accessible they were): 7/10

There is a metro system in Rome, and it does go all around the city. It is nothing special, but it is functional. I do not know how safe it would be if you were by yourself at night, but during the daytime it seemed fine.

Safety (how safe I feel the city is): 7/10

Since Rome has so many tourists and tourist locations, it is bound to have plenty of pickpockets and scammers. While I did not have anything stolen when I visited, I was constantly on guard and aware of my surroundings. Similar to London, just watch your belongings closely, especially when in tightly packed areas.

Price (how expensive it was to visit the city, not including airfare (lower score means more expensive, higher score means good value)): 6/10

Rome is not a cheap city, but it can be visited at a reasonable price. Food, transportation, and hotels are all reasonable. Attractions can be expensive if you want a tour, but if you are willing to wait in the long lines, they can be done for cheap. To see Rome’s attractions, you either pay in time or in money.

Cleanliness (how clean the city was in general): 4/10

Considering the city is thousands of years old, I guess it has an excuse to be dirty and unkept. While repairs have been done and the streets are in better condition than they used to be, it is still not a clean city.

Tourist Friendly (how accessible and accommodating the city is for tourists (mainly English speakers)): 8/10

Rome has millions of tourists per year, so the locals definitely know how to cater to tourists. However, many locals do not speak the best English, so there may be a bit of a language barrier. Also, all the pickpockets can make people nervous.

Walkability (how easy it is to walk around the city): 8/10

Rome is a pretty walkable city, and there are a lot of major attractions within somewhat reasonable walking distance of each other. However, the streets are all very old, so walking can be difficult on the knees. There are lots of holes/cracks in the ground that you can trip in if you are not careful.

Conclusion: Rome is my favorite Italian city. I prefer the atmosphere and food to Milan. Also, there is just so much to do and see in Rome compared to some of the smaller Italian cities. I am not a history geek, but it would be really cool to walk past The Colosseum and all of Rome’s history again. I would recommend to stay for between 3-4 days. To avoid high season (but it will be a bit colder), May-September, this US News article recommends visiting between October-April.

Total Score (Combined Score of all the categories): 77/100