Driving in Rome can get pretty hectic and stressful at times. Italians are calm and laid-back at the point A and at the point B, but between point A and point B they are always in the rush, always stressed and are very anxious to get to the point B as fast as they can. Driving in Rome is not easy, parking spaces in Rome are almost impossible to find, plus the City can change the direction of the traffic and regulations without any notice at all, two way streets become one way streets over night. Driving in Rome is a mess, but it's not impossible, and can be very pleasant and romantic. Who wouldn't want to drive by Colosseum at night? You have to keep in mind that most of the cars, here, in Rome have standard or manual transmission, so first thing to do would be checking with a rental company if they have both auto and manual transmission cars, unless you feel comfortable driving a stick. Second: in North America people are used to drive big cars, and even if you think that your car is a small, four door sedan- IT IS HUGE HERE! It is convenient to rent a smaller cars like Smart or Mini or 500 Fiat, these cars are easier to maneuver through the narrow streets of Rome and definitely easier to park. Third: the traffic is limited in the center of the city during certain hours, there are special gates called “Varchi” installed around the historical center. Varco Attivo means that only people with special permits can enter the center, Varco Non Attivo means that anybody can enter and exit freely. It works like that: as you drive through the Varco it snaps a photo of your license plate and few weeks
Driving in Rome can get pretty hectic and stressful at times. Italians are calm and laid-back at the point A and at the point B, but between point A and point B they are always in the rush, always stressed and are very anxious to get to the point B as fast as they can.
