“All these are free.'' It's like that in Rome, where prices for everything are high, even before you get sticker shock from exchanging dollars (or dirhams, for that matter) to euros.
Here's how a budget traveller can try to make do:

STANDING ROOM ONLY

At a café or a pasticceria, stand at the counter instead of sitting at a table.

The prices are higher if you sit down and let a waiter or waitress serve you. Besides, you might be inclined to tip.

Elbow-to-elbow with locals at the counter, you'll find the food is just as good and it's easier to watch Romans do as they do.

BREAKFAST TREAT

It is becoming less and less common for breakfast to come with the price of a room at budget hotels and pensions in Rome.

If it's not included where you're staying, go out to a café and have some marvellous caffeinated beverage — macchiato, cappuccino, espresso — with a cornetto, which is something like a croissant.

Cafés usually display sandwiches and other quick eats. Bakeries often have the best sandwiches and pizza by the slice.

The difference between lunching this way and settling down at a table could be as much as $15 (Dh55).

MORE B&Bs

Aside from such well-known money-saving accommodations as budget hotels and religious houses, bed and breakfasts have finally arrived in Rome.

There are hundreds of them in every district, priced from about $80 to $240 (Dh294 to Dh881), such as Il Covo, near Via Panisperna in the old Roman slum area, or Subura.

The proliferation of B&Bs started during the Catholic Church's Jubilee in 2000, when there weren't enough beds for the millions of pilgrims expected and Romans were encouraged to open their homes to visitors.

Now the tourism bureau in Rome keeps a long B&B list that can be viewed at www.romaturismo.com

FREE IN VATICAN CITY

Is anything free at St Peter's? The great Bernini's Colonnade and the Basilica, to begin with.

Inside, the subterranean Papal Tombs are free but there's a charge to ascend to Michelangelo's Dome (about $10, or Dh37, by elevator or $7.50, or Dh27, on foot).

Admission to the Papal Treasury Museum costs about $9 (Dh33) and a visit to the fabled Vatican Museums (including the Sistine Chapel) costs $21 (Dh77), though it's worth remembering that the Vatican Museums are free from 8.30am to 12.30pm on the last Sunday of every month.
For general information, visit www.vatican.va

SEASONAL BARGAINS

Unlike many north European capitals, Rome has a sliding price scale for hotel rooms, depending on the season.
Highest rates are charged from April to October.

But from November to March (not including the holidays), it is low season, which means you might be able to find a room in an upscale hotel for less than $200 (Dh735) a night.

Off-season, try the Hotel Villa San Pio (www.aventinohotels.com), the Hotel Scalinata di Spagna (www.hotelscalinata.com) or the Hotel Bramante (www.hotelbramante.com).

CHEAP SHOPS

Forgot your toothbrush? Need some flip-flops or an envelope? Look for a casalinghi shop, or a household goods shop, in your neighbourhood, selling a range of knick-knacks at rock-bottom prices.

Rome also has its own 99-cents-only stores. One is Euro City at 221 Via Cavour, where it's more like everything for $1.50 (Dh6).

NEW FORUM FEES

The whole Forum area, from the Vittoriano to the Colosseum, used to be free, a place for wandering around in, like a public park.

By Susan Spano, Special to Gulf News

Articles from the author

Roam as the Romans would