Termini lies at the heart of the city's transportation web , and visitors can quickly reach the major sights without paying the exorbitant prices for hotels and pensiones located in the city center. Visitors will have no trouble indulging every Italian culinary fantasy. Seek out the smaller, family run trattorie and ristorante near Campo dei Fiori and Trastevere. Restaurants near the Spanish Steps or the Pantheon, traditional tourist destinations, often trick the unwitting tourist through a high charge for water or coperto, a cover charge that substitutes for a tip in most Italian restaurants. Before being tempted by low prices, check the menu to make sure that the price difference has not been equalized by outrageous charges for extras.
Pizzerias offer delicious thin crust pizzas at moderate prices.
No visit to Rome could be complete without sampling the city's many delicious gelaterias. Be sure to ask for panna, a dollop of whipped cream, free at all venerable gelaterias. Sarah Cameron is a senior at Stanford University .