If you feel like shopping we do not recommend Piazza di Spagna and the adjacent streets running off. Shopping there could be frustrating if you do not have much money to spend and also why spending so much for any top fashion pocket or key holder while you can buy a load of things with the same amount of money?? Think better and consider these places also: Piazza Navona, Campo de Fiori, Trastevere and surrounding streets are full of very nice and original shops ( from book shop --see the Almost corner book shop located in Trastevere, Via del Moro, 45; ph: 06 583 6942 or The Lion Bookshop and caf? in Via dei Greci, 33/36-; clothing shops, gourmet shops, toy shops, etc..) or, close to Piazza di Spagna, Via del Corso offers a variety of megastores that sell everything from leather goods to athletic wear and casual clothing.

For antiques see Via Margutta. For chocolate specialties try the tiny Neopolitan chocolate shop that sells delicious chocolates in a charming interior.

We would also recommend some open air markets or flee markets in Rome. For example, in Piazza Campo de? Fiori every morning you can enjoy one of the most picturesque market made up of fruit, vegetable and flower stalls.. There you can ask a ?caff? al vetro? (served on a tiny glass) just to fell like a local (any time of the day is fine) and ask for some ?panna? on top . You will be ready to sit and cherish some time looking at the people passing by.

Another authentic flee market is in Via Sannio, 8-13 (Mon-Fri; 8-1pm; 8-6pm on Sat): there you can still find seventies and eighties hippy clothes.

Another market is in Piazza Testaccio where you can find excellent objects on sale at reasonable prices.

At Porta Portese market every Sunday is a tresure hunt: they sell just about everything in a stylish organised disorder from clothes to shoes, furniture, bijoux, plants, piece of furniture, Russian cameras, posters.. Watch out fro your oods while there. Many rubber are just waiting for innocent tourist So, every Sunday in Via Portuense and Via Nievo from 6.30-2pm!!

If you have a passion for antiques a market fro you is held at Ponte Milvio along the banks of the river Tiber on the first weekend of every month. Myriad of stands specialized in antiques and collectors items.

How to reach Rome? Well, beside the 2 airports (now served by Ryanair) the cheapest way would probably be by train especially if you are a backpacker minding his budget, right?

Most trains travelling to Rome from other Italian cities and Europe terminate in Termini Station (ph:06 4775). It is right in the middle of the city centre. (National train tickets: ph: 06 47306250). If you arrive by night, do not worry: the area has plenty of youth accommodation to offer as hostels for backpackers, youth hostels for students and families and so on. If you travel with a laptop, or you are in a internet caf? the better thing (instead of knocking several doors for a hostel bed night) would probably booking directly online with a credit card. There are many bookers that provide cheap accommodation in hostels in Rome: among the others we mention Flashbooking.com.

While in Rome consider travelling by public transports as metro and

Buses (ATAC; Ph:06 4695 4444):easy to use and quite cheap. There are 200 different bus routes that criss-cross Rome from 5.30 am to midnight. Fast or express lines, electrical buses, night buses, disabled buses. Buy single, 75-minute multi-journey ticket (1?) or a day pass (4?) from automatic ATAC machines or tabacchi. Stamp upon boarding. All bus routes state clearly on the front where they are going.