Stopped in to check out the pinball. Arcade Club is located in a smaller basement space offering…read morenot much variety, but that is well cared for nonetheless. There are 2 pinball machines in excellent working order. The stand up arcade games are all cheap Chinese knock-offs with 8000 games. Interestingly this place has custom tooled tokens and slots, which I've never seen, even in huge arcades. Kinda neat but also a bit of a pain as they don't fit cleanly in all the games. One token is 50¢, most games except the 2 big shooter-style games take one token per play. There's a really cool room with a dungeon theme for small tabletop games, though it would be bring your own as they have next to nothing. There's also a huge downstairs seating/dining area. There's Guinness on tap (€7 a pint) and Hofbräuhaus München beer on tap (€6 a glass). There's a limited food menu, we tried the Japanese-style hotdog which had good toppings but was lukewarm, cost €8. Glad we stopped by, at 0130h. If you're jetlagged or just killing time, not a bad option for a late-night hangout spot.

We enjoyed our English tour for an hour exploring the fascinating remains of the patrician "Domus"…read moreof imperial Rome, belonging to powerful families, with mosaics, wall decorations, polychrome floors, paving blocks, and other remains, has been further enhanced by experts who recreated the past with virtual reconstructions, graphics and videos. We walked on a glass floor & down glass steps in the dark viewing walls, rooms, peristyles, kitchens, baths, furnishings and decorations taking a virtual tour of a great Domus of ancient Rome. In the underground area opposite Trajan's Column, we admired the remains of a monumental public or sacred building: great concrete platform, walls made of large blocks of travertine and tuff, remains of colossal columns made of single grey Egyptian granite blocks, the biggest to be found in ancient Rome, bricked rooms with vaulted ceilings, dating from the early years of the emperor Hadrian, according to stamps on the bricks. This new area boasts an exhibition, showing is how how the area of Trajan's Column looked at the time of its construction. A working model recreates the buildings as they appeared then, especially the huge Ulpian basilica, which stood right next to the column. A video brings to life the two adjacent buildings, perhaps libraries. Finally, a virtual reconstruction of the column gave us a close up look at the bas-reliefs and the story they tell of Trajan's military campaign: the conquest of Dacia, present day Romania. This event ended with the death of King Decebalus & the emperor's triumph. This was a unique example demonstrated how the artistic heritage of antiquity, regenerated by careful and painstaking restoration, was enhanced with the use of new technologies.

This was less than impressive. There were several places where the technology failed - lights…read moredidn't illuminate, so we couldn't see what the audio was describing. At one point, instead of projecting a beautiful mosaic on the floor, the computer projected the actual code -- letters and numbers and error messages. It was sort of funny, but not really what I paid for. Also, the spaces are crowded. So if you are with inconsiderate people who always shove to the front to see something instead of waiting their turn or people who aren't taking the opportunity to teach their children that it's inconsiderate to talk the entire time when other people are trying to hear and learn something (like we were), it can be a frustrating experience. The only bright spot was the very informative video about Trajan's column and the fact that on the tour you get the chance to see if up close. We also did a tour of Domus Aurea the next day and it was a MUCH more rewarding experience.

After an initial let down when we realized there are no bones here, we found the information shared…read morehighly worthwhile and our group was glad we made the trek out. It's essentially a history lesson in an underground graveyard. Be aware that you'll be underground and it smells very musty and is very humid. I was thankful for fresh air when we finally emerged. We took an Uber from the center of Rome and a car back, about 30 minutes. With dwell time of waiting for the bus and how busy the busses are, I think a Uber in this case was a good value. Overall I'd say this isn't a must do activity in Rome but if you have a couple hours and want a low key activity, this is a good one.

Very interesting tour led by a lovely guide. Definitely a must see! Bonus is a view of the oldest…read moredocumented Nativity.

We waited in line for about 45 min (June weekday around 5pm) to get a look through the Aventine…read moreKeyhole. It really is beautiful! You can see St. Peter's Basilica if you look straight on through, framed by lush green garden hedges. It's amazing in person. Note though if you have a phone camera, you probably won't be able to capture the basilica in your photo (too bright in the distance)!! These were the best my iPhone 14 was able to capture.

Glad I was able to come here and see this and experience it for myself…read more When I got here there was only a few people ahead of me. I beat the long lines. Unfortunately my iPhone camera did not do this justice!!! The Aventine Keyhole is a famous, small peephole in a large green door on Rome's Aventine Hill, offering a perfectly framed, magical view of St. Peter's Basilica's dome through a tunnel of trees, technically looking across three countries: the Knights of Malta's grounds, Italy, and Vatican City.

We attended an opera dinner on our second night in Rome and had an absolutely wonderful time…read more We were seated in a small room within the Doria Pamphilj with a few other diners at other tables, and the service was fantastic. They were very attentive and made sure you had enough water and wine throughout the show. It's a multi course dinner where you pick either meat or fish entrees from the menu. The food was yummy but it honestly took a backseat to the performance. Francescoantonio, Paola, and Tei were incredible, I was so taken by the music, the voices, and the pure emotion of each piece.

Old world charm!…read more When in Roma it was only right that we went to an opera! What a treat to see Othello on a warm summer night in Rome! The opera house still holds her old charm with the additions of modern touches. We will definitely check it out again when in Rome!