A Metro stop is recognizable by signs bearing a big white capital “M” on a red background. Maps identifying the stops are available at many hotels and tourist centers, within guidebooks to Rome and online. Your walk to the station may be a trip in itself, for Rome has only two subway lines to serve the whole city. The train you take will be on either Linea A, the red line, or Linea B, the blue line. Together their shape is something like a wobbly “X,” with the lines meeting at the central railway station, Termini. If you have to get to a destination on the other line, you make the switch at Termini.
Tickets for the Metro also work for the city bus. Your ticket, in fact, will have the word “Metrebus” on it. The ticket you’ll need for a trip across town costs 1 euro. You can buy tickets at tobacconists’ shops (tabaccharie) throughout Rome. There are always a couple of tabaccherie near each stop. Or you can get your Metro ticket from an automatic dispensing machine in the station. These take euro coins or paper money.
Before you can get to the Metro platform, you must pass your ticket through a machine to validate it. You don’t have to worry about forgetting to do this, because the turnstile will not open until the machine has taken your ticket. Put your ticket in the front with the arrow pointing forward, and the machine imprints the date and time on it and then zips it through to the other side. Your ticket will remain usable for 75 minutes after it has been validated. This is more than enough time to get from one side of Rome to the other on the Metro.
Once you’ve descended the stairs to the very hot level of the Metro trains, you will have a choice of two doorways through which to pass. The trains on either side run in different directions on the same line. Choose the train heading for the final stop on your route. If you don’t know which stop that is, you can learn from your Metro map. And if you should happen to take the wrong train, get off at the next stop and board the train going the other way (your ticket will still be valid).
A digital clock above the platform shows the time of the next train’s expected arrival, which is never more than 3 minutes away. People waiting on the platform move closer to the tracks as the countdown nears its end. Depending on the stop, the time of day and the time of year, the train may be packed or nearly empty. Allow the passengers to disembark and then step on. Do not push your way through, but do not hesitate, either. The doors close and the train takes off rapidly. Inside the Metro, find space where you can. Hold on to the straps or bars if you stand during the trip. The ride gets bumpy.
The conductor announces the next stop well before the train gets there. The names of the stops also appear on the walls near the platforms. As you approach your stop, stand and move toward the door. When the door opens, head for the stairs. Signs will direct you left and right to the streets that converge at the station.
