Rome - Getting Around - Road

Most of Romes historic centre is closed to non-resident traffic from Monday to Friday 0630 to 1800 and from 1400 to 1800 on Saturday. There are also restrictions in place in parts of Monti, San Lorenzo and Trastevere. If you are staying in this zone, contact your hotel who will be able to arrange permission for you to drive into the restricted zone. For further information, check www.atac.roma.it. Traffic in Rome drives on the right and the minimum driving age is 18 years. Speed limits are 130kph (80mph) on motorways and 50kph (30mph) in urban areas. UK driving licences and EU pink-format licences are valid in Italy (UK green licences must be accompanied by an International Driving Permit) and a Green Card and motor insurance certificate are strongly recommended. The AA or RAC in Britain and the AAA in America have reciprocal agreements with the Automobile Club d'Italia (ACI) (tel: 06 491 115; www.aci.it), who provide a useful advisory service as well as dealing with breakdowns.

Emergency breakdown services
ACI (tel: 803 116).

Routes to the city
Rome is encircled by a network of motorways. The A12 leads into Rome from the west and the A24 from the east. Ciampino Airport is connected to the city by Via Appia Nuova (SS7). The A1 runs between Rome, Florence and Milan, while to reach Venice, drivers should turn off the A1 at Bologna and take the A13.

Driving times to the city
From Florence - 2 hours 30 minutes; Milan - 6 hours; Venice - 6 hours; Naples EUR 2 hours 20 minutes.

Coach services
The regional transport authority Cotral (800 174 471; www.cotralspa.it) runs blue coaches throughout the Lazio region. Eurolines (tel: 06 6662 3156; www.eurolines.it) runs international coaches, with connections to cities throughout Europe, such as London (via Paris). Journeys are long and slow, but fares are cheap. There is no central coach station in Rome, so coaches depart and terminate in front of Tiburtina train station, Via Tiburtina (metro stop Tiburtina).